better together in the communities where we are active
Bekaert strives to be a loyal and responsible partner in the communities where we are active. We make a point of interacting with local governments in a transparent, constructive way, and we are firmly committed to complying with national legislations and collective labor agreements. Bekaert adheres to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the treaties and recommendations of the International Labor Organization.
Also in acquisition deals, Bekaert attaches great importance to building open and constructive relationships with local government bodies and with social representatives from the start. This was particularly the case in the communities we entered as part of the Pirelli deal.
Co-creation and open innovation
Bekaert seeks international partnerships with universities and research institutes. In 2015, we continued to cooperate with academic institutions, technology clusters and research partners from different countries in order to bring an outside-in approach.
better together with customers and suppliers
Bekaert has production facilities and sales offices in 40 countries and builds lasting relationships with customers and suppliers, wherever we do business.
We work closely with customers and suppliers by engaging in co-development projects, by conducting feedback initiatives and satisfaction surveys, and by performing industry analyses together.
Bekaert has not identified any substantiated complaints from customers regarding customer privacy and losses of customer data to our knowledge. (G4-PR8)
Bekaert Supply Chain Description (G4-12)
Elements in Bekaert's supply chain:
Steel wire rod is the main raw material used for the production of steel wire. Bekaert purchases different grades of steel wire rod from steel mills, transforms them and applies coating technologies. The wire products produced by Bekaert are shipped to industrial customers that further process our material into half- or end-products, or to end-customers or via distribution channels.
In 2015, Bekaert had more than 19,000 active suppliers of which 44% are based in EMEA, 6% in Latin America, 28% in North Asia, 16% in North America, 2% in India and 5% in South-East Asia.
Steel wire rod represents about 44% of the total Bekaert spend and is ordered from 120 different vendors. More than 80% of steel wire rod spend is allocated to 20 vendors. To ensure continuity of supply, the risk profiles of critical vendors are defined and evaluated. Single sourcing situations are mitigated by developing second sources and/or stock policies.
Significant changes in the supply chain (G4-13)
Over 2015, major changes took place in the supply of steel wire rod. With the most relevant suppliers, a key supplier agreement is in place in order to intensify the relationship, and guarantee close cooperation in areas of supply chain integration, cost optimization, innovation and sustainability. Such key supplier agreements cover more than 50 % of the total steel wire rod spend.
The allocation plan for steel wire rod has contributed to make optimal use of business opportunities, and to handle the limitations in the supply chain resulting from trade barrier challenges in several parts of the world.
In 2015, Bekaert’s Purchasing function stepped up its engagement to enhance sustainability awareness and controls within our supplier base.
- For the top 10 suppliers by spend category we verified if the suppliers had a code of conduct in place, of which the principles are in line with the Bekaert Code of Conduct.
- Suppliers who did not have a code of conduct in place were asked to agree with the Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct.
- So far, more than 40% of our global spend agreed to work with us in building sustainable supply chains.
- Shared targets and action plans for 2016 were defined with key suppliers, enabling us all to drive sustainability forward across the supply chain. (G4-EN32, G4-LA14, G4-HR10)