A new report out of Cornell University is highlighting several unfair supply chain practices that arose during the pandemic and continue to this day. They identified three main areas of concern—fair price, fair trade, and fair pay. In “normal” times, there are certain expectations within each of these categories. The pandemic shattered those expectations and harmed supply chains. For instance, there were cases of buyers refusing to pay suppliers, and in the other direction, suppliers excessively raising prices on certain goods. When it came to fair pay, in some supplier countries, workers experienced wage withholding in the face of the global uncertainty.
Moving forward, the report authors say it can be to a company’s competitive advantage to avoid those unfair practices. To get there, however, you must sometimes overcome structural barriers, especially in a global supply chain. Take fair wages and working conditions, for instance. If you are supplied by a partner in China, it can be difficult to know with certainty if workers receive fair treatment. Or price gouging, which skyrocketed early in the pandemic—in the United States, there are anti-gouging laws, but they exist mostly at the state level and are rarely enforced. When you lack visibility into the various levels of your supply chain, the odds of these practices carrying on are greater. To push back against unfair practices, the study authors recommend using technology to increase visibility and collaboration with partners.
