When it comes to corporate social responsibility, SanMar (asi/84863) just broke new ground.

The Issaquah, WA-based apparel provider, which is the largest supplier in the North American promotional products industry, just became the first Better Buying subscriber to make its Purchasing Practices Index scores publicly available.

Pat Noonan, SanMar

Better Buying is a company that aims to strengthen relationships between vendors and buyers on the supply chain and to improve purchasing practices that drive profitability while protecting workers and the environment.

A key way Better Buying does this is by operating a ratings and evaluation platform that provides buyers like SanMar with information about their purchasing practices. Buyers receive ratings from vendors in their supply network. Better Buying’s proprietary algorithm then aggregates the scores, analyzing for trends and turning the data into actionable insights.

SanMar first subscribed to Better Buying in 2019 and has now taken part in two consecutive ratings cycles. The company’s Better Buying Scorecard outlines its overall score for 2021, and in seven key purchasing practice categories. For this year, SanMar’s overall score was 75 – better than its previous showing and superior to benchmarks for its industry.

SanMar also made publicly available its 2021 Better Buying Company Report, which provides a detailed breakdown of how suppliers rated the company on specific purchasing practices, as well as priorities for improvement. For example, vendors most frequently suggested that planning and forecasting be an area of improvement for SanMar.

“We have agreed to share our Better Buying 2021 Scorecard and Company Report because we believe transparency and leadership are essential to being a great partner to our global vendors,” said Pat Noonan, SanMar’s chief product officer. “We also believe in strong, fair partnerships with our factories and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help our vendors succeed.”

Vendors appreciate it.

“We are used to being rated and ranked by our customers, but having the opportunity for our teams to rate and give feedback on our customers’ performance creates an amazing two-way dialogue that motivates our teams and drives us to want to work more with this customer, because we know they want to hear our feedback, and we have a lot to share,” said Siddarth Hirdaramani, director of the global apparel manufacturer Hirdaramani Group.

With 2020 North American promotional product revenue of $2.3 billion, SanMar ranked first on Counselor’s Top 40 list of the largest suppliers in the industry.