A new data platform named ‘Open Supply (OS) Hub’ was launched Tuesday to improve insights about production facilities and global supply chains, according to a statement.
The open data platform for mapping global supply chains will provide stakeholders with standardised data as the lack of visible supply chain data contributes to global issues such as climate change, deforestation, and forced child labour, it said.
The OS Hub platform, funded by Laudes Foundation, Humanity United, GIZ, Amazon and Target, is an extension of the Open Apparel Registry, which was first launched for the apparel sector in 2019.
Since its inception, the Open Apparel Registry has mapped 88,347 facilities in 133 countries including Bangladesh, with data from over 470 contributors, and has worked with global brands, civil society organisations and industry bodies such as C&A, Columbia Sportswear Company, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, WWF and ZDHC.
The platform will span a range of sectors, including sporting goods, beauty, consumer packaged goods, apparel and electronics, it added.
For organisations looking to work collaboratively within global supply chains, the lack of open, accessible and standardised data is a longstanding bottleneck, it said.
To solve this, OS Hub will clean and open up this data for the benefit of entire sectors, with the aim of facilitating data sharing and collaboration.
Populated and used by companies, civil society organisations, factory groups, supply chain service providers and other stakeholders, OS Hub will provide standardised name and address data and universal IDs for production facilities around the world.
The unique IDs will enable connections to other databases via API, driving interoperability between datasets that are typically siloed and allowing organisations to find those connected to the same facilities. This, in turn, will enable more efficient and effective collaboration.
Built on open data principles, with open licensed data and open source code, companies can disclose their supplier lists and, in doing so, showcase their commitment to supply chain transparency. Simultaneously, insights about specific facilities are significantly improved, which can inform ESG and climate risk decisions and protect vulnerable supply chain workers.
Natalie Grillon, executive director of OS Hub said “Globally, organisations are preparing for a wave of new ESG reporting requirements. The volume of data shared will be enormous. It’s therefore absolutely critical that reporting is built on a reliable and collaborative foundation in order to bring about the supply chain improvements we desperately need.
Supply chain data is notoriously opaque, siloed and inaccessible, which has historically benefitted very few. Opening up this data is the solution, Natalie said adding not only can they create a single source of truth for identifying facilities, but this model also encourages collaboration and helps users progress their work, be it ESG reporting, worker’s rights advocacy, research or climate risk decisions.
“That’s where OS Hub comes in - a reliable, open dataset that benefits entire sectors.”
Commenting on the expansion, Leslie Johnston, CEO of Laudes Foundation said “Radical transparency is critical to creating the accountability we need for more equitable and climate-positive industries. This starts with openly sharing supply chain data.”
Laudes Foundation is committed to ensuring that data is accessible, open, relevant, and used to improve conditions across multiple industries.”
Quoting Reinhard Junker, Division for Sustainable Transformation of Global Supply Chains at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) the statement said “The German Federal Government is dedicated to improving social and environmental conditions in global supply chains.”
Alongside the German Due Diligence supply chain act, our Ministry supports buying and supplying companies in meeting international standards and requirements.
Supply chain transparency is a key prerequisite for companies to effectively address human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains, Reinhard Junker said.
“For this reason we are happy to support OS Hub through the Initiative for Global Solidarity, thereby enhancing transparency and, ultimately, contributing to improved working conditions and environmental protection in global supply chains.”
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