Early analysis by Better Buying Institute indicates stronger pandemic resilience among subscriber garment brands
Garment brands engaged with Better Buying strengthen supplier relationships during Covid-19
Garment brands and retailers who were already engaged with Better Buying when Covid-19 struck continued to improve some areas of their purchasing practices and treatment of suppliers throughout the pandemic, according to early analysis of this year’s supplier ratings.
The findings are captured in the 2021 Garment Industry Scorecard released today by Better Buying.
This presents an overview of topline findings and scores for Better Buying subscriber brands and retailers, as well as those who are yet to subscribe but whose suppliers have already begun rating their performance in relation to purchasing practices.
The Better BuyingTM Purchasing Practices Index, which will include the full findings of this year’s ratings cycle, will be published in October.
Dr. Marsha Dickson, President and Co-Founder of Better Buying Institute, comments: “Our findings indicate that the story from Covid-19 is not all bad, and clearly show the benefits to garment brands of engaging with Better Buying.
“Companies that had already started the hard work of improving their purchasing practices and strengthening their supplier relationships before the pandemic, by engaging with Better Buying, appear to have continued that effort over the last year.
“There are notable declines in scores for Sourcing and Order Placement. We saw increased volatility of monthly order volumes being shipped during the pandemic. Also, 63% of suppliers reported at least some orders were cancelled by the customers they rated. Yet, companies engaged with Better BuyingTM have continued to improve their performance in multiple categories, particularly in relation to Planning and Forecasting.”
Twelve companies engaged in both the 2019 and 2021 Better BuyingTM ratings cycles. Scores in Sourcing and Order Placement improved for 2 of those companies, while 7 improved their Planning and Forecasting scores. The Better BuyingTM Purchasing Practices Index, which looks in detail at how companies performed in relation to five key principles of responsible purchasing practice, is out in October.