Monthly Archives: January 2022

News

Armadillo appoints Joanna Penn to new Managing Director role

CRM specialist Armadillo has appointed Joanna Penn as its new Managing Director (MD). The appointment demonstrates an investment by the agency in its senior leadership by creating the new MD role to lead the operational management of the agency. The move will allow CEO, James Ray, to focus on strategies to continue its momentum. The agency works for global brands such as McDonald’s, Disney and Carnival UK and scooped five awards at the DMA Awards 2021.

Armadillo grew by an impressive 75% (YoY revenue) in 2021, with growth continuing into 2022 at a similar pace. The team grew by around 25% people in 2021 with a number of roles still advertised.

Joanna joined Armadillo two years ago from a successful career working on global brands such as Nike, Unilever, and Pernod Ricard to become Client Partner on the McDonald’s account. In that time, she has excelled at building and nurturing a high-performing, motivated and happy team and leading them to focus on delivering the best work for its clients. In her new role, she’ll be applying these skills across the business and continuing to deliver against Armadillo’s proposition for existing and new clients.

When asked about the role she said: “A big part of me never thought this would happen, because I never thought I would find the right agency in which to take on this role. Armadillo has fantastic clients, the right leaders, great, supportive and highly talented teams, and, most importantly, a great ethos and culture. I am both grateful and proud I have been given this role and really look forward to helping the agency deliver unrivalled ROI for all our award-winning clients and future partnerships.”

As well as celebrating the addition of Managing Director, the team also welcomes new Client Partner, Emma Watson. Emma joins from her previous role as Business Director at Edit where she ran their flagship account with Jaguar Land Rover, delivering commercial success and multiple award wins (including two Golds at this year’s DMAs). Emma brings a pedigree in data and CRM to add to the team, with deep experience working strategically with data and MarTech to deliver compelling campaigns and customer experiences with proven results.

She says: “Armadillo continues to go from strength to strength and I’m excited to be part of their next phase of growth. I’m passionate about working in partnership with clients and, along with the talented Armadillo team, am looking forward to pushing CRM boundaries to achieve innovative work, which delivers amazing results.”

CEO, James Ray adds: “Jo was the natural choice for the MD role: her energy, intelligence, commitment and natural instinct for leadership have been a huge part of our success, and I’m excited to see her apply that across the whole business. Emma brings with her a wealth of experience and skill in delivering commercial success for clients through orchestrating engaging, data-driven customer experiences: a perfect fit for our proposition and a fantastic addition to the team.”

Creative News, Midlands News, News

Video agency to premiere new company name

A leading Shropshire video production agency has a new name as it targets further growth after a decade of success in the industry.

Highly respected JAKINB Media is being relaunched as Colada Creative to mark the success of its first ten years in business.

The agency, founded in 2011 by managing director Jack Brodie, has seen significant growth over recent years, and is currently recruiting for two post-production roles.

Colada Creative works with UK and international clients across a range of industries including manufacturing, education, medical, housing and hospitality to produce high quality, engaging video content.

Jack said: “I started producing video content when I was at college. But since then, the way in which businesses use video content has drastically evolved alongside the growth of social media and video streaming platforms.

“We pride ourselves on the ability to film and produce high quality content that stands the test of time. As we continue to grow and work with larger clients, we knew it was the right time to change the name of the business to something that resonates our style of working.”

“We never see our work as one-off projects,” he added. “We thrive in developing long term relationships with our clients and integrating our work into their ongoing marketing strategy.”

Over the ten years of operating, the team at Colada Creative has travelled the globe working for well-known brands and broadcasters, including BT Sport, Hager, Protolabs, Pol Roger and the Department for International Trade.

Video producer Ian Dewhirst added: “Jack started the company by borrowing equipment while he was a student. Now, we offer full-service video that has been seen by an international audience, across numerous sectors, all from our base in Shropshire.”

“We’re dedicated to working with clients to create a project plan that is specific for each client’s needs, but always resulting in quality content that is second to none.”

To coincide with the change in name, Colada Creative is relaunching its website to include examples of work alongside a blog, where the team will share insight into latest video and industry trends.

To find out more about Colada Creative and how they can help you communicate through video visit www.colada.uk, email studio@colada.uk    or call 01952 457271.

Awards, News, Telecoms

Nominations are now open for the MEFFYS 2022

Nominations for the 17th annual MEFFYS Awards are now open. The MEFFYS, hosted by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) celebrate innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the Mobile Ecosystem, applauding the companies that have made a difference in 2021 across MEFs core ecosystems.

There are seven award categories:

Personal Data & Identity
Enterprise Communications
Content & Advertising
Global Connectivity
Mobile IoT
Payments
Special Award: Personal Contribution to Sustainability

The awards ceremony, where the winners will be announced, is being held on 28th February at MWC in Barcelona. The awards evening will be a glitzy, glamorous, red-carpet event with food, drink and entertainment plus lots more. It is the perfect opportunity to take the pulse of the latest new ideas and trends.

Nominations are now open: https://mobileecosystemforum.com/meffys-2022/.
The deadline for submission is 6th February 2022.

Nominations are open to all but only MEF Members (https://mobileecosystemforum.com/members/)  and MEF Minute Subscribers can vote.

A company can submit nominations for more than one category, but only if the nomination is for a different product, service or use-case.

MEF members and MEF Minute Subscribers will be able to vote for the winner in seven categories from 9th February. Voting deadline is 21st February. The full rules of entry can be found here: https://mobileecosystemforum.com/meffys-2022/entry-rules/

Established in 2000, The Mobile Ecosystem Forum is a global trade body that acts as an impartial and authoritative champion for addressing issues affecting the broadening mobile ecosystem. MEF provides its members with a global and cross-sector platform for networking, collaboration and advancing industry solutions. The goal is to accelerate the growth of a sustainable mobile ecosystem that drives inclusion for all and delivers trusted services that enrich the lives of consumers worldwide.

ABOUT MEF

MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) is a global trade body established in 2000 and headquartered in the UK with members across the world. As the voice of the mobile ecosystem, it focuses on cross-industry best practices, anti-fraud and monetisation. The Forum provides its members with global and cross-sector platforms for networking, collaboration and advancing industry solutions.

Web: https://mobileecosystemforum.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mef

News

SMS Marketing in 2022: Over Half of Consumers Read All Text Messages on Their Phone

SMS marketing is set to become a major necessity for businesses as more than half of Brits have no unread messages on their phone at any given time, according to new research from telecommunications provider, TextAnywhere.

The survey questioned 1,000 consumers about their messaging habits to give an insight into their mobile phone activity. The findings reveal that over half (60%) of respondents have to open a message once it’s been received, and just over a quarter (28%) have a mere 1-5 messages marked as unread.

It’s predicted that users send more than 6 million texts over the course of their lifetime, and so SMS will be a key marketing tool for ecommerce businesses in the future. With this in mind, Laura Brown, Marketing Manager at TextAnywhere has outlined five tips for introducing SMS marketing to your business this year.

 

Five tips for introducing SMS marketing to your business this year

 

  • Customise your sender ID

Although over 75% of recipients reported they open all text messages, this figure does increase when individuals are aware of who the sender is. This makes it clear just how important the sender ID is when businesses are contacting their customer base.

For SMS communications to be as effective as possible, it’s vital for businesses to appropriately tailor the sender ID of their messages, to something their audience will recognise, ensuring the message is opened once delivered. 

 

  • Try a shift to SMS across multiple customer demographics

Given that many businesses often opt to communicate with older customers via channels such as voice and direct mail, both of which are often associated with higher costs and time delays, we’d recommend businesses reevaluate the channel preferences of their audiences – there may be some surprising changes. 

Evidence shows that the older demographic in the UK are becoming increasingly tech savvy. 80% of individuals aged 55-64 reported they personally use a smartphone and during the first national lockdown, over-65s were shopping online twice as much when compared to 2019. 

 

  • Attracting the savvy shoppers

Consumers may be tightening their purse strings after Christmas, but everyone loves a bargain! January is the perfect excuse to offer some tempting discounts. Help spur up demand for your business by sending a quick text message with an exclusive promotion and a link through to your website. Gain the advantage of a 36% click-through rate on links sent via SMS and encourage online purchases.

 

  • Choose a good time

Make sure you are sending your messages at an appropriate time. Receiving your message at 4 o’clock in the morning isn’t going to impress customers if you disturb them from their sleep and is unlikely to have as much impact if they read it when they’ve just woken up. Aim to coincide with the time that most shops are open for business so that your message is then fresh in the mind of your customers. And if your brand is multinational, remember to schedule your message at different times to coincide appropriately with different time zones.

 

  • Finally, check before you send

Before you schedule your messages, double check that you have included all the necessary information. There’s no point prompting clients to make the most of your offer if you haven’t included a voucher code, for instance. It’s also vital to check spelling and grammar as the smallest mistakes can instantly be unappealing to the recipient.

 

Laura Brown, Marketing Manager at TextAnywhere, comments: 

“People are finding it increasingly difficult to put their phones down, and as a result, our screen time is only going up! The pandemic has played a key part in this too, as we are even more dependent on our phones to stay connected with friends and family. Texting has given us the means to maintain our relationships when covid-19 has physically kept us apart.”

“For businesses, this rapid user engagement has opened up a whole world of opportunities. Tapping into SMS enables brands to speak directly to their customers in a space that they heavily occupy. Not only is texting fast, efficient and cost-effective for businesses, but it’s also an extremely personal way for companies to engage with their audience and open up a two-way conversation. SMS will continue to evolve but it’s important that companies start to catch on to its success, and find ways to implement it into their marketing activities.”

For a look at the full research, see here.

News

Just 6% of leading companies have fully embraced digital transformation in the way they buy and sell services

A new report from Globality, an AI powered procurement platform and the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) has found that just 6% of leading companies have fully embraced digital transformation in the way they buy and sell services in the £3.9 billion global market, a new survey released today has revealed.

The study also found that 94% are in early- to mid-stages of their transformation, meaning the vast majority have considerable work to do.

Further, only 15% of organisations surveyed believe that they are either “best in class”
or “industry leaders when it comes to digital transformation of their procurement processes and operating models, and 50% of global procurement leaders admit their companies are ‘laggards’ when it comes to the digital transformation of their B2B sourcing processes and operating models.

“Organisations who take proactive measures to transform their current procurement processes and operating models will enjoy considerable competitive advantage in a rapidly changing market, both now and well into the future,” said Dawn Tiura, SIG Chief Executive Officer.

The survey questioned more than 120 global procurement leaders with 84 percent of respondents in positions at a director level or above. The industries represented ranged from arts and entertainment to manufacturing, finance and insurance. More than half of the respondents were responsible for procurement spend in North America, and more than 40 percent were accountable for global spending.

“The average Global 2000 company spends over £3.9 billion a year on services and all of it can be spent smarter and better,” said Keith Hausmann, Globality Chief Revenue Officer. “These findings highlight the need for companies to utilise the sophisticated, AI-powered technology that now exists to enable fair, competitive, sustainable self-serve sourcing.”

“Through digital transformation, procurement can create far more impact on a company’s profitability, as well as helping to enable its ESG agenda,” he added.

Globality’s Platform and marketplace is used by leading global companies, including British Telecom, Santander, HSBC, GEA, and Dropbox, to transform the sourcing of high-value services by automating demand creation, supplier identification, proposal evaluation, and the statement of work creation process through an intuitive self-service experience.

Marketing, PR and SEO, News

Five new clients sign to specialist Shopify agency, That Works.

Leeds based specialist Shopify Plus agency, That Works Agency, has started the new year with a bang – securing five high profile Shopify clients in less than 30 days. Among the roster of new clients includes recent Dragons Den contestants, challenger eco-cleaning brand, Homethings, which received offers from all five dragons on the show last year. 

Founded in 2018 by young entrepreneur, Jordan Hill, currently aged just 23, That Works has become well-known across the UK for their expertise, particularly in User Experience (UX) design and development on the Shopify Plus platform. 

As well as working with Homethings, That Works has recently won some fantastic client contracts including building Shopify Plus websites for multi-million-pound turnover business, Sofa Club and new challenger beauty brand Beauty Kin. They’ve also secured new clients, Circulr and LBW Group. 

Matthew Aubrey, Co-Founder of Homethings commented on their choice to work with That Works: “Jordan’s team were awesome whilst we were providing a brief to That Works on what we wanted, they were full of ideas on how we can improve all aspects of our Shopify store. The team are an absolute pleasure to work with and the work they’ve done so far is exceeding our expectations”.

Jordan Hill, Director at That Works shared: “Myself and the team are very happy to be starting the year working with such an exciting portfolio of new clients. It’s an ongoing goal of ours to work with brands that are led by passionate and inspiring entrepreneurs. 

“In 2021 we worked hard to increase our capacity and capability as a Shopify agency and it’s great to see this coming to fruition in 2022. In this pursuit, we’ve managed to gain traction amongst some of the biggest brands using Shopify in the UK and it makes me really proud and excited as to what 2022 will bring for the business.”

The strong start to the year comes after a year of six-figure success in 2021 for That Works which saw them gain luxury beauty brand clients, Cohorted, Hairburst and MR Blanc amongst other e-commerce giants such as CRAFTD London, Honu and Cleens. 

Danny Buck, CEO of BrandBuildr Group and long term client of The Works added: “At Brandbuildr we operate at pace so finding a partner that could react as quickly as we run our business was key to our selection process. Jordan and the team at The Works have a similar open culture to us with flexible working and no rigid corporate processes, which means we collectively work together to find ways to get the job done – making them are a true extension of our team.”

On a mission to make That Works one of the best Shopify Plus agencies in the UK, Jordan is planning to invest in his team further in 2022 and has this month welcomed new additions to his team with the appointment of Lead Developers Nikita Novikov and Matthew Wang.

News

Beelivery Acquires London-Based Sustainable Delivery Service Pinga

UK’s No. 1 on-demand rapid delivery service, Beelivery, acquires Pinga in bid to corner the London grocery market

Beelivery has acquired the Pinga business with their 600 London-based low-emission drivers and riders in the latest in a series of major expansions that the company has made over the last 2 years.

Incorporated in 2015 as the first rapid grocery service in the UK, Beelivery has been providing rapid delivery of essential and emergency groceries to doorsteps, achieving average delivery time of 46min, with 21% of orders delivered in under 25mins.

Beelivery connects independent drivers with customers from all over the UK who need last-minute groceries or are keen to top-up their cupboards. A nearby driver then personally shops on behalf of the customer and delivers the requested items to their home, on-demand, in as little as 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Due to a combination of the company’s unique business model, £multi-million investment from Greenbank Capital and the current TV and integrated media campaign, Beelivery has grown exponentially over the last 2 years. While this kind of growth is to be expected with the recent pandemic, consumers are showing no signs of changing these newly acquired habits and reliance on convenience.  Beelivery sales have increased by an enormous 140% with their TV campaign, despite lockdown procedures relaxing.

Beelivery is set to acquire over 5,000 customers, in addition to 600 drivers and couriers using sustainable vehicles from the Pinga acquisition. This will allow them to further extend their already sizable lead in grocery, late night alcohol, and convenience deliveries across London. Beelivery will also look at continuing to offer delivery of Boots the Chemist’s range of products to maintain Pinga’s successful service, adding a broader range of products to Beelivery’s existing 4,000 SKU’s.

Beelivery’s Joint CEO and Co-Founder Yazan Bin Mohamed comments: “This acquisition enables Beelivery to leverage the driver capacity and loyal customers of Pinga in Central London and extend our lead in this competitive market. The company is now exploring further M&A deals, and in particular we are now open towards further strategic alignment with our closest competitors. We are open towards mergers or strategic acquisition in the UK or Worldwide while we are raising our 25 GBP million round. ”

Beelivery is the only company operating across 90% of all available postcodes in UK and offer their delivery services 24/7, every day of the year, and we can expect this to be the first of many acquisitions to follow.

News

Re-democratising the internet

Written by Elliott Brown – Founder and CEO at NUM Technology

When the web was created, the vision behind it was that it would be free and open to all.  Over time the giants of the web, such as Google and Facebook, have found ways to commercialise it and make the users (us) the product.  So successful have these businesses been that it is now almost impossible for other companies to come in and compete with them.  What are the downsides of this and what can be, and is being done, to bring democracy back to the internet? 

Data is now big business. The web was not designed for machines, websites  are designed for humans, which is why companies like Google have made such profitable businesses from extracting website data and serving it out using APIs.  In both Europe and the US, the way that Google and others have exploited this data has been called into question by governments, to the extent that there are suggestions in the US that Google will be forced to stop giving preferential treatment to companies that pay to advertise their company details and even restricted from displaying company contact data in search results.    

One issue, that we all experience, is the way Google follows us online wherever we go. This often feels intrusive and a breach of our privacy. When we search for age-related products, and then get served ads for care homes, it can be funny, but when it is funeral directors, when we’ve privately told someone over email that a loved one is dying, it can be upsetting and even alarming. 

How many people would like to be able to access company details more quickly, without Google tracking their every move and without digging through search results, web pages and menus, always at risk of going onto the wrong site to be scammed?   

Something must change. However, the proposals from governments are regressive, it doesn’t serve anyone to limit what we can find on the internet; instead of lowering the quality of Google’s service through legislation, we need to find a way to improve the quality of Google’s competitors by levelling the playing field. What we really need is an alternative way of accessing data without being forced to go through the gate keepers of the web. We need to find a way for developers to make use of data (such as addresses, contact information, logos, payment details and more) without the burden of storing and maintaining it.  

For companies, updating the data that their customers find on numerous different platforms, is a huge administrative burden and it can very quickly go out of date again. The impact of this was highlighted during the pandemic when last minute closures, due to illness, were not reflected in the opening times of retailers and restaurants given on Google. How many companies and app developers would like a simple way to instantly update data across all platforms simultaneously?  

To re-democratise the web, you therefore need a way to create and maintain machine readable data that everyone can access without the giants, with no terms and conditions, in an ‘all you can eat’ service.  

At NUM Technology we set out to achieve exactly this and have created an open standard using the DNS (Domain Name System). It means that developers can now build apps with access to free, unlimited and unrestricted data, users don’t need to go through the gate keepers of the web and the data can be seen as one source of truth, updated automatically when companies change their details.  

To demonstrate how the technology can work we’ve created a free UK Company Directory, which gives everyone access to company details through the website or simply by texting +44 7481 341331.  

Of course, it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation, without useful data people won’t use the service and without people using the service companies won’t maintain their data, so we have pre-populated millions of company phone numbers, addresses and social media details. 

In the future you will be able to dial a domain name and pay a domain name. One of the big advantages is that companies only need to maintain their data in one place and all sites from TripAdvisor to Google could use this as the single source of truth. 

We’re not taking on the giants of the web, instead we’re offering a new way of serving data. It can even be used to enhance the Google experience. 

Company Directory is available now, it’s free and we don’t intend to make any money from it. The purpose of creating this service is to showcase what can be done with the new technology. We want to demonstrate that the problems that frustrate companies and users are solvable; it is possible to change the way people access data. We’re telling developers: “This is just one example of what can be done with this new technology and access to a free unrestricted data source, now go and build whatever you can imagine.”   

 You can access the new service at https://CompanyDirectory.net/ or by sending a company name by WhatsApp or text to +44 7481 341331. 

 

News

 Global Supply Chain Crisis Forcing Customers to Think and Buy Local, Global SOTI Research Finds

More than half (52%) of global consumers said they are less likely to order an item that requires shipping from overseas than they were a year ago 

A third (36%) said that if delivery or pick up of an item takes longer than two days, they will look elsewhere

 

As the global supply chain crisis continues to disrupt the retail industry, consumers are being forced to change their shopping habits and buy local (within their own countries) for speed and availability, new global research from SOTI has found.

Consumers are feeling the effects of supply chain issues firsthand, with over half (57%) of global consumers (58% UK) saying they have recently experienced one or more items not being available, have had to purchase alternatives when preferred products were not available, or have had to go to different retailers to find items in stock. Worse still, over one third of shoppers (35% global/38% UK) said items they wanted to purchase have not been available at all.

Compounding these supply issues, more than a third (34% global/30% UK) said they feel delivery times have been slower than usual and more than half (53% global and UK) said that shipping/delivery time is the most frustrating aspect of ordering online.

Unwilling to compromise on speed and availability, consumers are now paying special attention to the purchasing journey. More than a third (36% global and UK) said that if delivery or pick up of an item takes longer than two days, they will look elsewhere. Meanwhile, with deliveries from outside their own country now taking longer to arrive, more than half of consumers (52% global/60% UK) have changed their habits, saying they are now less likely to order an item that requires shipping from overseas than they were a year ago.

As part of the From Clicks to Ships: Navigating the Global Supply Chain Crisis 2022 Report, SOTI surveyed 10,000 consumers across the UK, U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, France and Australia to understand how consumers are responding to the supply chain crisis, as well as their expectations of brands and retailers to cope with it.

 

Changing Consumer Attitudes and Behaviours Set to Continue

It’s clear from the findings that consumers are unwilling to give retailers any leeway. When asked about their expectations and intentions:

  • Over two thirds (68% global and UK) agreed that they now expect to know where their order is throughout the delivery process at all times
  • More than half (61% global/60% UK) agree they are continuing to shop with brands that can deliver goods the fastest
  • More than half (52% global and UK) agree they would be more likely to shop from a retailer’s store if multiple return points were offered
  • Over one third (35% global and UK) agreed that knowing who a retailer’s delivery partner is has resulted in them not completing an order with that retailer

 

Evolving in a State of Flux

The onus is now on retailers to adapt to these behaviours and match up with consumer preferences.

“Brands and retailers are having to rethink how they approach customer relationships and go-to-market strategies in response to this state of flux. It’s imperative they have the right data at their fingertips to cater to these changing consumer preferences. The brands that have the flexibility that allows them to provide the best possible customer experience, no matter how or where customers shop, will be the most resilient,” explains Sarah Edge, Director of Sales, UK and Ireland at SOTI.

Looking to the future, when asked if they would consider using any of the following alternative delivery options in 2022, 63% (global and UK) said they would consider in-store delivery/collection (“click and collect”/buy online and pick up in-store) and half (50% global/46% UK) would consider delivery to a designated drop-off point.

Consumers are also open to even more significant changes in the way they receive their goods as technology advances. Almost half (46% global/45% UK) said they would consider either autonomous vehicles to deliver larger packages to their home or other convenient location, or delivery drones to deliver small packages (43% global/39% UK).

“Having the right mobile technology will help retailers to improve both their communications and customer experience across all their channels. Ensuring they have mobile-enabled operational intelligence, will give brands and retailers the ability to diagnose problems quickly and adapt fast to meet ever-changing consumer needs and preferences. The only certainty is uncertainty in this current retail environment. But, by ensuring their consumers have choice and flexibility, brands and retailers, as well as their logistics partners, can prepare themselves for all eventualities,” concludes Edge. .

From Clicks to Ships: Navigating the Global Supply Chain Crisis 2022 Report here.

Report Methodology

10,000 interviews were conducted using an online methodology with adults aged 18 to 65 years old with nationally representative quotas on gender, age and region set at country-level between November 20 and December 2, 2021. The 10,000 interviews are split across eight markets as follows: UK (2,000 respondents), U.S. (2,000 respondents), Canada (1,000 respondents), Mexico (1,000 respondents), Germany (1,000 respondents), Sweden (1,000 respondents), France (1,000 respondents) and Australia (1,000 respondents).

 

About SOTI

SOTI is the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT device management solutions, with more than 17,000 enterprise customers and millions of devices managed worldwide. SOTI’s innovative portfolio of solutions and services provide the tools organisations need to truly mobilise their operations and optimise their mobility investments. SOTI extends secure mobility management to provide an integrated solution to manage and secure all mobile devices and connected peripherals in an organisation.

 

 

News

Technology industry essential to eradicating modern slavery in retail supply chains

“There are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history, which is an unacceptable affront to human rights.” Leas Bachatene CEO, ethiXbase

ethiXbase, a leading ESG and value chain sustainability solutions company, has called for more accurate supply chain auditing and thorough risk assessments of complex logistical networks.

A new report published today by ethiXbase highlights how the technology industry is essential to eradicating forced labour in retail supply chains. Value chain sustainability solutions company, ethiXbase, is now calling for more in-depth auditing and thorough risk assessments of retailers’ third-party networks to eradicate modern slavery.

The retail sector is one of the most prominent industries where modern slavery is likely to occur. This is primarily due to the retail sector’s international reach and the sheer complexity of the modern retail supply chain where products pass through a long chain of producers, manufacturers, and distributors before arriving at retail locations.

The intricate system renders traditional audit methods ineffective in detecting slavery within supply chains, as proved by a recent investigation that found widespread exploitation of workers in meat plants across Europe. This is just one of many examples of the enormous business of forced labour which is estimated to generate roughly US $150 billion in profits every year.

The new report, titled Tackling Modern Slavery in the Retail Industry, recognises that increasingly complex supply chains have stretched the ability of many organisations to appropriately vet and monitor their suppliers and provides practical advice to help retailers look systemically for red flags.

“Achieving comprehensive visibility into every link of an organisation’s supply chain and sourcing processes, while daunting, should be a priority. Thankfully we now have the technology and tools to simplify this process. It is possible to easily aggregate vast amounts of data from multiple sources to provide an overarching view of the potential risk a third-party may represent to an organisation. Checks that would previously be extremely time consuming or impossible due to the sheer scale of a retailer’s third-party ecosystem can now be automated and carried out regularly without much manual input. Suppliers can be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure retailers aren’t caught off-guard should anything change after the initial onboarding. In essence, the whole third-party compliance lifecycle can be streamlined by using technology,” says Leas Bachatene, CEO, ethiXbase.

In collaboration with global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, ethiXbase has developed a Modern Slavery Risk Assessment Module that helps businesses identify, mitigate, and manage their modern slavery risk. With the new module, the ethiXbase 360 Third-Party Risk Management Platform is now uniquely placed to help organisations assess and address modern slavery risk within their supply chains.

Cultivating effective strategies to tackle the risk of modern slavery in retail industries will require a clear grasp of where risks lie in the supply chain, an action plan designed to tackle those risks, accompanying remediation policies, and effective monitoring and ongoing reporting.

To help retailers meet the ambitious target of eradicating modern slavery, the new report calls upon retailers to take the following steps:

1. Attain maximum supply chain transparency and improve downward visibility of potential risk areas. Retailers need to review their due diligence processes to ensure that they are fit for purpose and track reports of forced labour and trafficking.

2. Add forced labour monitoring and policing to existing third-party compliance processes to minimise the risk. While paper-based self-attest compliance reports are an integral part of the program, in-person audits are a much more effective tool when it comes to detecting labour abuses.

3. Recognise workers’ rights and ensure that workers can claim these rights as the risk of modern slavery dramatically decreases in workplaces where trade unions are encouraged to operate.

4. Work with others who specialise in detecting modern slavery to benefit from their expertise in resolving the complex issue of forced labour. Expert NGOs can help identify cases of modern slavery and find effective strategies to tackle them.

5. Demand improved enforcement and regulation by the authorities to create a level playing field and root out businesses that derive competitive advantage from modern slavery. For example, the relentless drive for lower prices only reinforces the reliance on cheaper, forced labour and improved regulation would address this pressure on pricing.

“There are more people in slavery today than at any other time in history, which is an unacceptable affront to human rights. While it is generally accepted that businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights and to protect workers in their own supply chain, we need to see less talk and more action. Every organisation has a moral obligation to do everything in their power to make forced labour history,” adds Bachatene.

The report can be downloaded here.