Do you comply with Amazon supply chain standards? If you asked, what supply chain standards, you aren’t alone.
Last week, Amazon reminded sellers of its policy and linked to a landing page on Social Responsibility.
“Amazon expects all products sold in our store to be manufactured in accordance with Amazon’s Supply Chain Standards. Our standards include the Amazon Supplier Code of Conduct, which requires that products be manufactured in safe, healthy, and inclusive work environments. If Amazon becomes aware that products may be manufactured in unsafe or exploitative conditions, we may contact you for more information.”
The announcement generated much discussion among sellers about who the announcement was meant for (Domestic US sellers? Non-domestic sellers selling to US buyers?). And there was much talk of worker exploitation, particularly overseas.
Some sellers were skeptical, believing the announcement was a PR move.
One seller heralded the announcement, starting his post with, “Hey, it’s a start. It’s not just window dressing. It gives Amazon justification to shut down the worst offenders here, who are found to use child labor or slavery in 3rd world countries.”
On its Social Responsibility landing page, Amazon links to a PDF file describing its Supply Chain Standards (“Our Supply Chain Standards detail the requirements and expectations for suppliers in our supply chain, and suppliers must contractually commit to these standards as a condition of doing business with us.”)
There’s also a link to a PDF file of its Supplier Manual (which “provides guidance and resources to suppliers of Amazon branded products on how to meet and exceed the expectations outlined in our Supply Chain Standards”).
You can find the announcement and the resulting discussion on this page on Seller Central.
Ina Steiner
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She’s a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of “Turn eBay Data Into Dollars” (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, “Blogging Heroes” (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to [email protected].
