PAS 7000: New standard tackles supply chain risk management

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has responded to industry concerns over supply chain management with the launch of a new information standard for suppliers and buyers at organisations of all sizes.


The universally-applicable ‘PAS 7000’ draws on the collective expertise of 240 global industry professionals. It aims to answer three key questions relating to any business’s supply chain partners: Who are they? Where are they? And can they be relied upon?

“Today’s consumers and employees demand integrity from the organisations they deal with,” said the BSI’s chief executive Howard Kerr. “Acting with integrity requires confidence in all those involved in delivering a service, anything else risks brand reputation.

“The benefit of this new standard is that it helps brands to align their supply chain with their corporate values by adopting an internationally defined framework of good practice for supplier pre-qualification.”

‘PAS 7000 Supply Chain Risk Management – Supplier prequalification’ addresses product, process and behavioural criteria for supplier prequalification. It has been created in response to industry demand, with a recent survey from Accenture revealing that three quarters of executives consider supply chain risk management ‘important’ or ‘very important’.

Benefits of PAS 7000

– Structured and presented to be equally accessible for both suppliers and buyers 
– Based on international consensus developed by procurement and supply chain professionals drawn from across the EU, US and APAC 
– Includes a wide range of potentially relevant topic modules such as capacity and capabilities, environmental management, employment policies, business continuity, traceability and data protection to name a few 
– The modular approach to the information required permits the building of respective modules into a customized matrix supported by a common set of application principles or rules 
– Provides a degree of flexibility for tailoring the information to particular organizational needs whilst at the same time retaining a robust, repeatable approach 
– Helps mitigate risks and reputational damage 

Kerr added: “This new information model approach involves a concept shift, away from that of ‘providing questions that are to be asked by buyers in order to solicit answers from suppliers’ to one where there is ‘a generally accepted information model that is provided by suppliers and that is acquired and used by buyers, as required’.

“It is a fundamental change that will hopefully increase transparency and trust in the supply chain, as well as saving time and effort for both suppliers and buyers in the future.”

PAS 7000 Supply Chain Risk Management- Supplier prequalification can be downloaded for free at www.bsigroup.com/PAS7000.

Luke Nicholls

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