Sayari Brings Chef Works Profound Supplier Insights
Chef Works Selects Sayari as its Partner in Forced Labor Compliance
The legislative landscape surrounding global trade continues to evolve and as regulations become increasingly complex, multinational corporations have struggled trying to balance compliance and profitability. With the passing of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and various other global mandates, apparel companies are under pressure to ensure they aren’t sourcing materials made with forced labor.
Chef Works, the global leader in restaurant and hospitality uniforms, sells a wide range of uniforms for front-of-house, back-of-house, food service, and hospitality employees that are uniquely-designed for style and comfort.
In May 2023, Chef Works partnered with Sayari as part of their commitment to forced labor prevention. During the brief trial period, the Chef Works team was so impressed with their findings, and the potential impact of those findings, they decided to extend the engagement. ”As we’ve grown and begun selling into so many new countries, we've had to comply with a lot of different regulations which was a new challenge for us,” says Francesca Navarro, Global Sourcing & Trade Compliance Manager at Chef Works.
Previous to using Sayari, Chef Works had spent nearly a year developing a product with a new supplier. Once they accessed Sayari Graph, Navarro uncovered that the supplier in question indeed had ties to forced labor and they had to restart the sourcing and development process. But now, Navarro is able to vet suppliers in advance to protect their production efforts and reduce risk beforehand.
We’ve only worked with Sayari for a few months, and we have been able to evaluate and monitor potential exposure risks throughout our supply chain, improve transparency with high-quality suppliers and strengthen our commitment to ethical sourcing policies. I’m proud that we were able to accomplish so much already.
Supply Chain Visibility Proves Additional Value to the Business
There were even some unexpected benefits of using Sayari Graph. After a shipment developed mold, Navarro’s investigation uncovered that the factory was purchasing from a counterfeit desiccant supplier. By exporting trade records straight from Graph, Chef Works was able to prove liability and the supplier was required to cover the damages.
Sayari Graph layers comprehensive ownership data with trade data to create a traceable map of the world’s business relationships. Crucially, it helps surface non-obvious risks in the supply chain. As part of their compliance program, Navarro now uses Graph to vet new suppliers, map their supply chain, understand the business structures of their partners, and assess their true diversification risk. Citing the breadth of the data, she explains, “Sayari has helped us really understand our fabric suppliers. Previously we had contact with our first tier fabric suppliers through a sourcing agent or trader. We often did not know the manufacturer or understand their broader organizational structure,” added Navarro.
With Sayari’s multi-tier network visibility and risk analytics, Navarro can be confident that she has the insights Chef Works needs to shape corporate policy and maintain compliance. “We’ve only worked with Sayari for a few months, and we have been able to evaluate and monitor potential exposure risks throughout our supply chain, improve transparency with high-quality suppliers and strengthen our commitment to ethical sourcing policies. I’m proud that we were able to accomplish so much already.”
This is a victory all around. With solid risk assessment processes in place, Chef Works is now not only able to instantly assess risks, but proactively take action. And, as Navarro continues to champion the prevention of forced labor, she’s confident that the compliance program at Chef Works has a clear and resilient future.
About Sayari
Sayari provides global corporate transparency and supply chain risk identification for government and industry. Its commercial risk intelligence software harvests comprehensive corporate and trade data from more than 250 jurisdictions worldwide and surfaces previously hidden risk insights in an intuitive network analysis platform.
Since its founding in 2015, Sayari has earned the trust of top financial institutions, Fortune 100 corporations, and government agencies, securing a $40M Series C in 2021. Sayari is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and its solutions are used by thousands of frontline analysts in 35 countries.
About Chef Works
Chef Works is the global leader in culinary and hospitality apparel with unrivaled distribution in more than 90 countries. With an emphasis on fashion and function, Chef Works dresses a diverse range of customers for the culinary and hospitality industries including: International hotel chains, award-winning restaurants and bars, culinary schools, food service companies, laundries, assisted living facilities and upscale cinemas. The family-owned-and-operated business has helped pave the way for the current culinary uniform movement by working directly with celebrity chefs, industry leaders and hospitality influencers to develop innovative, fashion-forward garments.
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