Ningbo Sureway Bags Case Study
Sedex has helped us to continuously improve our responsible business practices. This has made a huge contribution to our employees’ wellbeing, as well as giving us a competitive advantage that has more than doubled our turnover.
Ningbo Sureway Bags is a highly renowned manufacturer of ladies’ handbags. They supply their goods to customers all over the world, and their retailers include Monsoon Accessorize, Next, Carrefour, New Look, Lindex and Kmart.
The Challenge
Sureway Bags are dedicated to continuously improving their ethical standards to ensure their products are made with high-quality materials for long-life products, and in a safe environment where sustainable activity is practised. Sureway Bags are always looking for ways to communicate with their customers to ensure they can continue to create bags that suit their markets.
Ningbo Sureway Bags and Sedex
Since becoming a member of Sedex, Sureway Bags has seen real improvement across all areas of their business. Firstly, the Sedex Advance system allows them to update information across a range of different issues, through the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) – which is 100% completed for Sureway Bags.
Not only does this highlight the potential areas for development for the business, but it also enables them to demonstrate their compliance with ethical standards and improvements in quality control. This has meant that Sureway Bags has been able to grow their customer base – by 41% between 2014 and 2017.
Of these retained and new clients, Sureway Bags also received feedback through their ‘Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire’. In 2017, their clients gave Sureway Bags an average satisfaction score of 92%.
The Sedex systems allows us to continuously improve our factory controls and output quality
Results
The drive to improve their ethical standards and product quality, along with the opportunity to connect with more customers has led to an increased turnover for the company. By the end of 2010, Sureway Bags’ turnover was USD $4 million, and this climbed to USD $10.63 million by the end of 2013. The graph below shows the continued rise in turnover for Sureway Bags.
Sedex has helped us to continuously improve our responsible business practices. This has made a huge contribution to our employees’ wellbeing, as well as giving us a competitive advantage that has more than doubled our turnover.
Sureway Bags’ continuous improvement in responsible sourcing has also improved worker happiness and retention, helping to encourage new talent into the business. Their current workforce has grown to around 360 workers, made up of both permanent and casual workers.
Sureway Bags have also opted into the new Sedex Member Directory. This tool enables all members on the platform to connect with each other and search and view the profiles of others. Those members who complete more of their SAQ and focus greater attention on improving their business, are more likely to spark interest from other buyer members. The Sedex Member Directory is available to all members and can be accessed here.
The success of Sureway Bags has been further highlighted through their awards and certifications. In 2015, they were named 1st place at the China national professional skills competition of design for leather products, and in 2016 they obtained the award for Outstanding Contribution from the Zhejiang Leather Industry Association. Their continued success also saw them receive the award for 30 Years of Outstanding Enterprise 2018 from the China Leather Industry Association.
Since becoming a member of Sedex, Sureway Bags have continued to progress in their responsible sourcing journey. They are continuously reducing their non-compliances, which have been made clearer through their audit reports, and SAQ completion. Sureway Bags will continue to strive for increased sustainability and quality, made easier through their Sedex membership.
