100,000 Customers and Growing: Sedex Scales Supply Chain Due Diligence

Early 2026 saw us hit a major milestone: 100,000 businesses around the world now use Sedex to strengthen their ethical sourcing, supply chain risk management and multi-tier due diligence.  

In more than 180 countries, we support retailers, brands, manufacturers, farms, service providers and wholesalers across sectoral supply chains. Today over 120,000 supply chain worksites are registered on our Platform, employing millions of workers, with more than 450,000 site-level SMETA audits conducted in our 21-year history.

Our scale reflects how companies are responding to a more complex, demanding operating environment — one defined by heightened risks, greater scrutiny and rising expectations around supply chain accountability, practices and conditions.

Supporting the rise of supply chain due diligence and risk management

Recent years have seen businesses and their supply chains face extreme weather events, geopolitical volatility, market uncertainty, revelations of exploitation and other workforce instabilities.

Each aspect of this disrupted environment comes with operational, reputational or financial risk – which investors and consumers expect companies to be managing, especially as the media and civil society continue drawing attention to failures to do just that. Regulation is also rising, with expanding human rights due diligence requirements, environmental reporting obligations and forced labour bans. 

Anticipating and proactively handling these concerns bring many benefits, which executives increasingly recognise – especially those at leading organisations with well-established due diligence programmes.

Despite peaks and troughs of political environments, there’s an increasing body of evidence linking ethical, sustainable practices with both long-term progress and short-term operational wins. These include workforce stability, better productivity, resource efficiencies and cost savings.  

Social and environmental sustainability is now embedded within core strategy for many procurement teams. It’s also regularly discussed at Board-level because of its direct connection to supply chain resilience and wider business objectives.

Investors expect evidence of proactive risk management. Regulators and media are increasing scrutiny, with judicial action even under existing labour or health and safety laws.

“Companies need credible, standardised and comparable data to meet supply chain demands with confidence. Primary, site-level intelligence provides the granularity required to identify and address issues before they escalate into operational disruption, legal exposure or reputational damage.“

“As the market leader from the start, we’re proud to deliver workable, field-ready solutions designed for the realities of complex, international supply chains.”

Jon Hancock, CEO, Sedex

Growing visibility through continuous improvement

Businesses are extending their due diligence deeper into their supply networks, with the recognition that risks materialise at site-level (not headquarters). We continue to evolve our tools, methodology and Platform to support these aims. 

SMETA 7.0, launched in 2024, represented a significant update to our world-leading social audit, designed to provide even greater transparency, accountability and impact. We created a brand new type of audit finding – Collaborative Action Required – to recognise where suppliers need support addressing severe concerns with complex root causes. 

We’ve also developed SMETA for Service Providers. Tailored to the unique nature of services activities like cleaning, logistics and catering, this tool helps our customers to extend visibility, risk management and site-level assessment to more of their supply chains. 

•  30% of SMETA audits are now conducted at companies’ indirect supplier sites, beyond Tier 1. 
• 24% of SMETA audits take place at smaller sites with fewer than 30 peak-season workers. 
• Around 1,000 serious issues are identified every week through SMETA audits.
• Over 250,000 SMETA-identified issues resolved in 2025 – each one an improvement in site management, labour practices or working conditions.

Powering efficiency and value with our global network

Reducing duplication, assessment effort, cost and administrative burden while maintaining due diligence effectiveness remain central to our approach.

These features are both key benefits and essential for companies and their suppliers to successfully respond to the overwhelming volume and variations of related laws, frameworks, certifications, investor demands, and consumer pressures.

• 60% of Sedex SAQs are completed in under a day – they’re designed for accessibility and accuracy combined.
• Suppliers share their site data and SMETA reports with all linked customers in one go.
• Hundreds of a company’s suppliers may already share their data through Sedex – accelerating due diligence and intelligence even for those early in their roadmap. This value grows as we do, expanding visibility as more and more businesses join our network. 

Independent analysis (conducted by Forrester Consulting) found that organisations using Sedex can achieve up to 312% return on investment over three years, including a 70% reduction in sustainable supply chain labour management costs, and payback on initial spend within seven months.

“It’s incredible to see the progress made in the 20+ years of Sedex’s continued growth. I am delighted that we now power detailed visibility of over 120,000 worksites across a huge range of activities and regions.”

“Addressing serious concerns and systemic root causes in supply chains is not an overnight process nor an easy task – we’re proud to support our customers to drive, and demonstrate, improvement through our solutions.”

Allison Hudson, Chief Customer Officer, Sedex

Discover the range of Sedex solutions for scalable, in-depth supply chain due diligence.