Why 86% of Companies Can't Prove Their Supply Chain Works

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-18

### The 14% Problem Nobody Wants to Talk About Here's a number that should make you pause: only 14% of companies can actually show that their responsible sourcing programs are reducing risks or improving outcomes. That means the vast majority—86%—are essentially flying blind when it comes to supply chain safeguards. Think about that for a second. Companies spend millions on compliance, audits, certifications, and sustainability reports. Yet most can't demonstrate whether any of it is actually working. It's like buying a gym membership and never checking if you're getting fitter. You feel like you're doing something. But the results? Anyone's guess. ### Why This Matters More Than Ever Supply chains have become incredibly complex. A single product might involve dozens of suppliers across multiple countries, each with their own subcontractors and raw material sources. Keeping tabs on all of it is genuinely hard. But here's the thing—regulators aren't interested in excuses anymore. New laws in the EU and beyond are demanding proof, not promises. Companies that can't show their safeguards work face real consequences: fines, reputational damage, and lost business. > "The gap between intention and evidence is where risk lives. Most companies have good intentions. Very few have good evidence." That quote captures the problem perfectly. Good intentions don't protect workers. They don't stop deforestation. They don't prevent forced labor. Only measurable outcomes do. ### What's Blocking Companies From Proving Impact? A few things keep showing up: - **Fragmented data systems** – Information lives in different departments, different formats, different countries. Nobody has the full picture. - **Vanity metrics** – Companies track how many audits they've done, not whether those audits changed anything. - **Fear of bad news** – If you don't measure outcomes, you never have to report failures. Convenient, but dangerous. - **Short-term thinking** – Proving impact takes time. Quarterly earnings pressure doesn't reward patience. None of these are easy to fix. But they're not impossible either. ### What the Best Companies Do Differently That 14% who can show results? They tend to share a few habits. First, they treat supply chain data like financial data—centralized, standardized, and audited. Second, they set clear baselines before launching programs, so they can measure change. Third, they're willing to report when things don't work, because that's how you learn. Most importantly, they connect sourcing decisions to outcomes. If a supplier improves working conditions, they get more business. If they don't, they get less. Simple incentives, consistently applied. ### The Path Forward For everyone else, the message is clear: the era of unverified claims is ending. Whether you're a startup founder building your first supply chain or a procurement manager at a Fortune 500, you need to answer one question honestly. Can you prove your safeguards work? If the answer is no, that's okay. Most companies are in the same boat. But the ones who start building real measurement systems today will be the ones still standing when regulators come knocking tomorrow. The tools exist. The pressure is mounting. The only question is whether you'll act before you're forced to. Start small. Pick one supplier relationship. Define what success looks like. Measure it. Then expand. That's how the 14% got there—not with perfect systems, but with honest ones.