New Global Supply Chain Solution from Dun & Bradstreet Helps Companies Identify Human Trafficking

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Apr 13, 2016, 11:46 ET

First Human Trafficking Risk Index that Provides Visibility Into a Company's Family Tree and Corporate Linkages Helps Prevent Key Procurement and Related Reputational Risks

SHORT HILLS, N.J., April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a hyper-connected global economy, where businesses and consumers increasingly make decisions based upon brand reputation and responsible corporate practices, companies large and small need increased visibility into the multiple layers of their supply chain to mitigate hazards, achieve compliance, and enable the ethical procurement of goods and services. Today, Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB), makes available the Human Trafficking Risk (HTR) index, a solution designed to help companies better manage their global supply chains by providing a clear view into a company's family tree and corporate linkages, helping to gain transparency into the multiple layers of vendors used throughout the procurement process.

"Companies want to be responsible corporate citizens, but we hear time and again that they are underprepared and overwhelmed to meet supply chain due diligence requirements," said Greg Iaquinto, Leader in Global Supply & Risk Solutions, Dun & Bradstreet. "The rising importance of responsible business practices has added to the challenges faced by procurement and supply chain professionals who are eager for a multi-perspective view into their supply chains but don't know where to begin. We are pleased to use our data and analytics to help our customers manage their crucial business relationships by gaining greater insights and more transparency into the many layers of vendors and suppliers they do business with directly or indirectly."

Companies may unknowingly be using forced labor in their procurement of commodities since, to date, a view into the full chain of vendors and suppliers has been difficult to attain. Dun & Bradstreet's HTR index uses proprietary data from its global database of 250 million business records, along with public data from the U.S. Department of State¹ and the U.S. Department of Labor², to analyze conditions surrounding areas where goods are produced and assign a score to that region and commodity. Dun & Bradstreet creates an index of those scores to assess a company's risk of being associated with goods and services potentially tied to human trafficking. By leveraging Dun & Bradstreet's global capabilities to link companies and its various entities, the HTR index can help companies ensure the responsible procurement of goods and services and meet compliance regulations as they extend their supply chain across the globe.

The International Labour Organization estimates there are over 19 million victims of exploitive forced labor worldwide. The most common form of human trafficking is forced labor in domestic work, agriculture, construction, and manufacturing.

Recent domestic and global regulations - including the US Federal Acquisition Regulations guidelines around Human Trafficking (2015); Modern Slavery Act (United Kingdom, 2015); and Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (2016) - have instilled mandatory audits and reporting of supply chains including fines and in some instances, barring of goods from entering certain countries, in a global attempt to eradicate human trafficking.

The HTR index is the first solution to market within Dun & Bradstreet's emergent Responsible Business Analytics suite, a D&B Supply offering, designed to help global business customers comply with increasing regulations and meet corporate social initiatives. Dun & Bradstreet's company linkage capabilities through the D-U-N-S® Number allows a single, integrated view of companies and the relationships between them.

¹Trafficking in Person Report, 2015
²List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

ABOUT DUN & BRADSTREET
Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB) grows the most valuable relationships in business. By uncovering truth and meaning from data, we connect customers with the prospects, suppliers, clients and partners that matter most, and have since 1841. Nearly ninety percent of the Fortune 500, and companies of every size around the world, rely on our data, insights and analytics. For more about Dun & Bradstreet, visit DNB.com. Twitter: @DnBus.

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SOURCE Dun & Bradstreet