Contribution to a Sustainable Supply Chain

Supply chain management

The ITO EN Group has established the ITO EN Group Fundamental Supplier Policy and the ITO EN Group Procurement Policy, and is working in collaboration with its outsourced beverage producers and other stakeholders to establish a supply framework that pays due care and consideration to both the environment and society.

The ITO EN Group Procurement Policy sets guidelines for the pursuit of quality, safety and peace of mind, legal compliance, fairness in procurement, and consideration for human rights, labor and the environment, and we are committed to improvement activities, evaluating suppliers using a questionnaire survey and sharing best practice at meetings with suppliers. When we start doing business with new suppliers, we explain our policies and guidelines, carry out onsite audit where necessary and verify the status of suppliers' activities.

The ITO EN Group Quality Policy dictates rules for the provision of safe and reliable products, compliance with applicable laws and ordinances, and for ensuring safety of products utilizing international standards. On the quality management front, ITO EN has built a Quality Management System with ISO9001 international standard certification (obtained in 2002), with our Shizuoka Sagara Factory obtaining FSSC22000 certification in November 2013. Our products are only manufactured in factories that satisfy ITO EN quality management standards, and we thoroughly ensure safety and security in the manufacture of our products by holding regular quality assurance meetings.

In our logistics operations, we have also constructed an effective supply chain management system in collaboration with our outsourcing partner companies; working to thoroughly ensure safety and security by conducting regular assessments and audits of our outsourcing partners (with respect to checklist items stipulated by ITO EN regarding areas such as transportation and storage) and holding regular meetings to share essential information.

Communication with suppliers

We aim to strengthen partnerships with our suppliers and improve the sustainability of the entire supply chain through communication such as sharing information and exchanging opinions and confirming future policies with suppliers, including manufacturing contractors, raw ingredient suppliers, and material manufacturers.

We hold regular quality meetings with suppliers to improve quality and ensure the creation of safe and secure products. In addition, through the ITO EN Group's material issues and related policies such as the ITO EN Group Human Rights Policy and the ITO EN Group Fundamental Supplier Policy, we explain environmental issues such as climate change and water resources and social issues such as human rights and occupational safety and health and we share good practice.

We are also working jointly to solve environmental and social issues, such as conducting supplier surveys that incorporate environmental and human rights items and working to conserve water sources near outsourced manufacturing plants.