Sedex Expanded Supply Chain Mapping and Risk Tools
Procurement teams can now better monitor Tier 2 and upstream suppliers for labor standard compliance.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Employment
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Sedex has launched expanded supply chain mapping tools to provide businesses with visibility into worksites beyond their direct vendors. The update aims to address a transparency gap, as only 12 percent of surveyed organizations currently hold data on their Tier 2 suppliers.
Why it matters
Procurement teams are increasingly required to account for risks deep within their sourcing networks, yet 90 percent of firms expect that deeper checks will reveal previously unknown vulnerabilities. This expansion enables companies to systematically filter and evaluate labor practices across 120,000 global worksites.
The updated platform covers 15 risk topics across 120,000 worksites, with an audit component drawing on 250,000 SMETA audits across 106 countries. Currently, 15 percent of these sites lack documented measures to ensure that subcontractors meet established labor standards.
The players
Sedex
A global organization that provides data and technology solutions for supply chain management and responsible sourcing.
The details
The enhanced platform requires upstream suppliers to approve a connection before downstream customers gain visibility into their operations. Once linked, corporate users can utilize analytics dashboards to filter by tier and monitor worksite-level risks. The Audit Risk component uses SMETA 7.0 methodology, incorporating wage risk calculations derived from 70,000 site-level audits.
Timeline
Sedex announced the supply chain mapping updates on September 30, 2026.
Market Landscape
This move follows a broader industry trend toward mandatory supply chain due diligence, moving beyond simple audits of direct partners. By integrating SMETA 7.0, Sedex standardizes compliance metrics to meet the rising demand for visibility into deeper, multi-tier procurement networks.
Operators should assess their current visibility beyond direct contractors, as 15 percent of monitored sites currently lack basic subcontractor labor protections. If your procurement depends on multi-tier networks, prepare to incorporate deeper audit data into your next supplier risk review cycle.
The takeaway
Transparency into Tier 2 suppliers is becoming an operational necessity as regulatory and reputational risks grow. Review your procurement dashboards to ensure you have mapped connections with upstream partners to proactively identify sites lacking labor standard compliance.
Further reading
For more on managing workforce standards in sourcing, visit the Employment section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WWD.
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Should companies be legally required to monitor labor standards at all levels of their supply chain?
