Ethical & Sustainable
Sourcing

We already have sourcing teams on the ground. What is the benefit of Sourcing Playground?

Our platform is a market intelligence tool that sourcing teams use to rapidly scan the market, access a wider pool of vendors, and access rich intelligence which would usually take weeks if not months to harvest via manual efforts. Our supplier intelligence allows sourcing teams to invest time and money in the right suppliers by being confident that the best vendors have been evaluated.

Sourcing teams both in head offices and on the ground teams use our intelligence to speed up supplier discovery, fill in gaps in their peripherals and have access to the most up to date competitor analysis. Essentially for them to not waste time with factories who are not suited to their company setup.

- How do we know we're working with the right vendors?
- Are we maximising our efforts and product mix with each factory?
- Are there new markets we could be exploring? If so for which product?
- What are the top 5 vendors in each market for my product category?
- Where are my competitors sourcing from?

These are all the questions that teams use our technology to answer.

What information do you have on suppliers?

Our unique technology is untangling supply chains to harvest key data and intelligence. Our system decodes this data and creates digital profiles on global factories, suppliers and companies.

Insights and intelligence includes:

Suppliers market history:

- Customers they work with - Products they manufacture
- Export volume trends: by weight, shipments and containers
- Up to date certification and compliance: social compliance, environmental practices, if they use sustainable and recycled materials etc based on our database of over 100,000 certifications. Depending on the certification, details such as certification ID, start date, expiry date, what has been certified and more is available. The majority of certification data is related to textile, fashion and labour rights.

Company information

- Website, Phone number and email when available

How did you get this information?

We work with verified third parties to obtain supplier information including: Governmental authorities, certification bodies, auditing companies, Non-profit organisations, shipping organisations.

None of the insights we have is obtained by factories (except for contact details).

Our technology scans the market for supply chain data and decodes to create digital profiles on the world's factories and brands.

These insights are used to inform more responsible and confident sourcing decisions.

What’s the advantage compared to other sourcing websites?

We are not a sourcing website. Most platforms sign up factories and suppliers where they will create profiles and add their company information.

We are different. We don't work with factories or suppliers. Our supplier digital profiles have been created by scanning the market for data & intelligence and we create trusted insights about a factory.

This ensures all the information is factual, accurate and completely unbiased. A factory hasn't paid to be added to our system therefore you can be confident in our intelligence.

Why this matters?

You don't have to spend weeks checking, re checking information supplied by a factory. You can make faster decisions by using trusted insights to pre vet suppliers before investing time and money with suppliers who do not match your requirements.

Provides your team with a tool to ensure the best suppliers are not slipping through the net.

I know that a factory has more customers that is showing on a profile - why isn’t it showing?

Our platform uses verified, third-party insights based on shipment data and information provided by governments or brands. This approach ensures that the information we provide is reliable and grounded in actual trade activities. However, it's important to understand that this does not always present the complete picture of a factory's customer base.

Sourcing Playground does not directly contact suppliers to inquire about their customers for important reasons:

Data Reliability: We prioritize data reliability and accuracy. Information directly from suppliers without third-party verification may not always be reliable. Our focus is on providing data that has been independently verified for accuracy and credibility.

Focus on Trade Data: Our core strength lies in analyzing import-export data, which offers valuable insights into active trade relationships. This data is more indicative of current business activities and trends, providing a practical perspective for your sourcing decisions.

While we strive to provide comprehensive insights, we encourage users to view our platform as a starting point for their research. For a more complete understanding of a factory's client base, we recommend supplementing our data with direct communication with the suppliers, industry networking, and market research.

Remember, our goal is to empower your sourcing decisions with the best available data while respecting industry norms and maintaining the highest standards of data integrity and privacy.