Our Supply Chain
JJB operates in a global market where products are all to often made in one part of the world for subsequent use in another. As a responsible Corporate Citizen, JJB seeks to provide our customers with high quality value for money products, sourced from suppliers and manufacturers who can clearly demonstrate compliance with both the Companies own codes of practice as well as internationally accepted standards.
JJB's Code of Business Ethics, the Supplier Code of Practice and the Factory Code of Conduct, have been accepted by JJB's principal suppliers and source manufacturers. The codes are based upon the internationally accepted principles of the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code of Labour Standards and the Model Code of Conduct devised by the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.
JJB cares about the labour standards within its global supply chain and expect its suppliers to demonstrate similar concerns. In order to obtain assurance that the factories used by JJB's suppliers and source manufacturers comply with the Factory Code of Conduct and so promote sustained improvement in factory working conditions, a factory inspection methodology has been introduced.
As regards products directly sourced by JJB, the Group conducts risk assessments of the foreign manufacturing units by means of audit questionnaires which are completed detailing all aspects of compliance and non-compliance. These assessments are carried out by JJB's own staff who, whilst based in Wigan, regularly go to the manufacturing units. The manufacturing unit management and employees are interviewed and an inspection is carried out of all factory premises and documentation, such as time cards. After each audit, the information obtained is collated, highlighting areas for improvement to be made. These improvements are then fed back to the owners of the manufacturing units for implementation. JJB later carries out follow-up inspections in order to ensure the Factory Code of Conduct is being adhered to.
The majority of JJB's products are purchased from the UK subsidiaries of major international suppliers and almost all these suppliers source their products in the far East. Regular meetings a\re held with those suppliers in order to ensure that they have comprehensive procedures in place to check compliance of their manufacturing units with good practices regarding supply chain labour standards; JJB tries to ensure that our suppliers' good practices are similar to those that we insist upon in the manufacturing units that we directly used.
JJB Sports has introduced a new Training Academy over the last 12 months based at our Wigan Head Office. We have recruited a team of 9 field based trainers who have responsibilities of between 30 and 40 stores each taking the training direct to the staff and management teams. We currently use various methods of training including the new introduction of e learning, daily and weekly training sessions, supplier-led training and residential management courses.
JJB Sports has always taken its corporate responsibilities seriously, with this in mind basic training has been given at the sourcing level in the past. It is our intention to provide further training to key individuals within the JJB sourcing, buying and development departments and also over the next few months to train on corporate responsibility relating to sourcing, including supply chain labour standards, buying and development issues when the training team will visit each store to deliver this as part of the training package.