In many businesses, supply chain management historically has fallen outside the core of the company's compliance function. But that was then. A renewed push this year by state, federal and international regulators – not to mention consumer advocacy groups, NGOs and foreign legislatures – to conscript the business community into the fight against human trafficking and the use of child, indentured, forced and other forms of coerced labor has brought supply chain management to the front and center of the corporate compliance world.
Two new reports released this week call attention to the dangers of bribery and corruption in global supply chains and their links to modern day slavery. Modern Slavery and Corruption and An Exploratory Study on the Role of Corruption in International Labour Migration provide a snapshot of the extent and global spread of corrupt practices, the ways in which they interact with myriad forms of exploitation and the impact of legislation put in place to curb both.