Supply Chain Management
CSR Procurement
The DMC Group established its Procurement Policy to specify our mission to purchase materials and services in consideration of the environment and society. We also established the CSR Procurement Guidelines to promote appropriate procurement throughout our supply chain with a priority on consideration for the environment and society by thoroughly familiarizing suppliers and partner companies with our commitment to realizing a sustainable society. We also provide questionnaires regarding CSR procurement to suppliers to supervise their approaches.
We reviewed our CSR Procurement Guidelines in 2021. With the aim of strengthening collaboration with suppliers to promote sustainability throughout the supply chain, the revised Guidelines require that suppliers agree to comply with the Guidelines. In light of changes in the global situation, in FY2023 we revised our CSR procurement questionnaire and requested that suppliers respond to this questionnaire.
Procurement Policy
DMC follows the laws and regulations specified by each country, social norms, and corporate ethics, and conducts fair procurement activities to fulfill our social responsibility taking into account human rights, the global environment, and labor safety as we establish cooperative and trusting relationships with our employees and businesses for mutual growth.
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Compliance with Laws, Regulations and Social Norms
DMC conducts procurement activities in accordance with laws, regulations and social norms both at home and abroad.
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Fair and Equitable Business Transactions based on Economic Rationality
DMC thoroughly evaluates economic rationality such as quality, reliability, price, delivery date, and procurement period to conduct fair, equitable and transparent business transactions.
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Ensuring Quality and Safety
DMC strives to maintain and improve quality and safety with suppliers to provide valuable products.
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Human Rights Protection
DMC procurement activities respect human rights in accordance with our Human Rights Policy.
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Environmental Conservation
DMC strives to manufacture products containing fewer hazardous substances and conducts activities considering environmental conservation.
Management System & Operation
Management System & OperationProcurement activities are overseen by the Procurement Group headed by the Production Management Division Manager, who conducts supply chain management based on a Procurement Policy that includes social aspects such as the suppliers’ environment and human rights. The evaluation and selection criteria are also reviewed accordingly and spread to all employees to establish a system that ensures proper judgment throughout all group companies.
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In the primary assessment, each division assesses engineering capability, reliability, hazardous substances contained in materials and material performance in accordance with the evaluation and selection criteria specified by DMC Group.
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In the secondary assessment, the Purchase Group conducts an assessment based on supply stability and price, and determines supplier qualifications after taking into account CSR procurement questionnaire results.
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Concludes transaction contract.
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Decisions are made based on various aspects, including legal compliance, response to defects, and the status of CSR initiatives.
Request for Agreements with our CSR Procurement Guidelines
We ask our suppliers to sign a Confirmation of Consent to our CSR Procurement Guidelines to ensure compliance with the Guidelines. As of the end of FY2023, we have obtained agreements from 34 suppliers that account for 64% of our total procurement.
Questionnaire on CSR Procurement
DMC works with its suppliers on procurement in consideration of the environment and regional society in accordance with the Procurement Policy and CSR Procurement Guidelines. DMC has monitored major CSR approaches by its suppliers and promotes activities through its CSR Procurement questionnaire based on the items shown below, aiming for the further promotion of CSR activities throughout our supply chain. In FY2023, we sent questionnaires to suppliers that exceeded certain levels in terms of procurement amounts in FY2021 and FY2022 (the coverage rate was approximately 91%, and the return rate was 100%). The content of the survey results will be considered for use as indicators for the maintenance and continuity of our supply chain. We will continue working on the realization of a sustainable society with our suppliers in accordance with the CSR Procurement Guidelines.
Questionnaire Items on CSR Procurement
- Labor
- Health and Safety
- Environment
- Ethics
- Management System
Training for Purchasing Division
To promote CSR procurement throughout the supply chain, it is vital that employees in the internal purchasing division are aware of sustainability issues in the supply chain. In FY2023, we conducted CSR procurement training for our purchasing divisions in the device and unit businesses (100% attendance rate among Group purchasing division employees), and Subcontract Act and invoice system training for Group employees in Japan (approximately 60% attendance rate).
Taking Responsibility in Our Response to Conflict Minerals
DMC is committed to not using conflict minerals, minerals mined under conditions in which armed conflict, human rights abuse or environmental destruction occur, to prevent funds from flowing to armed groups. We procure the tin and gold used as raw materials in the manufacture of DMC touchscreens from conflict-free smelters such as CFSI*. If we find that our product contains conflict minerals, we take prompt corrective measures.
* CFSI: International conflict-free sourcing initiative
Management System & Operation
Tin and gold are essential to the manufacture of touchscreens. DMC established a system under the supervision of the Director & Standards Management Office Manager designed to prevent the use of conflict minerals. We gather information on conflict minerals from all suppliers and require tin and gold to be procured from smelters whose products are certified conflict-free. We surveyed our 108 suppliers using the Conflict Mineral Reporting Template (CMRT) developed by the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI). The response rate was 96.3% (104 suppliers) in FY2023. Unit products are investigated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with customer requests, and no minerals have been identified as a source of funding for armed groups for both our unit and touchscreen products.