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Sustainable Supplier Development Programme (SSDP)
Public-private partnership to increase safe and sustainable sourcing andbusiness linkages between
suppliers in Malaysia and Japanese retailers

Gerardo Patacconi, Unit Chief
Clusters and Business Linkages Unit
Business, Investment & Technology Services Branch
United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO

Contents
1. What is the Sustainable Supplier Development
Programme (SSDP)?
2. SSDP with AEON in Malaysia:

Sustainable Supplier
Development Programme
Rationale
New form of pro-poor Public-Private Partnership,
which integrates CSR objectives with businessobjectives and operates as an inclusive
development scheme
Objectives
Enable clusters of suppliers in developing
countries to gain access to profitable new market
opportunities and establish long-lasting
business linkages with potential buyers
Increase availability of sustainable and safe
products and generate new jobs and income
opportunities in developing countries.
Scope:(1)Market Access and SMEs development(2)food and product quality and safety(3)Sustainability: social, ethical and environmental

UNIDO - AEON SSDP Partnership- Core of the programme: Provision of joint
technical assistance, awareness andcompetency-building programmes onsupplier upgrading and compliance- It responds to the need of farms andMSMEs in developing countries andeconomies in transition to access profitable
new market opportunities and be accepted
as reliable suppliers and establish longlasting business linkages with potential
buyers such as the AEON.
- UNIDO-AEON joint activities will be guided
by an “inclusiveness” principle tointegrate “less-developed businesses”
into “formal” trade, which in turn can
positively impact the livelihood of producers,
workers and their families and increase theavailability of safer, higher quality and more
affordable products for consumers and create
new job opportunities.

UNIDO - AEON SSDP Partnership•Businesses are under pressure from regulators andconsumers to adopt environmental, ethical andsocial principles in their supply chains in addition tocomplying with quality and safety requirements;•Individual MSMEs are often unable to enter formal
supply chains, so there are opportunities to achievecollective efficiencies and economies of scale andrespond to market requirements.
•Integration and inclusiveness process should lead toestablishing solid business linkages between buyers
and suppliers, can generate new business
opportunities and increase income for many lessdeveloped enterprises,•MSMEs have a strong demand for capacity building
but require to invest in human and technologicalcapacity

Benefits of the Sustainable Supplier Development Programme
For suppliers:•Supplies gain access to profitable new market
opportunities and are accepted as reliablesuppliers to establish long-lasting businesslinkages with potential buyers.
•Increase both job and income opportunities fordeveloping countries’ suppliers•Increase availability of safe products to achieve
higher consumers’ protection.
•Image improved as supplier of higher quality, safe
and sustainable products•Able to profitably respond to consumers andbuyers demand for ethical, social andenvironmental sustainability (through adaptationof UNIDO REAP) and quality and safety
requirements•Buyers address also CSR (social, economic andenvironmental)•Export opportunities through the global buyers•Value creation for customers;•Buyers invest in distribution and storage

For AEON:•Increase safe and sustainable local
sourcing;•Long-term partnerships with suppliers
and supplier base is expanded•Pro-poor and inclusive PPP development
scheme developed and implemented•Better buyers/supplier relation (price,negotiation...)•AEON up in the Sustainability index…..
•More effective risk management …..

Situation analysis
Problem assessment:
Malaysian suppliers (MSMEs and small farms)
face a number of challenges, which relate to:•the disappearance of their traditionalcustomers/outlets;•Competition from other suppliers/traders;•access to finance and new technology to meetmarket demands;•inadequate volume/quantity to meetbuyers/customer demands;•Knowledge/Good Practices to ensure continued
compliance with legal and market requirements
in areas such as quality, safety and social,
ethical and environmental sustainability;•knowledge and ability to meetbuyers/customers requirements regarding
reliability, consistency of supply, logisticalsystems and competitive pricing.

Project framework:- In line with the policies of the Governmentof Japan related to the programme “PublicPrivate Cooperation for Accelerated Growth”
and the New Growth Strategy (2010),
recognizing the importance of utilizing official
development assistance in the overseas
deployment of integrated infrastructure systems.
- In line with OECD countries policies, which
now focus on both PPP and sustainableproduction and trade encompassing
environmental, social and ethical issues.
- In line with Malaysia policies and MDGs,
namely MDG1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty andHunger, MDG3 Promote Gender Equality andEmpower Women, MDG7 Ensure
environmental Sustainability & MDG8 Developa Global Partnership for Development.
- AEON sustainability, quality and safety
objectives

Situation analysis
Developing the supply-side through clustering and upgrading of MSMEs to foster
networking and collective and individual actions to improve management, quality, safety,production and sustainability practices with an impact on their overall business and social
performance and reliability.
• UNIDO’s role is to provide technical know-how on upgrading clusters of suppliers and supply
chains and on quality, safety, productivity and sustainability and conformity assessment issues
and project management- Specifically, the project will focus on PPP with AEON in Malaysia, with a focus on food/non-food sector;- Actions, responsibilities and resources: identification and diagnostics of clusters and supply chains, addressing issues
related to local community-based awareness on quality, pricing and sustainability and assessment of schemes for managing
unsold but fit-for-use items from the supermarket chains, in addition to possibly developing a “social retailing/waste
minimization“ concept in the country.
- Achievable by matching the demand of buying clusters (supermarkets, manufacturers and government procuremententities) and the offer of the selling clusters (local producers) taking into account the needs of local and global consumers.
- UNIDO in-depth knowledge of the GFSI Global markets Protocol (involved in the design and testing) and availableexpertise (training material, assessment tools, HR);- Through REAP tool UNIDO will upgrade suppliers in terms of ethical, social and environmental sustainability and will assist
them in implementing international CSR best practices.
- Special attention will be given to integrating business objectives with sustainable social development at enterprise,cluster and country level.

Situation analysis
Counterpart Absorptive Capacity Assessment :-AEON Japan has indicated strong interest in partnership with UNIDO on SSDP (primary production, food andnon-food), similar to ongoing UNIDO cooperation with METRO Group.
- The Consumer Goods Forum through its Global Food Safety Initiative GFSI and the Global Social Compliance
Programme, GSCP is also associated to the process as AEON is active member of both initiatives-The project with AEON in Malaysia will deal with current and potential suppliers.

National counterpart institutions:
1. Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) through Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation
Malaysia (SME Corp): central point of reference for information and advisory services for all SMEs inMalaysia;-As the main counterpart of the project, SME Corp will be the chair of the Steering Committee which has an important
responsibility of setting the direction of the project;- SME Corp will promote the project with selected sectors of SMEs in Malaysia and mobilize their participation in the project.
-SME Corp will also help in promoting any policies introduction or adjustments arising/recommended by the project.

2. Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM): key focal point for those seeking links with Malaysian
manufacturers for investment, trade and services-3. Other key institutions (HDC, MPC, SIRIM..) will be also integrated in the project to ensure full capacity
building and sustainability

SSDP in Malaysia: 1. Basic information
Development objective: implement a Sustainable Supplier Development Programme following a pro-poor andinclusive PPP scheme to enable clusters of suppliers (MSMEs and farms) in Malaysia to gain access to profitable
new market opportunities (AEON and other retailers).
Target beneficiaries:- Malaysian suppliers (MSMEs and small farms) receiving support in conformity assessment & upgrading throughthe GFSI Global Market Protocol, sustainable development by GSCP/REAP/CSR and business linkages with AEON;-Local communities through awareness raising and training enabling them to improve handling of purchased
products and increase consumer protection and durability.
Origin of proposal:
Following the successful cooperation on SSDP with METRO Group and projects implemented in Egypt, Russia andIndia, MOFA (Japan) has endorsed UNIDO concept to implementing a SSDP in Malaysia in cooperation with AEON.
Budget and funding:- MOFA has allocated USD 500,000 to implement a joint project with UNIDO and AEON initiating with their
suppliers in Malaysia with possibility to expand to other countries/partners-National counterparts will contribute to the project in-kind, office space, staff and logistics.
Duration: 18 months starting 1 September 2012 – 28 February 2014

Project Management: time frame and steering committee
Activity
1.1.1.
1.2.1
1.2.2
1.2.3
1.2.4
1.2.5
1.2.6

Months
1
X

23

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1718

X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X
X

1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.3.4
1.3.5

X
X

1.4.1
1.4.2

X
X

1.4.3

X

1.4.4

XX

X

X

1.4.5

X

X

X

X

X

X

1.4.6
2.1.1
2.1.2

- Halal Industry Development
Corporation (HDC)- Malaysia Productivity
Corporation (MPC)

X
X

X
X

X
X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Members of the Steeringcommittee: SME Corp(Chair), MITI, FMM, AEON
Malaysia, UNIDO andJapanese selected
institutions

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

- SIRIM: National Standards
and Certification Institution

Sustainability and Upscaling• UNIDO has the capacity to implement this SSDP in Malaysia,
which follows the same approach implemented by UNIDO withMETRO Group in Egypt, Russia and India and now being
expanded to H&M, IKEA…….
• The project will deal with AEON current and potential suppliers inMalaysia and with the local communities were the supplier
operate• The project will build on and utilize the international capacities
expertise of UNIDO, AEON and the Japan government andexplore opportunities to work with other buyers and it will
identify synergies with other initiatives such as the GEF project,which is currently under implementation in Malaysia.
• Strong emphasis will be placed on strengthening Malaysianhuman and institutional capacities• At a later stage the project could be expanded to other countries
in the region and also to other Japanese retailers andmanufacturers members of the Consumer Goods Forum and ofother business associations

Members from JapanThe Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is a global, parity-based industry network, driven byits members. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of over 400 retailers,manufacturers, service providers and other stakeholders across 70 countries and reflects
the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Forummember companies have combined sales of EUR 2.5 trillion. Their retailer andmanufacturer members directly employ nearly 10 million people with a further 90 million
related jobs estimated along the value chain.

THANK YOU FOR YOURATTENTION!

Contact details:
Gerardo Patacconi: g.patacconi@unido.org