Supply chain transparency
A strategy for disclosing supply chain and sourcing information to stakeholders. The term does not itself create or validate a disclosure.
Supply chain terminology glossary
Supply chain transparency is the strategy for disclosing supply chain and sourcing information to stakeholders.
This definition distinguishes supply chain transparency from traceability and supply chain mapping. It does not collect, create, request, verify, validate, disclose, publish, share, map, trace, monitor, assess, certify, approve, score, manage, or decide any supply-chain information or outcome.
Supply chain transparency is the strategy for disclosing supply chain and sourcing information to stakeholders. Business for Social Responsibility describes transparency in terms of what data is disclosed, to whom, and when. The term does not itself show whether information is complete or correct, create a disclosure, validate a claim, establish compliance, or determine a supply-chain, sourcing, sustainability, regulatory, or business conclusion. Read the BSR explanation.
Three related terms
Related terms do not establish a disclosure or claim.
Transparency language may appear beside traceability and supply chain mapping. The terms can clarify a discussion without creating a record, determining what to share, verifying a supplier, substantiating a claim, deciding a disclosure, or establishing compliance.
Supply chain traceability
BSR describes traceability as tracking the provenance and journey of products and inputs. Traceability and transparency are related but distinct concepts.
Supply chain mapping
BSR describes mapping as creating a picture of companies and organizations in a supply chain at each tier. A map is distinct from a transparency strategy.
Why context matters
A term does not establish what information should be shared.
The important distinction
A glossary defines the strategy. It does not create a disclosure.
BSR distinguishes transparency, traceability, and mapping as concepts for discussing supply-chain information. That description provides vocabulary, not a supplier record, product history, sourcing disclosure, claim, compliance assessment, verification result, or decision for a specific organization.
Disclosure, traceability, context
A term does not verify or publish supply-chain information.
Supply-chain discussions may involve suppliers, products, ingredients, facilities, locations, shipments, records, sourcing, claims, disclosure, traceability, mapping, sustainability, food safety, and requirements. This page does not collect, create, request, verify, validate, disclose, publish, share, map, trace, monitor, assess, certify, approve, score, manage, or decide any of them.
A source note
Shared terminology can help name a supply-chain question.
BSR describes supply chain transparency as a strategy for disclosing supply chain and sourcing information to stakeholders and distinguishes it from traceability and mapping. That supports a plain-language definition; it does not resolve a disclosure, claim, compliance, sourcing, sustainability, or operational question.
Keep the definition and the disclosure decision separate.
A source can explain a term. It cannot determine what information exists, is reliable, may be shared, is required, supports a claim, meets a requirement, or is appropriate to disclose.
Glossary boundary: This page does not collect, create, request, verify, validate, disclose, publish, share, map, trace, monitor, assess, certify, approve, score, manage, or decide any supplier, product, source, ingredient, facility, location, shipment, record, claim, compliance, sustainability, food-safety, regulatory, legal, financial, procurement, or operational matter.
What this glossary does not decide
This educational definition does not determine any supplier, product, source, ingredient, facility, location, shipment, record, claim, stakeholder, contract, privacy, security, compliance, sustainability, food-safety, regulatory, legal, financial, procurement, operational, or business status; collect, create, request, verify, validate, disclose, publish, share, map, trace, monitor, assess, certify, approve, score, manage, or decide any information, record, disclosure, claim, requirement, or action; or provide compliance, disclosure, due-diligence, procurement, sustainability, legal, regulatory, or operational advice.
Source note
References for this definition
This source supports the terminology on this page. It is not a substitute for an organization’s own records, contracts, qualified advisers, applicable requirements, or decisions.
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