Empowering Suppliers

Fatima Santos's Story

“We support suppliers in their ESG journey because it's the right thing to do and to improve the supply chain”
“What we’re trying to do in this journey is take little steps. Although it's not easy, we try our best." 

Driving Sustainable Change Through Collaborative  Partnerships Collaborative Partnerships

Fatima is Quality & Sustainability Area Leader at Zippy. By integrating quality and sustainability, she ensures products are safe, durable, and ethically sourced. Her work empowers suppliers to embrace ESG principles, driven by the belief that supporting them is about doing what’s right for the supply chain, not seeking immediate returns.

Zippy is Sonae’s children’s retail brand, specializing in baby and kids’ apparel and accessories. With over two decades of experience, Zippy is dedicated to offering practical, functional, and accessible designs that bring comfort and joy to families worldwide. Available in more than 40 countries, Zippy continues to grow with a commitment to making everyday life easier for parents and children alike.

 

Zippy is part of the Sonae Group, a multinational company managing a diversified portfolio of businesses in retail, financial services, technology, real estate, and telecommunications.

 

Sector: Conglomerate

 

Employees: 700

 

Geography: Headquartered in Portugal, with operations globally

 

Website:  zippyonline.com

Challenges
faced

Navigating a complex, global supply chain while embedding sustainability was no small feat for Fatima.

 

With 232 tier-one suppliers spread across regions like China, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, she faced various challenges in aligning ESG standards across diverse cultures and varying levels of awareness. Many suppliers prioritized immediate economic survival over long-term sustainability, making it difficult to engage them on key ESG issues.

Ensuring consistency in audits was another major hurdle. While Fatima’s team developed an internal app to streamline audits, scaling these assessments across the vast supplier base – especially beyond tier one – proved challenging. The introduction of new due diligence legislation further complicated matters, requiring them to monitor and audit suppliers deeper in the chain, down to tiers two, three, and four.
Finally, ensuring transparency and obtaining reliable data across the entire supply chain remained an ongoing challenge. Verifying certifications and tracking product origins, particularly with suppliers in the deeper tiers, was complex and required innovative solutions to ensure accountability at every level.

Actions
taken

Fatima and her team are tackling the complex supply chain challenges by taking small, strategic steps to raise awareness and drive change.

 

Recognizing that each supplier faces unique struggles depending on their location and circumstances, they offer a personalized perspective, engaging suppliers in meaningful conversations about the conditions they work in.

 

Fatima’s team focuses on holding suppliers to the same standards across all Zippy’s departments. By aligning the sourcing, product, quality, and sustainability departments, they create a consistent approach that makes it easier for suppliers to meet expectations.

"What we are trying to do in this journey is to do little steps. Although it's not easy, we try our best. That's why we have developed a guidelines manual—it's our environment and social guidelines—and have sent it to all our suppliers.“
“Making these decisions at a company level brings clarity to suppliers and creates scale.”
"We are helping them to improve their conditions, and we are not leaving in the first audit. If the audit fails, we are giving them a chance to improve.”

Fatima supports suppliers in their sustainability journey by providing the right information, training, and a personalized action plan. These trainings are tailored to each supplier, taking local conditions into account, and are often conducted during low seasons to avoid disruption. The training programs are designed for both, suppliers and Zippy’s auditors, ensuring alignment and continuous improvement. Fatima focuses on areas that have the greatest impact, helping suppliers scale their social and environmental contributions.

 

Additionally, Fatima introduced a responsible exit plan to guide Zippy when ending partnerships with suppliers. This ensures that any exits are handled ethically, giving suppliers time to find other clients and maintain business continuity, while still improving their practices.

Resonance
of impact

Fatima’s efforts to integrate sustainability within Zippy’s supply chain are laying the foundation for long-term improvements. Through her team’s ongoing support, including tailored training programs and personalized action plans, suppliers are becoming more engaged in the ESG process. These efforts, especially in regions where awareness around sustainability has been limited, are helping to raise standards and create stronger alignment with Zippy’s environmental and social goals. Meanwhile, the development of an internal audit app, alongside the ongoing audits, provides a clearer picture of where suppliers stand and where further improvements are needed. This focus on continuous improvement and engagement, rather than one-time compliance, has fostered a collaborative approach with suppliers.

“If we support suppliers more, they can give us more, although that should never be the purpose of our help.”
"To have more transparency for the company, for me, it's maybe to ensure that we are doing what's right."

Looking ahead, Fatima is focused on further strengthening Zippy’s supply chain through improved communication and greater transparency. One of her key priorities is to establish a dedicated platform for direct communication with suppliers. This platform would allow for real-time sharing of essential information, such as certifications and documentation on product origins, improving efficiency and accountability.

 

Additionally, Fatima aims to enhance transparency across Zippy’s entire supply chain She envisions the adoption of digital product passports, a technology-enabled solution that would allow Zippy to monitor and map its supply chain more comprehensively. This innovation will help ensure greater accountability, both internally and externally, as Zippy continues to align its business operations with ESG principles.

 

By focusing on these long-term goals, Fatima hopes to create a supply chain that not only meets global ESG standards but also drives meaningful, sustainable change across the industry.

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