service providers and vendors
livestock and poultry producer partners
paid to livestock and poultry producer partners
The nature of our business demands we work with a diverse set of suppliers that range from small family farm and ranch partners who supply us with livestock and poultry to large, multinational companies that manufacture and provide materials and services for our production facilities. We work in partnership with over 77,000 suppliers to ensure the highest-quality inputs.
Our vendors are part of JBS USA’s supply chain and contribute to our overall sustainability. Impacts related to the environmental and social pillars of sustainability differ for each of our unique suppliers based on the material they manufacture, the species of livestock or poultry they raise, and the service they provide. Our ability to directly affect these impacts is often outside of our immediate control; however, we strive to partner with suppliers who share our values and mission to achieve a more sustainable food supply.
As part of our efforts to minimize impacts in the supply chain, we developed a Supplier Code of Conduct. It ensures that suppliers meet or exceed our high standards when conducting business with JBS USA. The code covers human rights, forced labor, freedom of association and collective bargaining, minimum age for employment, equal employment opportunity, employment practices, health and safety, environmental issues and business integrity, which includes anti-corruption and bribery. Our 2020 goal was set for our U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico facilities and we have reminded all of our contracted suppliers of our code of conduct and reiterated the importance of compliance.
100% of our contracted suppliers agree to our Supplier Code of Conduct. We’re refocusing on this topic in our 2030 sustainability strategy.
We are committed to continually improving the sustainability of our business, our products and our supply chain. We understand that our responsibility spans beyond production under our direct control and that we must collaborate with our supplier partners to improve the overall sustainability of our supply chain.
Procurement for JBS USA, excluding livestock, is centralized through our corporate offices. The Head of Procurement leads several teams that are each responsible for certain products or services related to Packaging, Ingredients, Employee and Corporate Services, Energy, Facilities Services, Capital Expenditure and Equipment, and Maintenance, Repair and Operations. This structure allows us to maximize our supplier partnerships across the business and ensure consistency and uniformity.
Our approach to managing impacts within our supply chain includes consistent collaboration with our suppliers. All suppliers are contractually obligated to follow state laws and regulations. We also establish long-term relationships built on trust and shared values that contribute to continued progress both in our sourcing programs and sustainability goals.
All suppliers providing products or services that have direct contact with food are required to pass the ISNetworld and either Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) or British Retail Consortium (BRC) audits, or an equivalent certification and provide a letter of guarantee, or be assessed and approved by our Supplier Quality Team. Supplier Quality Team approval requirements for our raw material and food contact materials suppliers are based on a risk assessment that may include certification to a GFSI recognized scheme and / or an audit performed by a quality food safety auditor, and / or a completed JBS supplier questionnaire that confirms product safety, traceability and good manufacturing practices are in place. We defer to organizations like GFSI and BRC to evaluate the effectiveness of audits, collect feedback and make related adjustments. The letter of guarantee certifies that the food products are safely produced and are of consistent quality. We also require these suppliers to undergo an additional audit to confirm they’ve met these requirements.
We evaluate all potential suppliers based on several criteria, including compliance, commercial offering, supply flexibility and responsiveness, service, risk management, quality, price, reliability, financial capability, reputation and experience. We recognize that sourcing products, ingredients and services from within our communities helps further support local economies.
We are proud to partner with suppliers to ensure the quality, consistency and safety of our products. In the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, we have approximately 8,070 service providers and vendors with the average partnership spanning nine years. In Mexico, we work with over 2,000 service providers and vendors and our average partnership length is approximately seven years. In Europe, we partnered with more than 5,300 service providers and vendors for an average of more than seven years. In Australia, we have approximately 6,050 service providers and vendors.
In 2020, our U.S., Puerto Rican and Canadian teams purchased products and services worth more than $299 million from minority-owned businesses.
*Includes all U.S., Puerto Rican and Canadian facilities
Learn more about how our vendors, family farms and ranches are helping us achieve our supply chain goals.
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