CHARTER OF THE CREDIT MEDIATION OFFICE
AND CDAF, THE ASSOCIATION OF PURCHASING MANAGERS IN FRANCE,
GOVERNING THE RELATIONS BETWEEN MAJOR COMPANIES AND SMEs
PREAMBLE
A study of the cases submitted to the Credit Mediation office since its creation in November
2008 highlighted a certain number of issues in the relationships between SMEs and their
major customer companies.
With a view to remedy these issues, this Charter was jointly drawn up by the Credit Mediation
office and the association of purchasing managers in France (CDAF) to make the signatory
major companies commit to improving their relations with suppliers and especially with the
small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
By signing the charter, major purchasers assert their will to observe the best practices set forth
hereinafter and to exercise their responsibility within a context of mutual trust with suppliers,
by acknowledging and respecting each others’ rights and duties.
It is clearly understood for all signatories that:
-
-
all the commitments made through this Charter, and their implementation, are compliant
with the laws governing the market economy, with the European and national provisions
in matter of inter enterprises relations (Commercial code) and, for the companies and
entities concerned, with the laws governing public markets.
some signatories already apply all or part of the Charter guidelines
it overall targets:
 businesses or entities with substantial purchasing volumes
 key purchases for both the purchaser and the seller (the term “key supplier”
designating in article 2 suppliers that sell one or more critical goods or services to
one of the purchaser’s core businesses)
THE “10 COMMITMENTS TO RESPONSIBLE PURCHASING”
1. Ensure financial fairness with suppliers
Responsible purchasing for a major purchaser consists in paying in accordance with the terms of the
LME act, in a strict and sincere manner. The signatories undertake to not distort the spirit of the law
and to refrain from using, with small and medium enterprises, such practices as:
─ imposing an excessive discount rate in return for compliance with the LME payment terms;
─ unilateral application of unreasonable deductions at the time of payment because of a dispute,
unless special contract provisions;
─ lack of information to the supplier in the event of a dispute;
─ voluntary delay in dispute settlement.
2. Facilitate collaboration between major purchasers and key suppliers
Major purchasers want to engage in such collaboration with their key suppliers which consists in, for
instance:
─ sharing the costs of product testing, final acceptance;
─ supporting their key-panel SMEs in the performance of their company (production, purchasing…)
─ help the SMEs use the existing systems in an optimal manner;
while always respecting the management of the companies.
Such an effort shall be undertaken in good faith by the customer and the supplier, possibly by way of
an agreement, excluding any practice that may be comparable to “gestion de fait” (mishandling of
public funds) and with the only purpose of establishing a partnership.
3. Reduce the risks of mutual dependency between purchasers and suppliers
Too high a purchaser’s weight in the business of a SME is a risk factor in the event of a sharp change
in order volumes. Therefore, all the actions the SMEs may undertake (diversification,
internationalization, skills improvement) shall be as many positive initiatives for the purchasers.
A purchaser’s disengagement shall be anticipated and progressive in order to take into account the
length of the relationship with the company and possible degree of dependency, their possibilities to
diversify their business or to adapt.
A supplier that acquires technical monopoly can de facto jeopardize a purchaser’s supply. The latter
will logically want a second supply source which may materialize, as a result of negotiation for
instance, in the form of granted license, normally remunerated.
4. Implicate the major purchasers in their sector
In this bilateral relationship with suppliers in their sector, major purchasers undertake to seek:
─ a trustful relationship with the company’s management, in particular with the CEO, who will
therefore be invited to give their customer the necessary visibility on their business;
─ implementation of forecast planning to give suppliers visibility by communicating in advance the
ordering stops and forecast levels of activity on the medium term and the long term, thus enabling
capability adjustments;
─ protection of the sector by avoiding, as much as possible, to suddenly reintroduce operations in
time of crisis, and being careful to maintain sub-contracting capabilities and expertise which will be
necessary at the time of business recovery and expansion.
Major customers shall pay attention to the consolidation of production networks, mostly in case of
technological advance and shall favour their international deployment.
5. Assess the total cost of the purchase
To assess competitiveness between the various proposals, major purchasers shall undertake to:
─ take into account all cost components (not just compare the price of the good or service, but
include all additional costs) like:
 related logistics costs directly supported by the buyer (shipping, storage…),
 necessary time for technical adjustments with travel costs
 training time and skill learning
 post sales costs for provision of equivalent services
 costs of quality and CSR auditing.
─ account for, notably in subcontracting, all the hazards associated with total cost
assessment like:






stoppage of supply
products and services conformity
risks linked to dispute settlement
currency fluctuations
social and political risks, not covered by insurance
reliability of after-sales services,
with the possible consequences in terms of loss of revenue and impact on the company reputation.
6. Acknowledge the environmental issue
Major purchasers must anticipate the challenges of sustainable development and especially the
environmental impacts of their purchasing policy, their supply sources and their goods/services
specifications so that they are prepared when facing the likely increase in statutory obligations in the
matter, future increases in fossil fuel costs or likely taxation of emissions:
end-of-life recycling
waste processing, pollution, energy consumption
carbon neutral
Major purchasers also have an exemplary role to play in making suppliers aware of their responsibility
as to sustainable development issues. The suppliers’ performance in the matter shall be included in the
supplier selection criteria.
7. Ensure company territorial responsibility
Every company is responsible for:
creating a network of relations which contributes to its development by ensuring good business
relations between customers and suppliers located on the same territory;
try, on the territory where they operate, to contribute as much as possible to the economic
activity.
8. Purchasing: a function and a process
Daily respect by a company of all these guidelines depends on the professionalism of its buyers who
must be:
trained to the purchasing business techniques;
personally committed to ethics, fairness and objectivity and avoid any situation that may cause
conflicts of interest;
in charge of ensuring open, free and loyal competition, a guarantee for efficiency based on the
following rules: free access to tenders, fair treatment of candidates, transparency and traceability
of processes, consideration for total cost as set out in part 5.
The same rules apply to purchases delegated to third parties.
9. A purchasing function in charge of globally managing supplier relationships
Within a major purchaser company, the purchasing players are not just the buyers, but also the
prescribers and users, who may be in daily contact with suppliers. The quality of the relationship with
suppliers is the result of team work, where every one’s contribution is decisive. It is a collective effort.
The Purchasing function leads or coordinates the whole commercial, financial and accounting
relationship with suppliers by:
leading a customer-supplier relationship based on mutual respect
implementing relevant means to manage suppliers
communicating on its purchasing policy with as much transparency as possible
preferring negotiation for settling commercial disputes
The Purchasing function leads or coordinates the suitable business plans to implement this
Charter, the monitoring of the related indicators and the necessary corrective actions.
The purchasers shall appoint one or more “SME contact persons” who may be contacted by
suppliers, when a dispute cannot be settled with the local buyer, in order to facilitate mediation.
10. Set a consistent remuneration policy for buyers
A buyer’s targets, both in-house and delegated buyers, possibly even the variable remuneration
system, shall include all these guidelines for responsible purchasing on the economic, financial,
environmental and territorial levels included in this Charter.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHARTER
CDAF and the Credit Mediation office shall cooperate to disseminate this charter and promote
its implementation in coordination with the signatories.
CDAF shall encourage all the purchasing managers joining the association to sign this charter.
For this purpose, they create a Steering Committee they shall chair together which shall meet
on a regular basis at least twice per year.
These meetings may possibly be used to amend this Charter.