Safaricom - 2020 Sustainable Business Report

81 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS OUR STAKEHOLDERS CONCLUDING REMARKS No. of suppliers by category and spend FY20 FY19 FY18 FY17 Local suppliers 898 956 970 979 Foreign suppliers 197 182 194 193 Encouraging sustainable practices among our suppliers We continue to undertake performance evaluations of all our suppliers on a quarterly or bi-annual basis. Suppliers are measured against a variety of indicators including cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, flexibility, value-add, health and safety. A performance score is calculated for our suppliers. Supplier performance evaluations FY20 FY19 FY18 FY17 Suppliers evaluated 1 025 605 750 1 099 Average score 82.6% 80% 78% 82% We are pleased to report that there was a 69 per cent increase in the number of supplier evaluations conducted during the year, and that average supplier performance improved from 80 per cent to 82.61 per cent over the course of the year. We attribute this to positive relationships with our suppliers and heightened awareness of the purpose of our evaluations and processes, the Symfact contract management portal becoming operational towards the end of the year, and the fact that suppliers are now proactive and promptly seeking performance feedback for their own improvement purposes. We continue to insist that all suppliers sign up to the Code of Ethics for Business in Kenya as well. The Code is based on the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). We maintained a similar level to FY19 this year, with of 97 per cent of suppliers with running contracts having signed up to the Code. Suppliers are not invited to take up new business opportunities until they sign up to the Code. Delivering value to our suppliers Our overall engagement with our suppliers has improved during the year. We implemented the supplier recognition framework, which culminated in our inaugural Safaricom Annual Partner Awards (SAPA) in April 2019 – a recognition and awards ceremony that was received positively by our community of suppliers. The event allows us to hear supplier concerns and exchange ideas and information with them. Prior to the awards ceremony, we conducted the Supplier Satisfaction Survey to assess their perceptions and levels of satisfaction and confidence regarding Safaricom. We use the feedback gained through the survey to adjust our processes and offerings to partners. The outcomes of the FY20 survey were an NPS of 73 and an overall satisfaction level of 91 per cent (same scores as FY19). The main reasons cited for the maintained high levels of satisfaction were the fact that suppliers can now invoice directly as soon as there is confirmation of completion of work, which has resulted in even more prompt payments, and our collaboration with three banks to provide initial and working capital financial support to suppliers that have been awarded contracts. Areas for improvement that were raised by suppliers during the survey included delays in issuance of contracts and purchase orders and the poor levels of communication provided by Safaricom employees. We also engaged with our suppliers during a mini-forum in December 2020. The agenda for the event included our strategy and goals, the importance of committing to the UNGC Code of Ethics for Business in Kenya, and how to use digital technologies to reinvent and accelerate businesses. The mini-forum also allowed suppliers to raise their issues and concerns with us and these have been shared with our entire supplier community since. Women in Business We launched our Women in Business (WIB) in March 2017 in recognition of the significant impact empowering women-owned businesses can have on society and reducing inequalities. As part of the WIB programme, we have set ourselves the ambitious target of spending 10 per cent of our total procurement with women-owned and women-led businesses. We continued to focus on building the capacity of WIB companies during the year, enabling them to participate in tenders and, specifically, secure sub-