Case Study: Kao Corporation achieves simplified, standardized global supply-chain management and stronger supplier relationships with Sedex

Kao finds Sedex makes life simpler for their supply chain

Kao Corporation, a global beauty-care manufacturer founded in 1887, faced a time-consuming, paper‑heavy approach to ethical and sustainable sourcing: sending bespoke self‑assessment questionnaires to suppliers that duplicated effort and burdened partners. To simplify this process, Kao joined Sedex in December 2014 and adopted Sedex’s platform components, including the standardised quality questionnaire, the SMETA audit protocol, multi‑tier supplier access and human rights due diligence tools.

Sedex delivered a standardised, global procedure that reduced duplicated assessments and supplier burden, strengthened Kao’s relationships with suppliers, and improved transparency across tiers. As a result, Kao reports clearer supplier engagement and endorses Sedex—calling for it to become a de‑facto standard—demonstrating practical operational and governance gains from using Sedex.

Kao Corporation

Takashi Matsuse

Vice President for Global Planning of Procurement