Shared Growths with Suppliers

Grow Together System

KT is establishing a mutual growth system through which it can communicate, cooperate and benefit from win-win opportunities with suppliers. For this, the company installed a grow-together organization in 2010, through which it has communicated with suppliers and implemented diverse activities to improve their competitiveness. We are developing various grow-together programs to create shared value with suppliers so that we can lead a mutual growth culture for suppliers, strengthen the Korean telecom ecosystem and secure a presence in the global marketplace.

Grow Together Vision

Make a creative and competitive mutual
growth ecosystem

Innovative Cooperation

Support and co-work with suppliers Share
mutual growth vision and create such
environment Support 1st and 2nd tier
suppliers together

Fair Trade

Create fair trade environment
Regulate unfair business practices

6 Growth Areas with Grow Together
Financial Support
  • Full cash payment for goods received
  • Network loan
  • Provide funds to agencies
  • Grow-together support system (WinC)
  • Give financial support to contents suppliers
  • Invest in project of SMEs/startups
Purchase and
Market
Development
  • Demand forecast (supplies)
  • Help suppliers hold exhibition overseas
  • Enter overseas market together
  • Global Partner Day
  • Hold global business fair (supplies/construction)
  • Japan entry support center
  • Equipment confirmation system
Management
/Quality
Consulting
  • Suppliers’ vendor coaching(supplies - 2nd)
  • Suppliers’ SCM and support consulting (supplies)
  • Suppliers’ development capacity reinforcement consulting (S/W development)
  • Help get quality environment certification
  • Industrial innovation movement
  • Management Doctor
Technology and Development
  • Support technology transfer
  • Transfer patent without
  • consideration
  • Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA) Tech data deposit
  • Original proof of trade secret
Support
commercialization
of outside offer
  • Support commercialization of external ideas
  • Support trial application of external ideas
  • Partners Fair, RTC(Round Table of Convergence)
  • Develop new products with conditional purchase
  • Benefit Sharing
  • Mentoring venture/developer idea (SW/app development)
Recruitment and Education
  • Support job fair
  • Support education and training for small- and medium-sized suppliers

Sustainable SCM

Sustainable Supply Chain Policy

KT evaluates its sustainable management based on sustainable supply chain management policy, minimizes risks in the supply chain and promotes long-term mutual growth. The company established ‘sustainability guidelines for suppliers’ for the first time in the given domestic industry in December 2012 and has realized systematic sustainable SCM. The guidelines include KT willingness to expand sustainable management throughout its entire supply chain. It consists of 4 sections of business implementation principles, environmental management, corporate social responsibility and product sustainability and presents standards for sustainable management the suppliers expect from KT across 18 areas.

Section 1Business Execution
Principles
  • Governance
  • Ethical Management
  • Sustainable Management
  • Manage subcontractors
Section 2Environmental
Management
  • Environmental management system
  • Evaluate environmental performance
  • Climate change
  • Manage toxic substances
  • Water
  • Re-use waste
Section 3 Company’s Social
Responsibility and Role
  • Labor
  • Human rights
  • Manage safety
  • Spontaneous disclosure and external communication
Section 4Product
Sustainability
  • Product safety
  • Product Environmental Footprint
  • Product efficiency
  • Product recycling
Assess sustainable management of
suppliers and provide education

To realize improvement of supply chain sustainability pursued in the ‘sustainability guidelines for suppliers,’ KT introduced its sustainable management assessment for regular suppliers in 2013, which measures possible economic, environmental and social risks within the supply chain and manages them regularly. The evaluation indexes have been developed based on requirements of sustainable management by KT suppliers who were asked by the guidelines. Evaluation results are reflected in the annual unit assessment per supplier, and the level of suppliers’ sustainability is considered in the process of selecting suppliers or best suppliers and re-selecting suppliers. We also run sustainable management training programs for working-level employees since 2014, through which suppliers can share understanding on sustainable management and practice it in the field.