Societe Generale awarded twice for its responsible supplier policy

Société Générale was awarded the Large Group Prompt Payment Prize yesterday, as part of the 3rd edition of the “Prompt Payment Conference and Awards” (Assises et des prix des délais de paiement) under the patronage of the French President, François Hollande, and supported by Emmanuel Macron, the Minister for the Economy, Industry and Digital Sector. In addition, Société Générale’s Responsible Supplier Relationship label has been renewed.

This prestigious award was given in recognition of Société Générale’s supplier policy, and in particular, the introduction of a 30-day payment programme for suppliers.

In line with its commitment over many years to an innovative approach and the simplification of its processes, Société Générale decided to go further than its legal obligation to settle invoices within 60 days, by making the major decision to pay its suppliers within 30 days.

To achieve this ambitious objective, Société Générale has streamlined its validation processes and adopted innovative solutions such as the e-invoice, which shortens the time between the supplier issuing the invoice and its receipt by our accounts department.

Thanks to these measures, by the end of 2015 the Bank had achieved an average weighted settlement period for its invoices of close to 30 days.

In addition, Société Générale’s Responsible Supplier Relationship label has been renewed, attesting to the Bank’s commitment to establishing long-term relationships with its suppliers that are based on trust. It was one of the first four large French companies to have received this label, in 2012.

Commitment to economic development

Société Générale, whose total purchasing was close to €6.5 billion in 2015, put in place a responsible purchasing policy some time ago, in line with the Bank’s commitments to contributing to economic and social development.

As the first bank to sign the Pacte PME (SME Pact) in December 2007, will now has continued to strengthen its commitment to SMEs. In 2015, more than 60% of the Group’s purchasing in France was placed with French SMEs.

Since 2010, the Group has also been a signatory to the Responsible Supplier Relationships Charter, which sets out ten commitments that create the foundations for a sustainable relationship between the signatory companies and their suppliers.

“Thanks to the responsible purchasing policy the Group adopted many years ago, we have been able to establish true partner relationships with our suppliers that are founded on trust and respect. This approach means that we co-contrust new relationships with our stakeholders, and the implementation of our initiative to settle invoices in under 30 days is a good example of this. This initiative contributes to achieving our ambition to be the relationship bank of reference. As a bank, our mission is to support the economy and the development of our customers and our suppliers”, commented Séverin Cabannes, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Société Générale.