Apacer is not only devoted to fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities and responding to the needs of stakeholders, but also expects to grow together with its supplier partners, achieving continuous  progress in laws compliance, human rights, and environmental safety and health to reduce risks, building a strong enterprise constitution, realizing sustainable management and development together with partners, and establishing a "sustainable supply chain.”

We have begun planning in 2020 to gradually add ESG-oriented consideration to the systems for supplier selection, evaluation and rating, audit, coaching, and giving recognition to implement the sustainable ethos.

New supplier introduction evaluation

All newly introduced suppliers must be reviewed. The main evaluation items cover the economic and environmental aspects (as shown in the table below). We also conduct on-site audits according to the category and risk of suppliers, also, related departments such as production management, engineering, and quality assurance shall be convened to form a survey team to evaluate the suppliers' equipment and capabilities on site. For instance, outsourcers and PCB plants shall be audited on-site for RBA and process systems. The supplier introduction evaluation system encourages the supply chain partners to value and implement the sustainable operation of enterprises.

Regular evaluation of existing suppliers

Apacer continuously conducts annual evaluations on all raw material suppliers. The evaluation is conducted every quarter, every half year, or annually according to the supplier's category. Suppliers with material abnormalities or high risk shall receive on-site audits at least once a year.

Apacer continuously conducts annual evaluations on all raw material suppliers. The evaluation is conducted every quarter, every half year, or annually according to the supplier's category. Suppliers with material abnormalities or high risk shall receive on-site audits at least once a year.
For the evaluation methods, Apacer mainly conducts reviews on items including incoming inspection, production material abnormality,delayed delivery date, external customer complaints and the subsequent problem-solving attitude, and the improvement efficiency of the suppliers, dividing the suppliers into the 4 grades of A, B, C, and D according to the evaluation scores. 

In 2021, Apacer began to implement an online real-time evaluation system. Instead of manual evaluation conducted every three months or one year, the system can automatically conduct real-time evaluation every month. 

Apart from rating the grades of suppliers' according to the five major evaluation items, to evaluate the supplier's management ability for hazardous substances, in 2016, Apacer launched the "Supplier Green Rating System" based on the original supplier management process.
The "Approval Rate" and "Completion Efficiency of Expired Updates" from the uploaded supplier's RoHS test report are used as the basis for score calculation. The personnel in charge of procurement can adjust the evaluation and rating of suppliers according to the green rating results, thereby requiring suppliers to improve their Hazardous Substance Free (HSF) management ability to meet the latest international specifications and customer demands.

Apacer has introduced the QC 080000 Hazardous Substance Process Management System. Through the supplier management process, we ensure that the quality and stability of the company's products and our Hazardous Substance Free (HSF) management comply with international specifications and customers' needs. The raw materials provided by the supplier shall comply with the EU's RoHS and REACH specifications on the prohibition/restriction of environmentally hazardous substances and chemical substances. Meanwhile, the supplier must also sign the Environmental Protection Commitment Letters, provide raw material test reports, and complete the material survey reports to earn the qualification. 

Apacer simultaneously conducts risk evaluations by referring to the supplier's overall conditions, such as supply quality (ISO 9001), delivery date, price, green products capability (QC 080000), RBA policy implementation, etc., as we procure raw materials from suppliers in different regions and conduct supplier evaluations regularly. With the support of these policies, the stability of Apacer's product supply quality is ensured, allowing the satisfaction of customers' needs and the specification of Hazardous Substance Free (HSF).
Apacer deems local procurement as the principle, and is eager to keep the economic benefits of enterprise operations in Taiwan while reducing the carbon emissions generated by the transportation of raw materials. Currently, the number of local suppliers in Taiwan accounts for 87% of Apacer's suppliers, while the procurement budget allocated to local suppliers in Taiwan accounts for 50%.