Business was booming for the literacy firm Raising A Reader®, a nonprofit that helps underprivileged children learn to read—until a routine test of the tote bags the company supplies to low-income families reported extraordinarily high levels of lead in the bag’s lining. Dagoba Organic Chocolate similarly hit turbulence after a routine test of its premium chocolate in 2005 found unacceptable levels of lead.
In this panel discussion, part of the Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains conference convened in 2008 by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, entrepreneurs detail how they traced product safety problems to their suppliers, rectified the errors, and rode through such crises to stay in business. The key ingredient to solving and preventing such problems, the panelists stress, is maintaining good relationships with suppliers.
Mark Dwight is the founder and CEO of Rickshaw Bagworks, Inc., a San Francisco-based manufacturer of messenger bags, computer carrying cases, and lifestyle luggage. Dwight was formerly the CEO of Timbuk2 Designs. Previously, he worked at Cisco Systems. Dwight has a BS in mechanical engineering and an MBA, both from Stanford University. He currently serves on the board of directors of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and Mavericks Surf Ventures.
Carol Welsh Gray is founding executive director of Raising A Reader®, three-time winner of the Fast Company Magazine Award for Entrepreneurship. In 33 states, the program prepares at-risk children for kindergarten success. As an early pioneer of “venture philanthropy,” Gray adapted venture capitalist practice to the nonprofit world with a track record of eight acclaimed social innovations. She founded the Center for Venture Philanthropy at the former Peninsula Community Foundation, now Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Kevin O'Marah is chief strategy officer of AMR Research, where he has led global supply chain research since 2000 in publishing seminal work on sustainability, product innovation, and the AMR Supply Chain Top 25. He was previously vice president at Oracle and a strategy consultant in London, Washington, and Warsaw. A graduate of Boston College, Oxford University, and Stanford Graduate School of Business, O'Marah speaks at industry events and has been featured in business publications including Financial Times, Fortune, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, CNBC Squawk Box, and Bloomberg.
Frederick Schilling founded Dagoba Organic Chocolate in 2001. Guided by a desire to utilize cacao to impact the world in a positive way, he aimed his business to promote environmental conservation/rehabilitation and farmer welfare. Schilling regularly travels to producing countries to locate high-quality cacao, establish direct and equitable trading partnerships, collaborate on post-harvest processing, and support self-sustaining social and environmental programs. The company uses artisan methods to craft this cacao into exceptional products, and integrates ecological practices across all operations.
Sonia Syngal is vice president of production and supply chain for Gap, Inc. She joined the company in 2004 as vice president of sourcing strategy and services. In 2006, she transitioned to the outlet division as vice president of production and supply chain to lead all aspects of production, sourcing, and technical design. Previously, Syngal spent nine years at Sun Microsystems, where she held leadership roles in supply management, logistics, and manufacturing. Sonia holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Kettering University, and an MS in manufacturing systems from Stanford University.
Resources
This free podcast is from our Responsible Supply Chains series.
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