WHY EXPORTERS SHOULD REGISTER ON THE SIZA PLATFORM?

SIZA, the Sustainability Initiative of South Africa, i.e. a non-profit membership based programme designed to assist producers and other stakeholders in the value chain, to demonstrate ethical labour practice compliance whilst minimising costs.  It is a South African standard, developed, owned and operated in South Africa but aligned to Global best practices through the GSCP (Global Social Compliance Programme). SIZA aims to become a one-stop solution for producers by supplying one standard and one audit irrespective of the market or retailer a producer chooses to supply.

SIZA membership is growing at a pace in South Africa, and we have an effective and modern platform with more than 3 000 members registered currently who benefit from and rely on the programme. Both the industry and retailers see SIZA as a solution for the fruit industry to manage international ethical labour practice requirements, providing proof of legal compliance. Through the world-class MySIZA platform, SIZA provides visibility throughout the value chain to retailers and exporters on their members. To optimise this functionality, it is essential that all role players need to be registered on the MySIZA platform.

Therefore, we encourage all exporters to register on MySIZA to build the link from the producer to the retailer. Exporters need to register and get their growers to link them for visibility. This will ensure that exporters get access to value chain information sent regularly from the SIZA office.

Benefits for Exporters registered on MySIZA:

  • Being visible on the platform to producers without any effort. This can be a free marketing platform for you as an exporter, as your name as an exporter will be visible to all the providers (members) on the SIZA Platform.
  • Risk management in the supply base, allowing exporters to view suppliers’ results on the data system and receive information from self-assessments and audit results, including:
    • Indicators of where and what the risks are (e.g., sites, areas, types of non-compliances)
    • General profiles and trends of their supply base (monitoring risk, improvement)
  • Automatic tracking of corrective actions after suppliers' audits with reminders sent to producers (and exporters) if non-conformances are not completed
  • Being part of a South African-based industry initiative protects individual stakeholders by preventing arbitrary assurance initiatives from being imposed in the future
  • Building a value chain link so that exporters and retailers can have visibility on all the players in the value chain
  • A data platform with a wealth of information and statistics which can assist the fruit industry to build credibility throughout the value chain.

How to register:

Go to the SIZA website:  www.siza.co.za and click on the "Register" button 

Please remember, as soon as you are registered and your profile is active, you have to request your producers (suppliers) to link you as an exporter on their profile.  If you are registered on MySIZA, your company's name will appear on the Exporters list on member SAQs, and you will be visible to all the producers who are members of SIZA. 

 If you as an exporter, would like to have a training session or just a peek at what the Platform is capable of, please contact the SIZA office, and we will arrange it according to your availability.

Confidentiality to you as an Exporter:

The information on the platform is confidential. It will not be possible for any role players outside your specific link between the grower and yourself as an exporter to have any visibility as to who is part of your specific chain. Only you can see your relevant information.