A huge surge in online shopping during the pandemic has been a savior for retailers, but it comes at a price.

The Better Buying Institute has released the 2020 Better BuyingTM Index Report, underscoring the importance of better purchasing practices by brands and retailers in meeting post-COVID demand and protecting supply chain workers during pandemic recovery. Twenty-two brands and retailers invited more than 2,000 global suppliers to participate in the annual survey, which examines the impact of company purchasing practices – such as planning and forecasting, cost and cost negotiation, and payment and terms – on profitability, business relationships and working conditions. The report, released last week, found that several brands had made meaningful improvements to their purchasing practices over the past year, especially related to planning and forecasting – which will not only yield benefits in terms of production efficiency and reduced financial pressure on manufacturers, but also help suppliers maintain a more stable workforce and decrease their reliance on temporary labor or excessive overtime to flex their production capacity with unexpected increases or decreases in orders. This is especially important as brands weather unexpected supply chain disruptions such as the pandemic. “Unplanned disruptions like COVID-19 tend to cause extreme reactions from buyers attempting to minimize their exposure to short-term financial risk – reactions that often do not consider the ripple effect on suppliers and workers and the other resulting risks,” said Dr. Marsha Dickson, President of the Better Buying Institute. “While the impacts of the pandemic have certainly created new challenges in global supply chains, problematic purchasing practices are nothing new and must be addressed in order to meet rebounding consumer demand and protect decades of sustainability progress.”