Conducting Business

CHOOSE LANGUAGE:

Spanish Español  • French Francais  •  Chinese 名词  •   Korean 한국인

Italian Italiano  •  Thai ไทย  •  Portuguese Português  •  Vietnamese

 

Kohler Co. and each associate have the mission of contributing to a higher level of gracious living for those who are touched by our products and services. Our suppliers are considered an integral part of our business and are therefore a critical link to the fulfillment of our mission. This conducting business page provides materials and requirements for how our suppliers are expected to conduct business.

 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Each business transaction is governed by the following terms and conditions specific to the site to which goods or services are provided.

 

SUPPLIER CODE OF CONDUCT

Kohler Co. is committed to lawful, ethical and fair practices in all operations, and we conduct business with suppliers who share that commitment. This Supplier Code of Conduct applies to all entities doing business with Kohler Co. and communicates our expectations that our suppliers will practice the highest legal, moral and ethical standards when conducting our affairs to contribute to our mission of providing a higher level of gracious living to those touched by our products and services. Suppliers must certify to the Supplier Code of Conduct.

 

SUPPLIER ETHICS

Longstanding traditions of high moral conduct and ethical standards are basic to our conduct of business. Honesty and integrity are core values that we must observe with our supplier relationships and is demonstrated by our Supplier Code of Conduct. Dishonest, fraudulent or illegal activities such as theft, embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of property or creation of false documentation are strictly prohibited. Further, irregularities or misrepresentations in business transactions must be avoided.

If you have questions, concerns or wish to report a suspected violation please contact our Ethics Helpline by e-mail (ethics.helpline@kohler.com) or by phone:  

  • In the U.S.: 877-286-7893 or 920-457-4441 extension 77958
  • Outside the U.S., dial your country’s AT&T access code then dial 877-286-7893 (Find AT&T access codes at http://business.att.com/bt/access.jsp)

More information is also available at https://kohler.alertline.com/gcs/welcome.

 

GLOBAL SUPPLIER QUALITY MANUAL

The manual conveys core minimum quality requirements and expectations for all suppliers of production materials, products and services to the family of businesses owned directly or indirectly by Kohler Co.

SUPPLIER CHANGE REQUEST

Kohler Co. must approve any product or process changes having the potential to affect the fit, form or function of the products purchased from you. Approval for the requested change must be gained from Kohler Co. prior to making any changes through the change request form.

        •   English (PDF)
        •   Spanish Español (PDF)
        •   French Francais (PDF)
        •   Italian Italiano (PDF)
        •   Mandarin 名词 (PDF)
        •   Thai ไทย (PDF)
        •   Korean 한국인 (PDF)
        •   Portuguese Português (PDF)
        •   Russian Pусский (PDF)
        •   Arabic (PDF)

SUSTAINABILITY AND PRODUCT TRANSPARENCY

Kohler Co. is actively working to make the world more sustainable through our innovative products and services. Through our work, we aim to improve the positive societal impacts of our products across their lifecycle, including supplier operations, manufacturing, use, and end of life. We are aggressively working to reduce our environmental impact around greenhouse gas emissions, water use, material valuation, and toxicity. As our suppliers are often a large part of the life cycle impact of our products, we expect suppliers to join us on the journey to  reduce negative impacts in the pursuit of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Kohler is also committed to product transparency in order to share material health and environmental impacts with our customers. As many of our products have supplied components, suppliers are expected to provide requested information in order to help Kohler to meet these goals. Resources for what supplier sustainability means to Kohler can be found in the Supplier Guidance document below.

For more information about sustainability and transparency, please see the resources below:

https://www.kohlercompany.com/sustainability/

kohler.com/transparency

Supplier Sustainability Guidance

Data Collection Template


RESTRICTED MATERIALS LIST

Kohler Co. is committed to the quality and safety of our products and the well-being of the consumers who use them. This commitment to safety includes the ingredients and materials used in our products.

Kohler Co. maintains a Restricted Materials List (RML) to ensure consistent, global practices both within our operations and with our supply base.  Kohler Co. continuously monitors global regulatory agencies regarding restrictions of potential product ingredients to ensure content of the Restricted Materials List remains current. The RML document is intended to inform Kohler Co. Suppliers of the minimum requirements that must be adhered to in order to meet current regulatory requirements and public safety expectations.

 

CONFLICT MINERALS

In August 2012, as required by Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act "the Dodd-Frank Act", the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed reporting requirements upon Public traded companies, with respect to "Conflict Minerals." Conflict Minerals include Tungsten, Tantalum, Tin, or Gold coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or/an adjoining country.

It is the intention of Kohler Co. to comply with this act with a compliance program across our supply base, with the ultimate aim to enable designation of all manufactured products of Kohler Co., and its subsidiaries, as "Conflict Free." This includes an internal due diligence process aimed at identifying and reducing risks with respect to supplier sources of 3TG minerals from the DRC Zone.

In addition, we revised our Supplier Code of Conduct, and will continually look for other improvement opportunities.

 

DATA PRIVACY

Kohler Co. is committed to complying with data privacy regulations by providing for protection, transfer, access, and storage of personally identifiable information (PII) and conducts business with suppliers that share that commitment. This includes, but is not limited to, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).

Personally Identifiable Information is any information that alone, or when combined with other data, can be used to identify someone as a person and includes, but is not limited to name, national ID or other ID number, location data, online data such as cookies, or physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social characteristics.

Kohler Co. regularly reviews how we collect, view, handle, store, and use Personally Identifiable Information of anyone in contact with us, including customers, consumers, suppliers, distributors, and current and potential employees, to ensure privacy regulations compliance in all countries.

 

ON-SITE CONTRACTOR CLAUSES

Kohler Co. is committed to providing a safe working environment for its associates and any supplier employees or contractors operating at our facilities. Kohler's On-Site Contractor Clauses apply whenever a supplier is performing services or working on our facilities to ensure the supplier complies with all safety requirements. 

 

ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT

Kohler Co. is continually striving to improve upon its communication and business efficiency with suppliers by utilizing Electronic transaction processes. Kohler Co. has deployed Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to replace many of our paper or fax based communication methods. In addition, we have enabled a Supplier Web Portal that provides suppliers access to current long-term planning requirements, product inventory levels, open purchase orders, blocked invoice reports and payment status inquiries on-demand.

 

BARCODING

Kohler Co. utilizes a barcode program for all of its suppliers. This barcode program enhances the ability of our Receiving Departments to process product from our valued suppliers. Due to the enormous amount of product being received into Kohler Co., we have developed guidelines regarding the Barcode Label / Pallet Manifest layout and placement. All barcode labels for US bound products should comply with ANSI MH10.8M or AIAG standards and are to be in Code 39.

 

IMPORT COMPLIANCE

  • Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT)
    Suppliers importing into the United States must submit a completed questionnaire annually to maintain our CTPAT membership.
  • International Wood Packing Rules
    Any supplier shipping product into the United States that includes wood packing is required to comply with this regulation.
    Wood Packing Material Import Final Rules (PDF)
  • International Shipping Instructions
    Any foreign supplier shipping product into the United States should follow these Import Shipping Instructions.
    Kohler Import Shipping Instructions (PDF)
  • Commercial Invoice Requirements
    Any foreign supplier shipping product into the United States must comply with these Commercial Invoice Requirements.
    Commercial Invoice requirements for US Imports (PDF)

 

CALIFORNIA TRANSPARENCY IN SUPPLY CHAINS ACT OF 2010

On January 1, 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657) went into effect in the state of California. The act seeks the elimination of slavery and human trafficking from product supply chains and requires that companies disclose their efforts to ensure that their supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking.  As a responsible corporate citizen, Kohler Co. strives to ensure that human rights are upheld for our employees and all workers in our supply chain. We strive to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are absent from our supply chain through the following:

  • We require suppliers who want to enter our supply base to certify that they do not use child or slave labor, or engage in human trafficking.  When a supplier wants to join our supply base, it is required to complete a profile form which specifically requires that it does not use child or slave labor, or engage in human trafficking. If a supplier is unwilling to certify that it does not use child or slave labor, or that it does not engage in human trafficking, we do not permit such supplier into our supply base. While we do not currently undertake assessments to verify such certifications, each supplier profile form, including the certification that they do not use child or slave labor, or engage in human trafficking, is reviewed by Kohler Procurement employees.
  • We have a Supplier Code of Conduct.  Such Supplier Code of Conduct establishes guidelines for the standard of ethical behavior we expect from our suppliers, which states that a supplier may not use child, slave or forced labor.  As each new supplier enters our supply base, it is required to certify in writing that it is in compliance with this Supplier Code of Conduct. We also have the capabilities to re-validate existing suppliers at periodic points through our supplier certification system. The Supplier Code of Conduct is available at Kohler.com.
  • We have an established supplier audit program that incorporates supplier certification items into this process for targeted suppliers. These supplier audits are conducted internally by our Kohler supply chain team members.  These supplier audits may be unannounced.  Non-compliance with our company standards can result in corrective action or termination.
  • All Kohler Procurement employees receive training on the Supplier Code of Conduct.  Such training covers our policy of requiring each supplier to certify that it cannot use child, slave or forced labor but it does not currently include how to mitigate associated risks from our suppliers. Employees and contractors failing to meet our company standards regarding slavery and human trafficking are subject to corrective action or termination.
  • Any Kohler employee, supplier or concerned individual can anonymously report a potential ethical violation, including human trafficking by a Kohler supplier using the website https://www.kohlerethics.com

All allegations will be thoroughly investigated by an internal team that includes Supply Management representatives. Allegations that are found to be credible will be dealt with as appropriate, which may include elimination from our supply-base.

 

INTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Kohler Co. educates employees responsible for sourcing products on how to identify and respond to social and environmental responsibility issues, such as forced labor or child labor. All associates and contractors of Kohler Co. are also required to comply with our Business Ethics, which includes provisions aimed to ensure that these business partner or supplier operations are complying with all applicable laws.

Existing Suppliers

If you are an existing supplier, you may log in to the new Supplier Management Platform (SMP) here.

LOGIN

Instructions

Learn more