Supplier Ratings built to tell a resilient vendor from a risky one.
SYNE rates suppliers, vendors and distributors against one independent standard - from financial stability and compliance screening through to Nth-tier visibility and continuous Supplier Risk Ratings across your entire panel.
From onboarding to continuous monitoring, in one platform.
From vendor-level financial and compliance screening to market-wide benchmarking and independent ratings, SYNE Ratings gives procurement, risk and compliance teams the intelligence to onboard, monitor and manage suppliers with confidence.
Independent Ratings
AAA–D ratings for suppliers, vendors and distributors, built on financial stability, compliance, environmental and continuity criteria.
Supplier Risk Ratings
Continuous risk scoring for tier-1 and Nth-tier suppliers, flagging emerging financial, labor and environmental risk in near real time.
Financial Stability Screening
Independent financial viability scoring to flag insolvency, liquidity and concentration risk before it disrupts your supply chain.
Site & Desktop Verification
On-site audits and desktop document verification feeding directly into each supplier's compliance and data quality score.
Supply Chain Mapping
Nth-tier supplier mapping to extend visibility beyond direct, tier-1 relationships into sub-suppliers and raw-material sourcing.
Market-Wide Benchmarking
Independent sector and category benchmarks for supplier risk, positioning your panel against comparable peer portfolios.
If any of these describe you, a rating is worth more than a self-assessment questionnaire.
Supplier Ratings and Supplier Risk Ratings extend independent, verified scrutiny to every participant in the supply chain - from a single vendor to a multi-tier global panel.
Bankable supplier ratings
Independent scoring that strengthens commercial conversations and unlocks preferred-supplier status with major buyers.
Portfolio-wide credibility
Consistent, independent Supplier Risk Ratings across every vendor in a distributor's or manufacturer's panel.
Rated due-diligence claims
Rated supplier panels that hold up to scrutiny when a due-diligence or responsible-sourcing claim gets challenged.
Panel-wide supplier ratings
Consistent scoring across public procurement panels, benchmarked against sector peers and disclosure requirements.
Portfolio company oversight
Supply chain resilience ratings across a portfolio company's key vendors, ahead of financing, exit or diligence.
Compliance-grade rating
Independent rating for suppliers used in regulated or high-risk categories under CSDDD, LkSG or sector-specific due-diligence regimes.
80 weighted criteria. Four dimensions. One score.
Every Supplier Rating is built from 80 individually weighted criteria spread across Financial Stability & Viability, Compliance & Labor Standards, Environmental & Sustainability Practices, and Business Continuity & Resilience - each aligned to recognised industry standards and category materiality. SYNE calculates a weighted average across all 80: no single indicator can make or break a rating, but heavily-weighted dimensions like Compliance move the overall score faster than isolated gaps elsewhere.
Financial Stability & Viability
Whether a supplier can remain a going concern for the life of the contract.
- Credit Rating & Financial Ratio Analysis
- Liquidity & Cash Flow Assessment
- Debt Structure & Leverage Review
- Ownership & Ultimate Beneficial Owner Screening
- Payment History & Trade Credit Risk
- Insolvency & Bankruptcy Risk Indicators
Compliance & Labor Standards
Legal, ethical and labor practice compliance across the supplier's operations.
- Modern Slavery & Forced Labor Screening
- Child Labor Risk Assessment
- Wage & Working Hours Compliance
- Health & Safety Management Systems
- Anti-Bribery & Corruption Controls
- Sanctions & Export Control Screening
Environmental & Sustainability Practices
Emissions, permitting and resource management quality across supplier operations.
- GHG Emissions Disclosure & Scope 3 Data Quality
- Environmental Permit Compliance
- Waste & Hazardous Materials Management
- Water Stewardship
- Deforestation & Land-Use Risk
- Environmental Management System Certification (ISO 14001)
Business Continuity & Resilience
How exposed a supplier is to disruption, and how prepared it is to recover.
- Single-Source & Concentration Risk
- Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning
- Nth-Tier Sub-Supplier Visibility
- Geopolitical & Climate Exposure
Six tiers, from exemplary to distressed.
The SYNE Supplier Rating scale runs from AAA to D - the same scale used across every SYNE rating. Each tier corresponds to a composite score range and a SYNE Index quadrant. Critically, no supplier can reach the top of the scale without also demonstrating rigorous, independently verified compliance data - strong financials without verified compliance cannot be rated AAA or AA.
Front Runner · Highest confidence in financial stability, compliance and continuity, verified on-site and in documentation.
Front Runner or Rising Star · Strong across most criteria, with only minor gaps in monitoring or documentation.
Rising or Emerging Star · Material gaps in compliance or continuity identified and being actively addressed.
Emerging Star or Back Marker · Significant improvement needed in financials, compliance or continuity planning.
Back Marker · Fundamental gaps in financial viability or compliance controls.
No material evidence of financial viability or compliance capability.
Category-relative and absolute
Scores are calibrated against absolute financial and compliance benchmarks and performance relative to comparable supplier categories, so a raw-materials supplier is judged against what's achievable for its category - not a standard built for a services vendor.
Trajectory matters as much as points
SYNE reports whether a supplier is improving, stable, or declining relative to its previous rating - trajectory is often more informative than a single-point score across a multi-year contract.
Every rating includes a pathway
Suppliers rated below AA receive a prioritised improvement pathway - actions ranked by expected score impact and feasibility. The pathway is confidential to the rated party by default.
Built for everyone with a stake in the supply chain.
A Supplier Rating is a shared reference point - the same score means the same thing whether you're onboarding a vendor, underwriting trade credit, or reporting on due diligence.
Procurement & Sourcing Teams
Screen, benchmark and onboard suppliers against a comparable, independently verified signal.
Supply Chain Risk Officers
Monitor Supplier Risk Ratings continuously across a tier-1 and Nth-tier panel to catch emerging exposure early.
Compliance & Legal Teams
Evidence due-diligence obligations under CSDDD, LkSG and Modern Slavery Act regimes with independent ratings.
Investors & Private Equity
Assess portfolio company supply chain resilience against consistent, published methodology ahead of financing or exit.
Insurers & Trade Credit Underwriters
Price counterparty and delivery risk on trade credit and supply chain finance products.
Industry Associations & Buying Groups
Benchmark sector-wide supplier quality, set credible onboarding standards, and track panel integrity over time.
A supply chain can't scale on vendors nobody has verified.
Independent analyses of supply chain risk have repeatedly found that a large share of supplier disruptions, compliance breaches and reputational incidents originate several tiers removed from a buyer's direct relationships - hidden financial distress, undisclosed labor practices, and single points of failure. That visibility gap doesn't just create operational risk: it exposes buyers to reputational, legal and financial consequences long after the sourcing decision was made.
Why supply chain visibility matters
A supplier that fails without warning provides zero continuity, no matter how it looked on a self-assessment questionnaire. Independent, verified assessment is the only way to separate a genuinely resilient vendor from a paper-compliant one.
What it means for buyers
Corporates sourcing from global panels need a comparable, verifiable signal - not a supplier's own attestation - to meet due-diligence law and avoid reputational and contractual risk.
What it means for workers & communities
Every unmonitored supplier represents a possible gap in labor standards or environmental practice - undermining the due-diligence commitments the market is relying on to raise the floor at scale.
What a rating actually tells you
A SYNE Supplier Rating is a weighted judgement of a vendor's genuine resilience across four dimensions, discounted for how well the underlying compliance and financial data can be trusted.
What separates a Supplier Rating from SYNE.
Four principles run through every rating we publish, from a first-time vendor onboarding to a repeat buyer with a multi-country supplier panel.
Industry frameworks
Grounded in ISO 20400, SA8000, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, ILO Core Conventions, and ISO 14001 - not an internal checklist nobody outside SYNE can open.
Data quality, rated
The only supplier ratings organisation that independently scores financial and compliance data quality as an explicit rating component.
Regulatory-grade independence
Operating under the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) and the FCA Code of Conduct - methodology, conflicts and fees published.
The SYNE Index
Every rating includes a SYNE Index classification across two axes - because a supplier's standards alignment and its data credibility are not the same thing.
One score hides the story. Two axes tell it.
Most ratings compress performance and data credibility into a single letter. The SYNE Index keeps them separate - plotting every rated supplier across standards alignment and data quality & assurance to reveal which of four quadrants it actually occupies.
- Front Runners AA – AAA
- Strong adherence to industry frameworks, rigorous data validation processes, and comprehensive reporting capabilities.
- Rising Stars AA – A
- Use of established industry standards, but potential issues with data accuracy, consistency, or validation.
- Emerging Stars A – B
- Good data management and validation, but limited in the scope of standards or frameworks applied.
- Backmarkers B – C
- Basic adherence to regulations, with minimal emphasis on advanced standards or robust data validation.
Our methodology is public. A supplier's rating is the rated party's call.
Under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation and the FCA Code of Conduct, SYNE publishes its methodology, conflict-of-interest policy, and fee structure by default. A Supplier Rating itself works differently: there's no regulatory mandate to publish a supplier's rating - that decision sits with the rated party or the commissioning buyer, though many choose to publish to support commercial relationships and buyer confidence.
Regulatory-grade independence
SYNE Ratings operates under the EU ESG Ratings Regulation (ESMA 2023/2631) and the FCA Code of Conduct, and aligns with the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG). No commercial relationship between SYNE Ratings and a supplier, buyer, or industry body influences the outcome.
Industry standards referenced
Every rating is grounded in internationally recognised, independently verifiable frameworks - not an internal SYNE checklist.
Methodology, conflict of interest policy, and fee structure are published documents - available on request as part of the SYNE Ratings regulatory disclosure pack, and referenced in every ratings report we issue.
Your Supplier Rating is confidential by default. Many suppliers commission a rating privately ahead of an onboarding process or contract renewal, and choose to publish only when they're ready. Publication always requires explicit consent.
The full supplier lifecycle, under one methodology.
From independent ratings and third-party verification, to licensed supplier data and intelligence products that inform sourcing, risk, and compliance decisions across 71 countries.
Independent Ratings
Supplier- and vendor-level ratings scored against ISO 20400, SA8000, UN Guiding Principles, ILO conventions and sector methodologies.
Third-Party Assurance
Independent site audits and desktop document verification, feeding directly into each supplier's compliance and data quality score.
Licensed Supplier Data
Underlying supplier and risk datasets licensed to procurement teams, insurers, and investors for internal modelling.
Intelligence Products
Panel- and market-level intelligence informing sourcing, risk, and compliance decisions.
A Supplier Rating is not an audit report.
An audit report confirms a supplier followed a specific standard on a given day. A rating tells you whether that supplier - and its underlying data - deserves your ongoing confidence.
Independent, not audit-bound
A site audit checks compliance against a specific standard at a point in time. SYNE's rating goes further - independently assessing whether that supplier's financials, compliance posture and continuity planning support genuine resilience.
6–10 weeks, start to publication
Standard engagements run 6–10 weeks from data submission to final rating. Expedited ratings (3–5 weeks) are available ahead of onboarding or contract renewal deadlines. Scoping and fees within 5 business days.
No pay-for-rating influence
Suppliers and buyers review the draft rating once for factual accuracy only. The final decision rests with SYNE's analysts. Fees and commercial relationships have no bearing on the outcome.
Private or public, by design
Suppliers can commission a rating privately - ahead of a tender or renewal - before choosing to publish. Public ratings require explicit consent and remain published once distributed.
Built for first-time onboarding
New and early-stage suppliers get a baseline assessment from available financial and compliance data, with clear notation on what remains to be verified on-site.
Recognised across markets
Aligned with the EU CSDDD and German LkSG, and operating under ESMA and FCA codes of conduct. Used by procurement teams, insurers and industry associations across our 71 licensed markets.
Rated in 71 countries, across every major supplier category.
Supplier Ratings are constructed to remain legible across direct and manufactured goods, services, logistics, and raw-material sourcing categories - from single-country vendors to multinational, multi-tier panels spanning emerging and developed markets alike.
View the full country list →Each mark represents active coverage in one jurisdiction
The rest of the SYNE ratings family.
Supplier Ratings sits alongside a wider set of rating, data and advisory products built on the same methodology.
See how your suppliers, vendors, or panel would rate.
Talk to our team about a Supplier Rating, or request a walkthrough of the SYNE Index for your supplier categories.