WhiteBox for Companies

Grievance Mechanism for Supply Chain Due Diligence

WhiteBox is a grievance and tip reporting portal that empowers value-chain stakeholders to report incidents of sustainability violations, human rights abuses, crimes, and other unethical business practices. Increasingly, companies around the world are put under the responsibility to ensure that their supply chain is transparent, accountable, and ethical, and WhiteBox can help them meet this responsibility. Our platform is designed to be secure, user-friendly and accessible, enabling your value-chain stakeholders to report incidents of misconduct easily and safely without fear of retaliation. By using WhiteBox, you can build a more sustainable and responsible business that is committed to promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical behaviour in the supply chain.

Why are grievance & tip mechanisms so important?

Important pillars for effective risk management and due diligence processes

Early Warning System

Effective complaints, grievance and whistleblowing mechanisms act as early warning systems by identifying problems before they escalate. This helps you prevent or limit damage to your business in the form of damage payments, fines, or reputation.

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Risk Analysis & Auditing

Grievance and tip portals can be a highly effective and efficient tool to analyse risks along your value-chain. Furthermore, they offer companies the opportunity to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of their risk management and individual due diligence processes. Therefore they also form an important building block for the further development of risk management systems.

Fraud Detection & Deterrence

In 2022, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reported that 42% of occupational fraud was detected through whistleblower reports. Effective whistleblower channels can also deter malicious actors out of fear of being reported and caught.

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Compliance

Compliance with the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), EU CSDDD, and EU Whistleblower Directive

Complaint (or grievance) procedures are a core element of many supply chain due diligence regulations including the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Companies must have a complaints procedure through which internal and external persons can notify the company of human rights or environmental risks or violations in their own business operations as well as those of every direct and indirect supplier in the supply chain.

Compliance made simple with WhiteBox

WhiteBox is developed for full compliance with:

  • German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG)
  • EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD)
  • EU Directive for Whistleblower Protection
How to

Turn-key compliance in 6 steps with WhiteBox!

Companies using WhiteBox can reach full compliance with grievance mechanism obligations contained in supply chain due diligence regulations as well as applicable data privacy & protection laws in 6 steps which are completed within minutes and without any extra expertise needed!

Set up within minutes

Ready procedures accompanied by reporting forms and policies (provided as templates) as well as an intuitive interface ensure quick and easy implementation

No expertise required

WhiteBox guides you to compliance and simplifies the establishment of grievance mechanisms. For extra help our network of consultants are always available.

Full-Suite accompanying services


WhiteBox, together with its partners, is able to offer companies a full-suite and best-in-class service globally for the set-up as well as on-going management of grievance mechanisms. These services digitally integrate directly into the platform for maximum convenience.
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Consultation for setting up of a procedure & drafting of the policies

Get consultation from domain experts with decades of experience

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Educational programs for staff capacity building

Train procedure administrators and managing staff on their obligations and best practices

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Educational programs for stakeholder training

Educate stakeholders on their rights and how they can use the procedure effectively and appropriately

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On-going services for management of procedure

Ombudsperson services, on-demand translations, consultation, legal assessments, and more

Designed For Seamless Integration With Your Supply Chain

The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act requires companies to have their grievance procedure accessible for all affected persons along their entire supply-chain

Implementing a grievance mechanism that is effectively accessible to anyone who is potentially affected by your entire supply chain can be a complex endeavour. The challenge intensifies when trying to engage with stakeholders of indirect suppliers. WhiteBox stands out as the sole solution in the market, facilitating seamless integration of both direct and indirect suppliers into your grievance mechanism. WhiteBox enables supplying companies to simplify compliance for their business customers with a transparent grievance mechanism for the supply chain whilst at the same time empowering them with equal transparency and control over the procedures concerning them. Furthermore, WhiteBox safeguards business secrets, such as customer and supplier identities, and enables companies to address and refute any defamatory allegations.

Effortlessly implemented along your entire value-chain

WhiteBox facilitates the transmission of grievance reports from your entire supply chain to you. All the affected stakeholders need to know is the company and worksite that affects them. All you need to know is who your direct suppliers are.

Protecting important information of your company 

WhiteBox enables collaboration and transparency for the supply chain grievance mechanism while keeping identifying data regarding suppliers and customers of your company hidden to unauthorised third parties (including the reporting individual) with advanced digital anonymisation technology.

Automatically delegating main responsibility to the right company

WhiteBox automatically delegates the main responsibility for the procedure based on the requirements of the laws and factors influencing the ability to respond to the issue most effectively.

Giving you control over reports and procedures about your company

WhiteBox enables suppliers to protect their reputation by tracking and responding to any defamatory claims disguised as grievances.

    Accessibility

    In the realm of grievance mechanisms for supply chains, accessibility is paramount. The holistic approach WhiteBox adopts toward accessibility ensures that all stakeholders, regardless of their location, background, skills, and knowledge, can effectively use the grievance mechanism.
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    Awareness & Outreach

    Whether it's through online campaigns, community workshops, or NGO partnerships, WhiteBox actively seeks to educate and engage to keep stakeholders well-informed about their rights and the grievance procedure.

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    User Friendliness

    Prioritizing user experience, WhiteBox boasts an intuitive design, ease of navigation, as well as simple and straightforward procedures; making the process of lodging grievances as straightforward as possible. For any issues, support documentation and ticketing is available.

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    Participation of illiterate stakeholders

    WhiteBox enables illiterate stakeholders to participate through audio aided forms and AI powered speech to text transcription. Furthermore, our portal can be extended with additional channels such as AI powered telephone hotlines.

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    Bridging language barriers

    Language barriers are eliminated with WhiteBox. Whilst the form is already translated into over 30 languages (we are constantly working on adding more, and specific languages can be added on request), reporting stakeholders can input information in any language. The report then can get translated into any language for administration (click here for more information on the translation features for administrators).
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    Add-On Channels

    WhiteBox enables the integration of external channels and manual entry of reports for others by persons such as HR representatives, ombudspersons, or auditors. It can easily be extended with additional reporting channels such as:

    • E-Mail Addresses
    • Human operated telephone hotlines,
    • AI/Robot operated telephone hotlines, and
    • Other digital reporting channels.

      Statistics & Analysis

      The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act requires companies to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their complaint procedures and conduct risk analyses.
      Make use of statistics and graphs for reviewing of effectiveness, risk analyses and discovery of trends. WhiteBox automates the collection of statistics from received grievance reports and enables you to analyse the collected data through various customisable and detailed graphs directly on the platform. This gives you the foundation for effectiveness evaluations and helps you to detect evolving risk trends as well as high-risk worksites, suppliers, regions, and sectors during your risk analyses.

      Automatic collection of statistics

      Automatically collect a comprehensive set of statistics associated with incoming reports and the procedures

      Analyse and discover trends

      Display and monitor collected statistics in a variety of detailed graphs and charts

      Identify high-risk links

      Identify high risk sectors, regions, suppliers and own worksites with the help of data visualisation

      Export anonymised data

      Easily export anonymised data in .csv for compliant use and import to external analytics programs

        Effective Grievance Management

        Organise | Automate | Streamline | Monitor
        Utilise WhiteBox to effortlessly manage received reports on human rights and sustainability risks or violations. With WhiteBox your staff can handle incoming grievances in an effective and efficient way.
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        Risk Categorisation

        Reports are automatically categorised by relevant ESG Risk and categories

        While reporters are asked to categorise the ESG Risk manually during report creation, an anonymised version of the report is analysed by Artificial Intelligence to ensure the risks are categorised correctly. This ensures integrity of data for further automation, streamlined processing, and for the collection of statistics.

        "Out of Scope" Flagging

        AI powered flagging system for complaints which are out of scope

        An anonymised version of the report is analysed by our Artificial Intelligence powered system to determine if the complaint is within the scope of European Supply Chain Due Diligence regulations. "Out of Scope" reports are flagged yet can still be processed by administrators if they wish to do so.

        Spam Management

        Automated and meticulous anti-spam management system

        The first machine learning algorithm automatically prevents bot submissions. The second one checks every report for spam and returns information such as a spam score. Obvious spam gets sorted out automatically, suspicious reports get flagged and presented for additional review.

        Stakeholder Updates

        Automatically update stakeholders with information on the progress of the procedure

        As your grievance administration team focuses on their core responsibilities, WhiteBox seamlessly updates stakeholders on the procedure's status and progress. By automatically reflecting your team's actions and inputs to manage the report, the platform ensures transparency and builds trust throughout the process.

        Translations

        Automated translations expanded with human capabilities where necessary

        Get automatic translations into english from- and to- over 30 languages (powered by DeepL API). Where this is not enough, human translation services can be integrated directly into the platform ensuring confidentiality and efficiency.

        Responsibility Delegation

        Automatic delegation of main responsibility and procedure leadership

        WhiteBox automatically delegates the main responsibility of the procedure to the company with an active account that is the closest and largest purchaser in the affected supply-chain. All other companies can still collaborate and take their own actions.

        Standardised Procedure

        Effective, simple and organised handling of reports

        Administrators are digitally guided into standardised and structured procedures ensuring compliant and effective handling of reports with minimal effort.

        Organised Dashboard

        Gain a quick overview and easily navigate multiple reports

        WhiteBox features a user friendly and intuitive dashboard making the management of grievances as easy as possible for administrators.

        Integrate Subsidiaries

        Manage the grievance procedures of all affiliated companies with one solution

        WhiteBox offers seamless integration of all group companies complaints procedures into one dashboard from where it can be managed in unison.

        Effectively Supervise

        Easily enforce deadlines and supervise statuses of reports

        Set company wide procedural deadlines and let WhiteBox track statuses to notify administrators of approaching deadlines. Easily follow how many reports have been in which status for how long.

        Set & Track Actions

        Manage responses together with stakeholders & involved companies

        Let your administrators set actions in response to received grievances on the platform to track their effectiveness. The effectiveness is assessed in combination with feedback from the reporting stakeholder and leaves you with valuable data and insights for the future.

        Build an Action Database

        Utilise insights from past cases to solve grievances effectively and fast

        As your team addresses grievances, the actions taken and corresponding data—such as effectiveness ratings from your administrators and feedback from stakeholders—are meticulously recorded in WhiteBox. This ensures that every resolution not only improves future problem-solving efficiency but also contributes to ongoing refinement of your processes.

        Track Issues

        Create issues and group reports to track developments

        Administrators can create and manage issues under which reports can be grouped to track developments on a certain topic. The system will automatically suggest matching reports to add to the issue as they come in.

        Assign & Exclude

        Assign and exclude administrators to and from reports

        Administrators may assign single reports to specific administrators or exclude administrators from specific reports. This feature further aids confidentiality, data segregation, and effective inter-organisational management of the mechanism.

        Set Departments

        Effective teamwork and data segregation

        Create departments to group your organisations administrators on WhiteBox, enforce data segregation and confidentiality, as well as automate the assignment of incoming reports based on a detailed defined responsibility scope.

        Archive

        Keep an organised archive for end of year reporting and more

        The reports and their accompanying data are archived after the end of each procedure and can be retrieved on the platform for 2 years. Reports and their statistics are available in an organized and data privacy compliant download ready format for further data processing and end-of-year-reporting.

          Documentation & Reporting

          The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act requires companies to continuously document the grievance procedure.
          Within the framework of enterprises’ documen­tation and annual reporting obligation under Section 10, enterprises are required to contin­uously document and report publicly on complaints received and the implementation and effectiveness of preventive and remedial actions. WhiteBox enables automatic documentation and easy retrieval of all the information and metrics concerning your grievance procedure for the creation of annual reports in accordance with Section 10 of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.

          Automatic documentation & archive

          WhiteBox enables companies to document their grievance mechanism automatically on the go

          Assessment of actions

          Every action taken in response to a report is documented together with a rating of effectiveness given by administrators as well as the reporting stakeholder

          Streamlined report creation

          Information required for the annual report can be downloaded in a structured format with the click of a button

            Integrated Service Providers

            WhiteBox facilitates seamless integration for consultants, offering comprehensive support ranging from policy drafting to ongoing management of the grievance procedure. With their own accounts, consultants can easily assimilate into their clients' systems, thanks to WhiteBox's modular access management capabilities. This feature ensures that consultants can provide tailored, efficient assistance in every aspect of the grievance process, enhancing the overall effectiveness and compliance of your procedures.

            Legal Assesments

            Mediation Services

            Ombudsperson Services

            Translation Services

            Auditing Services

            & More

            Certified Services

            Professional grievance and whistleblowing management services by trained staff of certified firms around the world

            Select firms with regional expertise to support your compliance department

            Full-suite set up and management services for your WhiteBox and additional grievance mechanisms

            Highly qualified consulting services for grievance and whistleblowing procedures


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            Collaboration & Communication

            Collaborate and communicate with value-chain links as well as stakeholders across your supply-chain

            Collaboration is key for supply chain due diligence compliance however equally difficult in complex and global supply chains. WhiteBox enables easy and structured task based collaboration between companies, their business customers, suppliers (both direct and indirect), reporting stakeholders, and NGOs, whilst at the same time protecting the integrity of data and business secrets belonging to all parties through automated anonymisation when necessary.

            Communicate with reporting stakeholders even when they remain anonymous

            WhiteBox enables that investigations can be conducted and feedback can be collected even when there is no contact information improving the trustability of the procedure.

            Collaborate with involved organisations even when they remain anonymous

            WhiteBox ensures that customer and supplier data of your company is not shared with any unauthorised third parties whilst still enabling collaboration between organisations in the same supply chain.

            Receive feedback from stakeholders on effectiveness of implemented actions

            Feedback in regards to the implemented action is requested from Stakeholders before a report is resolved. The stakeholder can also provide feedback on the effectiveness of the procedure as a whole.

            Integration with Compliance- and
            Risk Management Software

            & other customisations

            Integrate our platform seamlessly with any compliance and risk management software. For more details and to begin the integration process, please reach out to us.

            Customisations, Extensions & Integrations

            Customized and tailor-made solutions by our team of experts in law and technology ensure that our platform meets your company's specific requirements. Some suggestions can even be added by our team at no extra cost for you.

            Customize any aspect of WhiteBox

            Connect WhiteBox with other systems

            Extend WhiteBox with additional channels

            Create new solutions


            Contact us

            Data Security & Compliance

            Compliance with data protection regulations and security best practices guard the integrity of data in the WhiteBox system
            By integrating rigorous data protection measures, including compliance with EU GDPR, BDSG (Germany), KVKK (Turkey), and other international regulations, WhiteBox provides a robust framework that supports the secure exchange of information throughout the supply chain. This ensures that every entity involved in the grievance procedure can confidently collaborate while maintaining full compliance with relevant data protection laws.
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            Access Permission Settings

            Highly modular access rights management on department & user levels for regions, risk categories, processing stages, suppliers, clients (for service providers), and more

            Account Security

            Mandatory high security passwords and optional two factor authentication login

            IT Security

            Utilising best practices in IT infrastructure security (click here for more information).

            Data anonymising

            Automatic data anonymisation for compliant further processing

            WhiteBox for Companies

            The universal portal to report and notify relevant companies of human rights and sustainability violations or risks in supply chains. Watch our video for more information.

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            Pricing

            Base Plans

            The base plans contain all required features for the implementation of an effective and compliant grievance mechanism along your value chain.

            For Responsible Suppliers & Businesses

            This pricing plan is applicable for companies who are not directly obligated to implement a complaints procedure but supply an obligated company or voluntarily want to implement a mechanism

            Tier 1

            up to 49 employees

            € 9
            /month

            excluding VAT, billed yearly

            Unlimited reports

            Unlimited report languages

            Free policy template

            Up to 3 administrators

            30-Day money back guarantee

            Tier 2

            more than 50 employees

            € 45
            /month

            excluding VAT, billed yearly

            Unlimited reports

            Unlimited report languages

            Free policy template

            Up to 5 administrators

            60-Day money back guarantee

            Tier 3

            more than 250 employees

            € 225
            /month

            excluding VAT, billed yearly

            Unlimited reports

            Unlimited report languages

            Free policy template

            Up to 10 administrators

            90-Day money back guarantee

            Get Started

            For Industry Leaders & ESG Pioneers

            This pricing plan applies to companies that are directly obligated by regulations to implement a grievance or complaints procedure or that are above the employee thresholds

            Tier 4

            more than 1000 employees

            € 500
            /month

            excluding VAT, billed yearly

            Unlimited reports

            Statistics add-on

            Up to 25 administrators

            Tier 5

            more than 3000 employees

            € 1200
            /month

            excluding VAT, billed yearly

            Unlimited reports

            Statistics add-on

            Up to 50 administrators

            Tier 6

            more than 5000 employees

            custom
            please contact us
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            Get Started

            Add-Ons

            Enhance your compliance with our add-on services
            € 38
            /mo

            excluding VAT, billed yearly

            Statistics

            Track statistics in relation to reports received and the associated risks to better identify trends and intensifying problems

            Activates statistics functionality & dashboard

            Automatically collect all kinds of statistics in relation to reports

            Chart all kinds of statistics in relation to filed reports

            Ability to export statistics in different formats


            Get Started

            Whitelabel

            Your branded version of WhiteBox

            € 1190
            excluding VAT, billed once (in addition to subscriptions)

            Whitelabel

            Use WhiteBox with your own brand and domain. Price is in addition to any subscriptions.

            Use your company domain, logo and name

            Based entirely on the WhiteBox system

            Further customisations possible


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            Frequently Asked Questions
            Common questions about grievances and supply chain due diligence answered

            resources for companies

            Information about grievance mechanisms for companies

            Here you can find a range of resources to help promote responsible business practices and comply with relevant laws and regulations. Our resources include policies and guides related to the WhiteBox platform, as well as information on relevant legislation and best practices for ethical supply chain management. We also offer a regularly updated blog section that features articles and insights on the latest trends and challenges in sustainable business practices.
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