Overview
John Jonas (Asia Country Manager, Renfro Brands) and Praveen Prakash (Strategic Accounts Director, TrusTrace) share insights into how Renfro Brand, leading socks and legwear manufacturer, transformed its supply chain through digital traceability and strengthened supplier collaboration since the start of the partnership with TrusTrace. The discussion here is highlighting the takeaways from this 30-minute webinar, which covers the evolution of Renfro’s data collection processes, the company’s approach to traceability, and how strategic supplier engagement drives compliance and business resilience.
Renfro’s Traceability
Transformation
As a leading sock manufacturer, Renfro set out to enhance supply chain transparency and compliance but initially faced challenges—limited supplier participation and time-consuming data collection. By leveraging digital traceability solutions from TrusTrace, strengthening supplier relationships, and communicating the business value of traceability, Renfro streamlined its processes, increased supplier engagement, and improved compliance efficiency.
Key Business Drivers
Renfro partners with global apparel brands, making supplier transparency a business-critical priority. One major factor accelerating Renfro’s traceability adoption was the U.S. sanctions on cotton imports and forced labor prevention efforts, which pushed the company to map its upstream supply chain faster and invest in digital solutions for supplier data management.
Keys to Strong supplier relationships
1. Invest in Supplier Collaboration
John Jonas emphasized the importance of partnering with key suppliers to co-design data collection processes. By piloting the approach with an engaged supplier, Renfro built a detailed supply chain map and a supplier profile model that served as a blueprint for other partners. This hands-on approach allowed Renfro to provide clear examples of traceability and compliance data when onboarding new suppliers to get primary data.
2. Implement a Phased Rollout for Traceability
Rolling out digital traceability in phases helped Renfro and other brands using TrusTrace achieve smoother supplier adoption. Both speakers recommended setting milestones for each stage—starting with supplier profile completion, then supply chain mapping, and eventually moving into evidence collection.
Image: Renfro rolled out supplier onboarding and data collection on TrusTrace in phases which led to higher engagement from their supply chain.
A scalable, step-by-step approach ensures your team and suppliers are not overwhelmed and builds long-term adoption. Many companies struggle with time, resource constraints, and suppliers’ lack of digital infrastructure—a structured rollout minimizes friction and maximizes engagement.
3. Ensure Internal Alignment Before Engaging Suppliers
Before initiating supplier data collection, businesses need internal alignment on objectives and strategy. Clearly defining how traceability data will be used streamlines communication with suppliers and eliminates unnecessary roadblocks. Cross-functional collaboration between compliance, sourcing, and sustainability teams is key to success.
business Impacts of Traceability
By embedding supplier data management into its operations, Renfro has transformed its supply chain into a more transparent, resilient, and compliant system. The company’s success proves that traceability is more than data collection—it’s about fostering collaboration that benefits both brands and suppliers.
Traceability is no longer optional. Brands that proactively engage suppliers and invest in digital solutions gain a competitive edge in compliance, sustainability, and operational efficiency. Renfro’s journey highlights that a structured, collaborative approach leads to stronger supplier relationships, improved data accuracy, and long-term business resilience.
demo TrusTrace
TrusTrace offers a comprehensive traceability and compliance platform built to meet evolving compliance requirements. After many years working closely with multinational brands and supplier, our software platform enables efficient compliance while fostering collaboration across your supply chain. Explore how TrusTrace can help your organization stay ahead by booking a demo today.
