Another case study featured in The Data Advantage Playbook by TrusTrace is an interview together with Ann-Kristin Erdmann-Burt, Head of Sustainable Supply Chain Management at HUGO BOSS. Headquartered in Germany, HUGO BOSS is a publicly traded premium fashion company selling clothing, accessories, footwear, and leather goods. They've been using TrusTrace since 2024.
“Data gathering is beneficial for influencing our sourcing decisions and of course moving us closer towards full traceability.”
Organizational Setup
As with all brands interviewed, transparency and compliance were key drivers for increased data efforts at HUGO BOSS:
“The approach and methodology of tracking from the purchase order (…) is the safest way of verifying Chain of Custody, and the most feasible.”
The setup of a new traceability and sustainable relations team began with an organizational evaluation:
“We had a dedicated project team with internal and external experts assessing the organizational setup that makes the most sense, so it was independently planned according to the resources, the requirements as well as questions like how do we get the best data, and how do we achieve the best results.”
Since January 2024, HUGO BOSS has dedicated significant resources to further expanding its traceability efforts:
“In peak times over 50 people worked on the project across various teams: from the product divisions, which fall under business operations, to compliance, corporate sustainability, legal, and strategy.”
Supplier Onboarding and Engagement
Following the initial project phase, HUGO BOSS implemented a highly integrated organizational setup for traceability:
“Our traceability team at HUGO BOSS is structured in duos which work closely with the suppliers and the product divisions.”
“Each duo consists of a sustainable supplier relations manager and a sustainable supplier insights specialist who steer the onboarding and communication process, ensuring data quality and consistency. We took that organizational approach based on our requirements, and to get the best data with a focus on driving data quality.”
The Traceability and Sustainable Supplier Relations team at HUGO BOSS is involved in supplier onboarding from the outset:
“We have integrated supplier onboarding into the traceability team.”
“It comes back to combining the business perspective with our impact on ensuring sustainable supply chain operations.”
How does HUGO BOSS work with suppliers from the outset?
“We have the sustainable supplier relations managers to explain why the data is needed, and to reassure suppliers it will not be used for purposes other than the traceability effort.”
It’s worth noting that the TrusTrace platform is configured according to each brands’ subjective needs and priorities, meaning that a supplier may be uploading different data to the platform for each brand. A lack of industry-wide standardization of what’s required (from a social auditing perspective, for example) means this is likely to continue.
Reducing the burden
HUGO BOSS says the major barrier to streamlining data and compliance is a lack of industry standards and advocates for a pragmatic and unified approach:
“Brands and the industry have a responsibility to make the data collection easy for suppliers. We believe the industry has a responsibility to partner with the supply chain even more in this regard.”
In terms of making the data work for the benefit of the wider business, this is in progress:
“We are working to connect all the ESG dots so the data can be a benefit for our overall risk assessment and mitigation.”
TrusTrace has recently introduced a risk evaluation layer on the platform:
“We think the risk layer is very interesting, with CSDDD it will help to work in a more impact- oriented way.”
The brand’s strategy reflects a resource-intensive approach to supply chain transparency, with dedicated teams, structured processes, and supplier engagement embedded from the start.
As HUGO BOSS explores how to apply ESG data to more granular risk analysis, their broader goal is clear: to make traceability a strategic asset.
While challenges around standardization and data burden persist, HUGO BOSS is building a foundation where traceability data can inform smarter sourcing, strengthen supplier relationships, and support long-term sustainability goals.
Up Next
Primark powers their traceability with PO-linked data and you can get the insights on their learnings in the next case study. Get all the case studies plus The Compliance Canvas in The Data Advantage Playbook.
