Sedex Membership Types Explained: A vs AB vs B – Which One Should Your Factory Choose?

There are three types of Sedex memberships: A, B, and AB. Membership A is intended for buyers who require ethical trade information from their suppliers, while membership B is for the suppliers who provide it. AB stands for companies that perform both these functions. In case your factory supplies products to brands and retailers, membership B is probably the one you need to choose.

It seems straightforward but the choice of the wrong membership occurs rather frequently. Some choose membership A due to its sounding senior. Some opt for membership AB “just in case”, and in result pay too much attention to features which they never use. Either way, a buyer’s connection request may get delayed, and you will be wasting precious weeks until a SMETA audit.

This guide analyzes each membership, compares them, and provides a step-by-step approach on how to choose the membership. It represents our experience of the Legal4sure team while advising exporters and manufacturers on how to get registered on Sedex.

What Are the Different Sedex Membership Types?

Quick answer: Sedex has three membership types. A is for buyers who request supplier data. B is for suppliers who share it. AB is for companies that do both. Your type decides what you can do on the platform, and it’s separate from a SMETA audit.

Sedex is an international membership-based organization that provides a common platform for sharing ethical trade data. The network of Sedex comprises of thousands of companies in more than 150 countries ranging from supermarket giants to small food processing firms.

Consider your membership category as your position within the platform. Are you seeking information, providing information, or doing both? Your costs, offerings, and effort all hinge on one question.

• Member A (customer): asks for and examines supplier’s data
• Member B (supplier): fills out and sends site data to customers
• Member AB: combines A & B into one account

Sedex A Membership: Built for Buyers, Not Factories

The Sedex A Membership program is specifically for retailers, brands, importers and sourcing companies seeking transparency of the supply chain. The A members send out link requests to their suppliers who then provide information.

What A members can do

• Ask the suppliers to register themselves and see who have accepted
• See self-evaluation questionnaires, site information, audit findings, and remediation plans
• Utilize risk assessment tools like Sedex Radar to identify high risk sites and countries
• Compare supplier performance rather than document chasing through emails

When A membership doesn’t fit

A will not be helpful if you are a factory filling buyer questionnaires. This is because A does not have the capability to send customer specific site information. The only way a factory realizes he has registered under A wrongly is when the buyer tries to contact him.

Sedex B Membership: The Sedex Supplier Membership Most Factories Need

Sedex B membership is the Sedex supplier membership. It is utilized by factories, farms, processing plants, and packaging plants for completing their profile and sending it to many customers at one go. In case your buyers insist on receiving your SMETA audit and/or ethical trading information, then it is your membership.

What you do as a B member

1. Register your organization and include all of your sites.
2. Fill out the Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) relating to labour standards, health and safety, environment, and business ethics.
3. Schedule a SMETA audit by a Sedex accredited auditor company.
4. Submit your audit report and Corrective Action Plan Report (CAPR).
5. Accept link requests from your preferred customers.

Pros and cons of B membership

Pros:

• Complete your questionnaire only once and then distribute it to many buyers
• Frequent repeat questionnaires and document requests reduced
• Single audit trail for audits, CAPRs and improvements made

Cons:

• Cannot access information from your own sub-suppliers
• Maintenance is continuous: SAQs, audit trails don’t end after year one

Sedex AB Membership: When Your Factory Both Sells and Sources

In Sedex AB, a single company can be a supplier as well as a customer. Your site information is shared with the purchasers and you ask for site information from your suppliers. This is ideal for companies which manufacture or export products.

Take, for example, a spice exporter from India to the United Kingdom. They will require SMETA data from their buyers in the UK. At the same time, they buy from farmers, spice grinders, and converters. AB works for them.

When AB makes sense

• You supply purchasers and manage subcontractors or material suppliers
• You are an exporting or trading firm that sources from multiple factories
• Your clients expect you to apply ethical trade standards throughout the chain

When AB is overkill

AB simply creates additional administration without value addition if you do not intend to ask for any data. Remember that there may also be differences in terms of fees according to member category and site numbers, hence the need to look at Sedex’s fee structure.

Difference Between Sedex A, AB and B Membership: Comparison Table

The difference between Sedex A, AB and B membership comes down to the direction of data. A requests it, B shares it, and AB does both. Here’s the full side-by-side view.

Feature	A Membership	B Membership	AB Membership
Role	Customer / buyer	Supplier	Customer and supplier
Typical members	Retailers, brands, importers	Factories, farms, processors	Exporters, manufacturers with sub-suppliers, trading companies
Shares own site data	No	Yes	Yes
Views supplier data	Yes	No	Yes
Completes SAQ for own sites	No	Yes	Yes
Link requests	Sends them	Receives them	Sends and receives
Admin effort	Moderate	Lowest	Highest

Which Sedex Membership Is Suitable for Suppliers?

Which Sedex membership is appropriate for the supplier? The correct answer is B for most of the factories. However, you may go for AB in case you ask your suppliers to provide ethical trade information while you should opt for A when you are the buyer.

A quick decision guide

• Selling factory to brand, without any verification of sub-suppliers: B
• Data collection by brand or retailer/importer from its supplier: A
• Manufacturer transferring compliance requirement to its subcontractors: AB
• Exporter sourcing from many factories: usually AB
• Uncertain and no buyer has asked for it: begin with B

Four questions to ask before you register

1. Who is asking me for Sedex data, and what is their membership status?
2. Will I have to see my suppliers’ performance or simply share mine?
3. How many sites do I have to register?
4. Who owns the Sedex account in-house – compliance/qa manager?

Which Membership Fits Which Business? Three Quick Examples

Garment unit selling to a high street UK brand

The brand will send a link request and ask for an SMETA report for the past year. Here, the unit just has to respond and send it, so B is the clean fit. There would be no use in AB unless it decides to audit its own subcontractors.

Food processor purchasing from contracted farms

In this case, the processor sells to its export customers but also requires the farms for its raw materials. The buyers have started demanding how it manages upstream labor risk, and in AB, it can submit its profile and ask for farm data together.

Importer procuring from factories in India and Vietnam

Here, the importer does not own any factory and does not have any sites to audit. So it just needs supplier data, which makes A the correct option. Suppliers become B members and agree to the link request.

Checklist: What to Have Ready Before You Register

A few minutes of preparation prevents most set-up problems. Gather these before you create the account:

• Complete legal name of the company and registered address of all sites 
• Number of sites that you wish to add currently, and the number of sites you wish to add within the next year
• Name of the buyer(s) requesting Sedex, and their membership category
• Workforce size and shift work details, along with the employment of temporary workers or migrants at each site
• Account owner and an alternate contact person who can accept link requests

With this information in hand, registration is quick. The real effort comes later, in the SAQ and audit preparation.

How Sedex Membership Fits With the Sedex Platform and SMETA Audits

The membership will only ensure that you have access to the Sedex portal. Compliance cannot be assured via the membership but from the SMETA audit process conducted by the Sedex platform and SMETA audit companies according to the 2- or 4-Pillar scope required by your buyer.

Once the audit is concluded, the report and CAPR remain on your Sedex profile where they can be viewed by linked customers. This is why an incomplete SAQ or wrong information about the location of your sites may slow down the buyer’s evaluation even if the audit process was successful.

It is common for most factories to involve the services of a Sedex Audit Consultant after membership. At Legal4sure, we normally conduct the audit process as follows – membership followed by gap assessment then audit preparation.

Common Mistakes When Choosing a Sedex Membership

• Going with A since it seems more senior. A is a purchasing position. Suppliers require B.
• Registering as AB “just in case.” When you never ask for supplier information, you do too much administrative work for no reason.
• Having duplicate registrations. Two registrations for one firm or site breaks down your audit record.
• Taking membership to be certified. Sedex does not certify anyone. The SMETA audit is the proof.
• Failing to finish the SAQ properly. Buyers see an unfinished registration as a warning flag.
• Registering at the last moment. Get the account sorted well before the buyers’ deadline.

Key Takeaways

• The different types of Sedex membership are: Type A (Buyer), Type B (Supplier) and Type AB (both). 
• Factories that supply goods to brands and retailers usually opt for Type B membership.
• AB membership is for exporters or manufacturers who have their own supplier auditing as well.
• Membership provides you access to the platform, while a SMETA audit gives you the evidence.

Conclusion

Types of Sedex Membership seem complicated until you ask yourself one simple question: Do you want to collect data, share it, or do both? Buyer chooses A, Suppliers choose B, and Companies with downstream supply chain choose AB.

It will save you time, extra questions from the buyer, and audits. If you need assistance choosing the right type, configuring your sites, or preparing for SMETA, we can assist you with that at Legal4sure.