Responsible Manufacturer Benchmark - Smude Enterprises

By CommonShare

Smude Enterprises LLC, based in Pierz, Minnesota, is a renowned producer of premium cold-pressed sunflower oil, offering a natural and healthy cooking alternative. Founded on a farm near Pierz, MN, the company's heart-healthy, non-GMO, and kosher sunflower oil has gained popularity for its exceptional quality and flavor. Using high oleic sunflower seeds, Smude Enterprises LLC provides a cooking oil rich in "good" unsaturated fats, low in "bad" saturated fats, and free of trans fats. The company's dedication to quality is evident in their filtering process, ensuring a shelf life of 2 years, and their products are guaranteed by the MN Department of Agriculture.

With a focus on producing a high-quality product, Smude Enterprises LLC has positioned itself as a leader in the sunflower oil industry. Their commitment to health-conscious consumers, along with their sustainable production practices, sets them apart from competitors. Notable achievements include their gluten-free Thanksgiving dishes featured on TCL, as well as being recognized as the 2019 TCB Manufacturing Award Winners and a 2022 Woman-Owned Manufacturer. Their target market includes health-conscious individuals seeking a natural and sustainable cooking oil option.

Driven by a mission to provide natural, healthy, and delicious cooking alternatives, Smude Enterprises LLC has evolved from a small farm operation to an established presence in the industrial park of Pierz. Founded by Tom & Jenni Smude, the company's leadership approach emphasizes quality, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. With a geographic presence in Minnesota and a growing customer base, the company continues to expand their product offerings and market reach. Moving forward, Smude Enterprises LLC aims to maintain their reputation for quality and innovation while exploring new opportunities for growth and expansion in the health food industry.

Overall Rating

1.0
Under-Performing

Traceability

An increasingly important factor in global supply chains, traceability assesses the manufacturer's capability to track products and materials from origin to delivery. The Sustainable Manufacturers Benchmark® explores this through the lens of tiered supplier verification, culminating in end-to-end traceability with real-time monitoring and complete transparency.

Digitized Products

The digital landscape has transformed B2B interactions. This facet assesses the extent to which manufacturers have digitized their product offerings. The spectrum ranges from manufacturers without any online product catalog to those boasting advanced B2B e-commerce platforms, providing clients with order customization, real-time tracking, and an integrated view of the supply chain.

Preferred Materials

This aspect gauges the extent to which manufacturers incorporate sustainable, circular, and regenerative materials in their supply chain. It assesses whether companies merely use standard materials or whether they actively prioritize sustainable and preferred materials in their product range, even going so far as to offer digital verification of material certificates.

Facility Verification and Services

This dimension evaluates the openness and commitment of manufacturers regarding their facility's conditions and services. It covers a spectrum, from providing no facility details at all to showcasing comprehensive third-party audits, ensuring transparency in worker welfare and showcasing a clear commitment to maintaining top-tier facility services.

Readiness to Contract

Before entering a partnership, it's pivotal to understand a manufacturer's business legitimacy. The Sustainable Manufacturers Benchmark® checks for the presence and verification of essential documents, ranging from basic business licenses to comprehensive documentation, client testimonials, and even third-party attestations that verify a manufacturer's reliability and readiness to contract.
Smude Enterprises
United States
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How our Responsible Manufacturer Benchmark® Works?

By CommonShare

The Responsible Manufacturer Benchmark is a comprehensive framework designed to evaluate and rate manufacturers based on their commitment to sustainability, digital integration, readiness for contracting, material sourcing, and facility standards. It provides a clear, standardized metric for assessing manufacturers in a B2B environment, helping businesses make informed decisions aligned with their sustainability objectives. The benchmark covers crucial areas like end-to-end traceability, the digital verification of supply tiers, utilization of preferred materials, and verified social audits for facilities. By incorporating both depth and granularity across its criteria, the benchmark not only promotes transparency but also encourages continuous improvement in responsible manufacturing practices.