How Ferrero Uses Sourcemap to Modernize Supply Chain Traceability

In its 2025 Sustainability Report, global confectionery giant Ferrero Group highlights its partnership with Sourcemap as part of a major shift towards n-tier traceability as part of active procurement infrastructure.

1. Digitalizing "Sacco Conosciuto" at Global Scale

Ferrero’s founding principle of sacco conosciuto or "knowing what is in the bag" requires a digital transformation of the entire approach to traceability. Sourcemap’s cloud platform powers the necessary multi-tier (n-tier) supply chain mapping across hundreds of thousands of suppliers and sub-suppliers. The n-tier mapping and corresponding transaction traceability helps Ferrero to achieve the highest published levels of farm-to-factory traceability of any company in the confectionery sector:

2. Proactive EUDR Screening and Shipment Rejection

The 2025 CSR report also outlines a two-step pre-season compliance framework designed to align with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Sourcemap functions as a front-line defense mechanism as well as the post-facto Due Diligence Statement reporting tool:

• Step 1 (Pre-Shipment Screening): Before raw materials leave their country of origin, suppliers upload polygon data into Sourcemap. This data is cross-referenced with satellite imagery services (such as Airbus Starling) to detect deforestation risks. If deforestation is verified, the shipment is rejected before entering Ferrero’s supply chain.

  
  

• Step 2 (Import Verification): A secondary screening takes place at import to verify that no non-compliant farm polygons were missed during initial procurement.

Nearly 230,000 supply chain polygons across coffee, palm oil, and cocoa were analyzed through this process in 2025 alone.

3. Six-Level Traceability Framework

Ferrero’s report frames traceability through a six-tier progressive maturity model powered by mapping tools:

1. Country of origin identification

2. Commercial intermediary mapping

3. Individual farmer identification

4. GPS point coordinates capture

5. Farm perimeter polygon mapping

6. Continuous satellite monitoring of perimeters

By embedding polygon collection directly into supplier contracting, Ferrero demonstrates how large enterprise buyers can operationalize risk monitoring across complex global supply chains.

Read the full Ferrero CSR Report