Success story 
ANTA Group

Innovative framework for end-to-end apparel and accessories procurement sustainability

ANTA Group is a widely recognized global sportswear company and a pioneer in China’s sportswear industry. The company’s mission is to bring the transcendent sports spirit into everyone’s life. ANTA Group principally engages in R&D, design, manufacturing, marketing and sales of professional sports products including footwear, apparel and accessories. By embracing an all-round brand portfolio including Anta, FILA, Descente, Kolon Sport, Maia Active and Jack Wolfskin, among others, ANTA Group aims to unlock the potential of both the mass and high-end sportswear markets. ANTA Group is also the largest shareholder of Amer Sports, Inc. (NYSE: AS), a global group of iconic sports and outdoor brands such as Arc’teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic. 

ANTA Group is committed to building a symbiotic supply chain that can fully harmonize relationships between people, environment and profit while achieving environmental protection, health, safety and high efficiency. To accelerate its goal of “becoming a world-leading sustainable enterprise,” ANTA Group partnered with 4flow to fundamentally upgrade sustainability governance across its apparel and accessories supply network.

Innovative framework for end-to-end procurement sustainability 

To respond to rapid business growth and to meet the increasing sustainability requirements of apparel and accessories procurement, 4flow mapped ANTA Group’s existing procurement operations and identified critical gaps in sustainability governance. 

Together with 4flow, ANTA Group redesigned its procurement sustainability management processes and successfully launched a certification system for ESG managers of the group’s apparel and accessories suppliers. 

Best-fit process design for apparel and accessories procurement management 

The first step in process optimization was to diagnose the state of ANTA Group’s procurement sustainability management, as well as that of its current overall business processes. After identifying areas for optimization, recommendations were made for the implementation of optimized processes and for the development of a framework for sustainable apparel and accessories procurement that combined industry best practices and management requirements for specific business scenarios.

Next, the project team worked with key stakeholders in ANTA Group’s apparel and accessories procurement and sustainability department to design and optimize sustainable supply chain processes for the group and its brands; sustainable product management processes for the group‘s core brands (Anta and FILA); and sustainable full-lifecycle management processes for the group’s apparel and accessories suppliers. 

Capability empowerment through supplier engagement 

Through process optimization, ANTA Group hopes to empower suppliers by helping them understand the group’s sustainability requirements for apparel and accessories procurement and by cultivating the skills of suppliers’ ESG managers, promoting sustainability upstream. Based on the procurement department’s sustainability KPIs and those of ANTA Group’s apparel and accessories suppliers, the project team designed certification standards and tools for the suppliers’ ESG managers. The team also developed a pilot program and implementation plan in cooperation with ANTA Group stakeholders.

Achieving success in both business and sustainable development 

In response to the complexity of apparel supply chain management and the urgency of implementing sustainability requirements, the 4flow team leveraged its experience in sustainability planning to design a management mechanism for ANTA Group tailored to the certification system. This mechanism integrated the certification requirements with ANTA Group’s supplier management requirements, helping ANTA Group to complete preliminary pilot projects and prepare for system launch. ANTA Group’s apparel and accessories supplier ESG certification system was officially launched at ANTA Group’s supply chain partner ESG summit.

At a glance 

Customer: ANTA Group

• A leading sportswear brand in China and the largest shareholder of Amer Sports 

• Over ¥ 100 billion in revenue in the 2024 fiscal year 

• 65,900 employees at the end of 2024 

• 12,000 stores in over 20 countries and regions 

Project scope: 

• To empower suppliers by reshaping sustainability management processes for apparel and accessories procurement and by designing an industry-first ESG certification system

Results: 

• Innovative framework for end-to-end procurement sustainability

• Best-fit process design for apparel and accessories procurement management

• Capability empowerment through supplier engagement

• Achieving success in both business and sustainable development