Our Customers’ Trust

We Honor Our Business Obligations

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Our business relationships are grounded in mutual trust and have been throughout Cargill’s history. We build and maintain the trust and confidence of our customers and other business partners by communicating honestly, respecting information entrusted to us and standing behind our commitments.

Trust in Business Relationships

Honoring our obligations to our customers and business partners goes beyond just meeting our contractual responsibilities. The mutual trust we have in our business relationships with customers, suppliers, vendors, consultants, other business partners and one another means something much more.

Maintaining the mutual trust of our business relationships requires that we:

  • Communicate honestly

    We communicate honestly about our products and services. This includes our conversations, contracts, sales materials, emails and all other communications.

  • Source responsibly

    We work with suppliers whose values align with our own and we expect our suppliers to follow our Supplier Code of Conduct.

  • Make commitments we can fulfill

    A commitment means any promise, not just those in our contracts. Don’t overpromise and commit to something that Cargill can’t deliver.

  • And handle changes to commitments responsibly

    If we won’t be able to meet a commitment we have made, work with the affected customer or business partner to find a solution and discuss appropriate next steps. Make sure existing contracts are properly changed (amended) or terminated, if needed.

  • Respect and protect confidentiality and ownership rights

    We protect intellectual property entrusted to us as diligently as we protect our own.

  • Treat personal information with care

    We may collect, hold or process personal information of our customers, suppliers, digital application users or others outside of Cargill. If you handle such information, make sure it is protected and used lawfully and properly. Review Cargill’s Data Privacy for Business Information Policy for guidance.

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Q & A

I can tell from our plan that we are going to be late on a deliverable. What should I do?

Tell the affected customer or business partner right away. No one wants to miss a deadline, but it’s worse when the delay is not managed properly. Do what you can to reduce the impact of the delay. Keep in mind that changes to the contract may be necessary.

Government Contracting

We conduct business with government entities. These may include national, state, provincial and local ones. The laws and requirements for our contracts with governments are typically much stricter than those for our contracts with commercial customers.

For instance, offering any gifts to government officials, even ones of minimal value, is often prohibited entirely. Disclosing detailed information about our company and shareholders under these contracts may be necessary, too. And basic sales-related communications may be regulated when government officials are involved.

If you work on government contracts, make sure you:

  • Fully understand the special legal rules and contract terms that apply to that customer relationship
  • Know which contract requirements apply to third parties, like consultants, resellers, distributors or suppliers
  • Know the third party is aware of the requirements and can meet them
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Q & A

I’m assigning one of my teams a project that involves a government contractor. The team is one of my most experienced. But they have never worked with government contractors, only companies in the private sector. Are there extra precautions I need to take?

Absolutely. Government contracts have a lot of special requirements that other contracts do not. Get the Law Department involved and ensure that the team and any third parties you may be working with know about the rules that apply to the contract. Specific disclosures may be required. Government contracts also typically have rules around sales, gifts and bribery that are more rigid than those that apply to private-sector relationships.

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