While you want to believe and count on your suppliers, do you know that they have adequate methods in place, that the techniques are getting actively applied, and that their employees follow their conventional procedures? A supplier audit is an independent assessment of how adequately an entity performs a given task or process against pre-defined measurement criteria and standards. Audits are unbiased and find evidence, not negligence. They are part of the quality assurance process and help ensure high-quality products/services and improved communication with suppliers. The terminology for the institution getting audited is the auditee.
Audits are widely known as an important part of doing business.
While there are many reasons for this practice, here are the most significant benefits of performing supplier quality audits.
- It enables you to establish a relationship with the supplier
Active communication between clients and their suppliers creates a long-term healthy business relationship.
Since the supplier is all the way in China, long ago people used to travel to meet their suppliers. A supplier audit allows you to get to know your supplier without actually travelling there.
The supplier audit makes establishing a relationship easier by checking
- Supplier documentation
- Worker Management
- Raw material and sourcing practices
Maintaining decent relationships with your suppliers is vital. Often, having a third party do the supplier quality audits helps in enhancing and growing a cross-beneficial business relationship.
- Ensures your factory has the correct material & equipment
Quality audits can help you evaluate a supplier’s stock of raw material and equipment.
Issues found during a quality audit can often lead to increased danger of production delays, quality damages, and other production problems.
Assessing your suppliers equipment and materials allows you to decide very early on if they are best suited to manufacture your goods.
In the long run you would be able to avoid a bad supplier by this simple yet vital inspection.
- Check already finished samples to determine if they’re what you want
By assessing the finished products that are in the factory, you have the ability to determine what your product will look like. If you are not satisfied with the quality of the sample it is highly unlikely that you will like the finished mass producted product.
A legitimate supplier will always be eager to show you samples to demonstrate their ability to make high quality products. Some factories only make a limited range of products and rely on other factories to supply the rest. By carrying out a supplier audit you can ensure that the factory is actually the manufacturer of the product.
- It reduces disturbance in the supply chain by raising potential issues before they become a problem
A supplier audit provides a detailed look at supply chain performance to recognize winners and losers. Suppliers can have a significant impact on the cost of your goods.
Potential issues are spotted early which in general reduces time and cost.
- It helps you determine which supplier you should order from- doing multiple supplier audits enables you to decide.
By carrying out several supplier audits, you will notice a big difference between the good and the bad suppliers. Relying on information from only one supplier audit can make you believe you have picked out the best factory for your product.
This is as good as visiting multiple factories yourself and determining which ones works for you. It not only saves you time but since inspectors are highly trained to asses these factories, you get an expert opinion of which factory you should work with.
Conclusion
In a nutshell a supplier audit is the foundation of a great product. It gives you foresight into the material, ethics, equipment, capacity and ability of the factory to make your goods.
It removes the need for you to visit multiple factories to determine where your product should be manufactured.
Ensure you book a supplier audit for your next product.