Identifying and mitigating risks
There are many risk factors involved in the global sourcing of products that can disrupt the supply chain or affect your reputation. Our local auditors have the experience and skill set to identify these issues and work towards promptly mitigating the potential damage.
This can include political upheaval, international conflict, changes to tariffs and trade agreements, and even cyber-attacks.
Improving efficiency and performance
As global business continues to involve complex and long multi-tier supply chains, it becomes increasingly difficult to proactively manage each stage of the operation.
Employing an on the ground auditor makes it much easier to monitor the total supply chain and ensure KPI’s are being maintained. Inventory management, including storage, transportation and stock control is another key issue our auditors will oversee.
Ensuring maintenance of standards
It goes without saying that receiving poor quality products from any supplier, never mind thousands of miles away, can have a disastrous effect on your business. This could potentially lead to damaged customer relations, something that may take some time to recover from.
Our local auditor will ensure all aspects of the production process is quality controlled, including how the stock is stored and transported. On the ground auditors can also ensure all stock is produced to an agreed contract that is understood by both parties.
It is imperative that any supply chain auditor has a full grasp of the local culture, as contracts in Asia can, sometimes, be interpreted differently to agreements negotiated in the West.
For example, in the UK, it is expected that the signing of a formal agreement is an intention that the orders will be fulfilled as stated. In Asia, this is not always the case. In many cases, an agreement is just seen as just the starting point with further negotiation required down the line.
Our localised auditors will be aware of the ‘rule of law’ for the specific territory.
We also ensure that the supplier is adhering to all aspects of Health & Safety and environmental issues. For manufacturing processes this also includes working practices and conditions across all outsourcing suppliers.
Data protection, including the storage and transfer of confidential information, especially compliance with GDPR, is another area our local auditors will pay attention to. We can analyse data logs, electronic systems, and end points to ensure compliance with international laws. This includes identifying intentional or unintentional fraudulent activity.
Establishing / maintaining relationships with third party suppliers
Being able to communicate on a local level is essential to the success of a supplier audit. Our on the ground auditor can speak the same language and have the cultural awareness of the source country. This enables them to gain an insight into the activities and performance of all third party suppliers.
With many parts of the manufacturing process now being outsourced, this becomes a critical aspect of the total supply chain audit.
Why use an ‘on the ground’ supplier auditor Why use an ‘on the ground’ supplier auditor