Importance of Supplier Audits

How can suppliers impact you and your customer satisfaction?

Suppliers are keys to your overall success in achieving customer satisfaction. Depending on what the supplier’s goods or services are, they may have added levels of criticality. Those suppliers who directly support the goods or services you supply are often called critical suppliers. If your critical suppliers are contributing to your poor delivery performance or poor quality, it will negatively impact you. It is essential to select and reevaluate suppliers to ensure they are contributing positively.

How can you minimize your risks when selecting and evaluating suppliers (especially critical suppliers)?

A self-assessment for a new or recently engaged supplier is a high risk. It requires commitment without a firsthand assessment. Critical suppliers, even those that have been previously audited, pose a potential high risk if there are changes to their operation.

Onsite audits are the most effective methods to determine a supplier’s capabilities. The auditor can determine if there is a commitment to Quality at Top Management level by whether or not there is an effective “Plan-Do-Check-Act” system in place. If the commitment exists, there is a robust and dedicated team of individuals that rely on quality objective performance data in order to implement necessary actions and the resources to carry out these action are provided. In addition, the auditor can determine if there is an effective set of processes interacting with each other that take customer requirements through to the ultimate delivery at the expected levels of quality and delivery. The result is a reduced risk of using a poorly performing supplier.

Do you supply industry sector specific customers requiring onsite supplier audits?

Some sectors (e.g. aerospace and automotive customers) require that you perform regular supplier audits under supplier development. You inherit this requirement from your customer and it is found on the purchase order and/or statement of work.

What can PJC offer you when it comes to supplier audits?

We have a vast experience in many sectors, especially in the aerospace and automotive arenas. We understand what is required to meet requirements for supplier evaluation and development. Our trained internal auditors have years of training and experience that include developing, implementing, and auditing quality management systems. We learn what you and your customers require and then conduct supplier audits to ensure they are meeting those requirements and issue reports on our findings.

After the audit, we help the supplier’s development of a robust quality management system. This includes conducting gap analyses, issuing action plans, and then following up to ensure the supplier has implemented actions to eliminate the gaps. We even facilitate data analysis and development of corrective and preventive actions.

Supplier Audit Services

• Consultation to develop supplier criteria and prepare an audit working document
• Development of the Audit Document
• Performing the Supplier Audit utilizing the Audit Document
• Preparation of the Audit report – Strengths, weaknesses, non-conformances and Opportunities for Improvement
• On-site or Off-site support to determine root cause and corrective action