How to Audit Your Suppliers in Three Easy Steps

Businesses are always in flux. They’re always changing, and sometimes those changes are for the worse. You may have been working with a certain supplier for decades, only to realize that the materials they’ve been sending you suddenly drop in quality. From a change in strategy to a change in leadership, there are many reasons why the businesses you work with may not produce the same level of quality you were used to. 

In some cases, a better option may come around. You owe it to your business to regularly audit your suppliers so that you can be assured that you are still working with the best business for your own needs and understand your overall impact on the world. If you partner with a company that produces great clothes for cheap, but it’s tied to unsafe labor practices, for example, you are culpable. 

That’s why it’s important to audit your operations and the businesses you work with. Only when you regularly check for quality all along the supply chain can you be assured it’s working its hardest for you. 

• Audit the Materials Themselves 

To understand if the suppliers you work with are the right partnerships for your business, you first need to understand if the materials you’re working with are the best option for your needs. You’ll need to audit your operations fairly regularly to keep the answer a resounding yes. New, innovative products and processes are being developed every day, and without an ear on the ground you could miss out on a new material that can help your business stand out or save. If you’ve never investigated materials before, you may be missing out on an obvious answer. 

Take Aquazol, for example. This polymer is just as strong, if not stronger, than traditional polymers, and yet it’s also non-hazardous and biocompatible. This makes it an effective replacement for many in manufacturing. It’s not as widely common for one reason: there’s only one polymer company that produces it commercially, despite the product itself being in circulation for over 30 years. 

• Explore the Competition 

Once you know the best materials for your business, it’s time to explore the competition that offers it. In some cases, competition won’t be questioned if only one main supplier patents the product you want. For more basic materials, however, a range of companies will produce them. You need to understand their process, and what they’re doing to offer you value, and work out the overall cost-benefit analysis. It’s not as simple as choosing the competitor that costs the least amount. You need to work with the supplier that offers you the best value at the best price. 

• Audit the Supply Chain 

You need to regularly check in with the entire supply chain to understand the overall impact of your business. You don’t want to work with a company that sources from highly polluting practices. You especially don’t want to be tied to any company that uses dangerous working conditions or modern-day slavery tactics to produce materials cheaply. These practices are becoming increasingly cracked upon by the public, international organizations, and governments. Doing this regularly is simply doing your due diligence.