Supplier Audits

Second Party Audit

Manufacturing companies rely on suppliers permanantly to provide the high-quality ingredients used in their products. When the raw material component or semi-finished product used in production is produced by an outside supplier, some control over the quality parameters of the input is lost. Organizations must therefore be mindful in managing and developing a strong supplier base.

Well planned and executed 2nd party or supplier auditing systems are very effective  method to evaluate possible future suppliers and to keep the current supplier raw material, component or product input quality under control, and due to the analysis and data obtained as a result of the evaluations.Supplier products that do not meet the expectations of the manufacturer in terms of quality and content, or delays due to shipment, may result in decreased productivity and loss of production / business, delayed customer final product deliveries, and possible end product quality problems or recalls.Non-compliant supplier products can cause serious damage to an organization’s base at the market rate that, when viewed through the eyes of the consumer, will result in deep trust, reputation and financial losses.

If an organization aim to be successful in the sector it serves and to achieve ever greater goals by providing continuous improvement, taking into account the consumer and related parties, the supplier selection and management process, which includes a comprehensive assessment of the process capabilities and capacities, is very important for this purpose. The implementation of a comprehensive and sector/consumer expectations-based second-party inspection system will help to address issues such as quality and/or timely supply of all inputs supplied for organizations aiming to produce products of the same standard and quality, resulting in a positive impact on the organization’s position and reputation in the market.

What Are Second Party Audits

Second Party Audits are also referred to as external or supplier audits. The 2nd party audit is usually more formal than an internal or 1st party audit. In some instances, the results of the audit could influence future purchasing decisions. The audits may be in response to one or more quality issues with the supplier’s parts or product inputs. There often is a contract involved between the customer and supplier specifying the terms of delivery, pricing, packaging, quality requirements and various additional terms. For this reason, second party audits are generally subject to rules and regulations concerning contract law.

Why Perform Second Party Audits

The necessity of 2nd party audits may be needed with the emergence of various reasons. An external audit may be performed when an organization is:

  • Developing a new product and determining sourcing for sub-components
  • Approving a new supplier for sourcing of current parts or commodities
  • Exploring alternate sources of parts during a cost reduction effort
  • Investigating a quality issue with the supplier’s product
  • Confirming completion of corrective actions from a past quality issue
  • Performing a review or ongoing periodic audit as part of a supplier management process

Second Party Audit Steps

  • To develop a strategy for supply chain audits
  • To provide a proposal to conduct Second-Party audits, outlining the process and cost
  • To perform Audits carried are out and reported
  • To review audit results and follow-up actions with supplier

With Second Party Audit Support from SZUTEST provides the help you need, enabling your team achieves quality initiatives and goals on time.

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