Site Audit:
As a purchasing professional, it is your responsibility to ensure vendors supplying key commodities or performing works on behalf of your organization are reputable and will not cause your firm to be invited to the party in the event someone is charged for violating an environmental law or standard. To reduce the chances of this happening, we suggest you consider performing site audits on vendors vital to the success of your operation. Why, because it is important you understand the conditions your vendors operate under. Also, by reviewing a site you can quickly ascertain whether the facility will be able to provide a continual supply of product which might be important to your own process.
First, identify these key vendors by analyzing your spend. Typically, 20% of your vendors will eat up 80% of your expenditures and if a delay in product delivery will cause your operation to cease production and chew up profits they would be considered a key vendor.
Prudent organizations which place focus on the importance of their supply chain permit their purchasing or environmental representatives to audit such facilities. It demonstrates what legal professionals call due diligence and a scheduled audit will provide valuable insight and hopefully some peace of mind. When generating a RFQ, you might wish to consider adding some verbiage indicating your right to inspect the vendors facility by way of a site audit and that the results of the audit will be part of your selection criteria.
Performing site audits on your suppliers or on carriers that regularly transport a critical commodity are now becoming standard protocol. They can help head off problems before they become serious supply issues and can also mitigate liability for your company. Again, due diligence.
RFQPro.com has a comprehensive site audit form, a sub-contractor evaluation and a vendor performance evaluation form to give you the knowledge you require to confidently address these areas. Countless hours have gone into developing these templates and we now offer them for purchase in both the Mega and Premium Packs.
Click image to view sample of RFQ22 – Facility Audit Form (page 2 of 5)
