Complimentary White Paper
Are Supply Chains Truly Ready to Go "Beyond" Audits?
Modern CSR strategies involve a variety of tools, but can any of them fully replace supplier audits?
This White Paper will give you insights about:
- The importance of reliable data for CSR strategies
- The many meanings of supply chain sustainability “beyond” audits
- Key components of meaningful supplier audits
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Supply Chain Sustainability – Old vs. New
It is common to call for supply chain sustainability to go “beyond” audits, which can mean replacing “boots on the ground” with high-tech solutions, self-assessment, undercover investigations, and more. However, can these new methods fully replace supplier audits as a sustainability tool?
One of the ultimate goals of supply chain sustainability is to have a network of responsible partners that need no policing and little external governance. Mature CRS systems may be ready to take supplier relations to this step – but one cannot forget that those systems have been built on the foundation of field data gathered through factory audits.
What makes for a meaningful audit?
Several important criteria can make the difference between a meaningful audit and a formality. To collect reliable data and make a difference in the long term, a supplier audit must be:
- Regular and recurring
- Independent of brand and supplier
- Equipped with effective checks against corruption
- Conducted by auditors knowledgeable of the market, culture, and language
- Putting workers first
- Semi-announced or surprised
Download the whitepaper to learn more about the challenges faced by supply chain compliance tools, and whether supply chains are truly ready to go “beyond” audits.
