Supplier Audits as Part of a Supplier Partnership

Where material and component suppliers are regarded as partners in the activity of satisfying customers, the adversarial approach to supplier auditing is not appropriate. Describes a method of supplier auditing, based on the ISO 9000 standard but aiming to resolve problems jointly. In this method, all aspects of the supplier’s business process, from receiving and reviewing and order, through manufacture to delivery, are reviewed by the auditor to ensure that they meet minimum acceptable standards and to identify opportunities to improve. The auditor acts as a fresh pair of eyes in reviewing the management system. This method aims to identify opportunities for improvement in the customer‐supplier relationship which will improve quality, delivery and service and has been used successfully by the author’s company for several years.