Why many supplier audits fail their purpose?
By: Bertrand Maltaverne
Tags: Platform Economy, Procurement, Sustainability, Quality Assurance, Supply Chain

Audits as a platform…

In a recent episode of her podcast (available here), Amber Christian, interviewed Fernando Moncayo, co-founder of Inspectorio, a mobile platform that guides supply chain inspectors through each step of the process and aims at making the process more transparent and reliable. The fact that Inspectorio was selected to be part of the Target + Techstars accelerator in 2016 proves the interest that companies in the retail industry (and more) have to improve their current practices.

Inspectorio represents another example of the platform/gig economy. It is some sort of Uber for audits as it offers organizations the possibility of requesting audits of their suppliers by selecting within a network of available inspectors.

It brings flexibility and agility to the process for industries like retail and fashion that need it because:

they have thousands of small suppliers across the world,

their products have a short lifecycle.

“There is a growing demand from consumers to know the source of the products they buy, in part so they can be assured workers or animals are not being exploited. “Customers want provenance like never before,” says Murray Sayce, a sustainability expert at Ramboll Environ.” Ensuring your supply chain is sustainable and ethical, Raconteur, Feb. 2017

In the interview, Moncayo gives the example of customers triggering audit requests at the time of placing orders. For industries using one-time suppliers a lot, it corresponds to a real need. Being able to verify quickly that all conditions are met is critical. As critical is to be effective and efficient in the process. So, Inspectorio’s users can see in the application if there are available inspectors in the area where their suppliers are. Then, inspectors use the application to log all of their activities (notes, pictures…).

“There is also a growing recognition that many issues are too big for single companies to tackle on their own, according to Dominic Regan, senior director, Europe, Middle East and Africa logistics applications, at Oracle. “The next level of savings will come from collaboration across supply chains,” he says.” Ensuring your supply chain is sustainable and ethical, Raconteur, Feb. 2017

Because it is a platform, it creates the conditions for a mutualization of results and resources across the network of users. As Moncayo says: “to build trust, you have to know who is who.” Organizations using the application can assess each inspector’s profile thanks to their past evaluations by mandating organizations. It ensures that they are confident about the auditor they select.

Also, it enables audited suppliers to promote their capabilities because users could see the results of their past inspections. Procurement organizations can also benefit from that aspect of the mutualization. They can trust and use audits done by other companies. It is possible because inspectors

are vetted by the network (reliable resources)

they follow a shared, traceable, and exhaustive process (reliable methodology)

It means that: