Tag Archives: globalization

What Are the Benefits of Supplier Quality Audits?

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What Are the Benefits of Supplier Quality Audits?

What Are the Benefits of Supplier Quality Audits?

While you want to trust and count on your suppliers, do you really know for sure that they have the proper procedures in place, that the procedures are being actively applied, and that their employees follow their established procedures?

Supplier quality audits are the process of verifying that each of your suppliers is adhering to both industry standards as set by the law and independent organizations, as well as your own company and brand standards.

Audits are widely recognized as a pertinent part of doing business.

While there are many reasons for this practice, here are the six biggest benefits of performing supplier quality audits.

1. A Reduction of Risk

A significant amount of risk accompanies extended supply chains, outsourcing, and globalization. The risks include:

  1. Quality
  2. Safety
  3. Business Continuity
  4. Reputation
  5. Cost Volatility
  6. Supply Disruption
  7. Non-Compliance Fines
  8. Safety Incidents
  9. And More

2. Better Contractor Management and Business Relationships with Suppliers

Your business can gain ground when costs are reduced, contractor management is streamlined, brand reputation is protected, and long-term profitability is achieved. This is easier done when the following tasks are taken care of efficiently:

  1. Supplier Prequalification
  2. Supplier Audits
  3. Worker Management
  4. Insurance Monitoring
  5. Analytics

3. Expert Guidance on Safety and Sustainability Performance

While you already have strategies in place to manage the health, safety, and behaviors within your own organization, how do you know your suppliers, contractors, and vendors are similarly motivated?

Supplier quality audits actively foster an aligned culture of health and safety through:

  1. Contractor Prequalification
  2. Document Management
  3. Auditing
  4. Employee-Level Qualification and Training
  5. Insurance Verification
  6. Business Intelligence

4. Closer Alignment with Your Compliance Standards

Your business is under pressure to maintain compliance with:

  1. Country-specific regulations
  2. Industry standards and regulations
  3. Corporate policies and standards

5. Better Procurement Decisions

Procurement teams are under a lot of pressure to find, qualify, monitor, and manage suppliers, all while lowering the cost of doing so. With supplier quality auditing, procurement managers can make better and more cost-effective procurement decisions by:

  1. Mitigating risk through communication, evaluation, selection, and monitoring services.
  2. Gaining unprecedented visibility into safety statistics, risk profiles, and historical data.
  3. Reducing lead time and improving efficiency with ongoing guidance and support throughout the procurement process.
  4. Maximizing data quality on the entire supply chain.

6. Sustainable Business Practices

Today, an organization committed to improving the environment through sustainable growth is required to meet both regulatory requirements and societal expectations. Managing the long-term value of your company and its brand is party dependent on properly managing the environmental, social, financial, and economic impacts throughout its supply chain. All of this can be done more easily with thorough supplier quality audits.

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New DHL report reviews supply chain real estate

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Companies are re-thinking their go-to-market strategies and, as a result, making different choices about how they locate, design and operate their distribution networks.

This has created a new landscape for supply chain real estate, according to a report published by DHL. Global and regional supply chains are changing, as they adapt to the new realities of commerce and competition.

The findings are part of The New Landscape of Supply Chain Real Estate report, which has been authored by Lisa Harrington, President of the lharrington group LLC, in collaboration with DHL.

The report states that while a healthier global economy fuels the demand for supply chain real estate, it is not the only driver.

Four other forces are at work, and they are having a transformational effect on companies’ distribution center networks.

They include:

  1. The e-commerce revolution
  2. Globalization and right-shoring
  3. Mergers and acquisitions
  4. Technology innovation

“The face of global supply chain networks is changing,” said Harrington, author of the report.

“Gone are the days of operating a static real estate portfolio and tweaking it every five to seven years. Business is too dynamic and the stakes are too high.

“The fact is, the way companies manage their supply chain real estate portfolios has morphed from a tactical/operational concern to a strategic differentiator. Supply chains that operate more nimbly and at lower cost don’t just save money. They drive growth.”

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Big (and Smart) Data for Digital Globalization

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Data is all around us whether we use it or we are part of it. More than another trend, data is the way to move with agility and make every step and achievement tangible for those who do not see or believe it. One of the most transformational and accelerating factors of digitization is precisely how data is considered, leveraged, valued, and distilled. As data mining is not new it has become more than just a back office type of activity. It is all about turning facts into more than facts, figures into more than figures, and content into more than content.

For digital globalization practitioners and leaders, data shines like a glittering prize. That is why they face similar challenges to all business leaders when it comes to making the most of data. With the world to conquer and a number of diverse audiences to engage, they have to transform big data into smart data to focus on what enables making–and avoids breaking–the digital experiences local customers require. Specifically they must pin down the right data at the right time in the content supply chain to convert it into reliable indicators and valuable assets in the long run. In addition, due diligence is required to cover the cost and efforts of funneling, acquiring, and maintaining data. While the amount, the nature, and the scope of data depend on digital globalization targets and priorities, several categories may help establish a good base line to identify smart data and agree on a starting point for global expansion.

  1. Customer understanding data-Ranging from general (e.g. census) to segmentation data these data enable you to bear in mind what customers do at all times as prospects, decisions, buyers, or users.
  2. Usage data-As typical performance data this remains crucial in any proper mix of smart data for digital globalization.
  3. Content effectiveness data-Capturing and measuring the real impact of content on experiences is tricky and must reflect the nature and ecosystem of the content.

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Globalization Creates New Avenues for Supply Chain Risk: riskmethods Shares its Predictions for 2016

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As part of our ongoing series on what procurement technology providers see as the biggest challenge for procurement in 2016, we recently spoke to riskmethods to hear its thoughts on the topic. Heiko Schwarz, riskmethods founder and managing director, pointed to increased external risks, globalization and regulation compliance as the main issues procurement and supply chain managers will have to tackle in the new year.

These three major trends will expose organizations to risks in 2016, Heiko said. External risk will continue to be an issue. For example, extreme weather such as rain or snow storms will expose and disrupt supply chains even more than in the past, he said. Political risks have been a growing trend for years, but will continue in 2016 as well, he added.

Globalization is also pushing enterprises to search for new suppliers in countries or regions they probably have not worked in before. Procurement’s scope in the last year has dramatically changed, going from a “domestic-centric” view to a more global one, Heiko said. Specifically, he believes we will see movement away from China as the cost of operating there continues to rise. China is no longer a low-cost sourcing country, and this is putting pressure on companies to move to new areas, places such as the northern regions of Africa, he said. This globalization push will put increase supply chain complexities in 2016.

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