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Auditing your product sourcing process is a great way to find and improve upon pain points or even aspects of your business you were unaware could use some work.

Consistent beneficial change is key to growth, and sometimes even the smallest advancements can have long term benefits.

Here are some facets of the sourcing process you should be keeping in mind as you have your products manufactured:

Factors to Consider During a Procurement Audit

  1. Quality Control

    Man with safety glasses inspecting machinery and taking notes on clipboard

    Are you receiving shipments with scores of defects? Good quality control can help reduce the risk of getting shipments of faulty products, saving time and money. Properly and fully checking all the features of a part including the dimensions, finish, material, form, fit, and function is key to any good inspection process.

    If you are repeatedly having issues with the quality of your product, you may want to check with your supplier on how they are checking their parts.

    At Global Trade Specialists, we make sure our factories have the proper tools and inspection procedures to help ensure quality.

    We also offer an optional third party inspection service for customers to come in to the factory and have a thorough look at the shipment, including pictures of the products, the packaging, and checking and ensuring all the dimensions are in tolerance.

  2. Deadlines

    Office scene of a hand holding a stopwatch while coworkers hold a meeting

    Are you getting your orders consistently late for no reason? This could end up being a problem that could cost you if you run out of stock. There will be inevitable delays with production orders, and some of those reasons are more valid than others, but if you are constantly having to wait weeks or months past the estimated production time, it might be time to dig into the reason why.

    Does your supplier not have the machinery to manufacture at the volumes you need? Are they busy to the point that they are falling behind on orders?

    At Global Trade Specialists, we make sure to heavily vet the factories we work with so that our customers can know that we have the ability to handle high volumes while maintaining quality. This includes checking their history to make sure they have a good track record, as well has having the right equipment to manufacture and produce the parts effectively.

  3. Responsiveness

    Man walking through downtown office area while talking on phone

    How responsive are your suppliers? Does it take you weeks to get an answer? Quick turnaround times are key in business.

    If you have to spend weeks before getting a response it may be time to look at alternate solutions.

    At Global Trade Specialists, we treat our clients’ time like our own, and take great care to respond to our clients as soon as possible.

  4. Supply Chain Backup

    Do you have a backup solution in case your current supplier goes out of business? Having a redundancy plan in place can help you sleep at night knowing that if things fall apart you do have other options.

    At Global Trade Specialists, we pride ourselves at revamping and properly sourcing products for our clients so they can focus on running their business rather than sweating the manufacturing.