How can an organization benefit from a supply chain audit? Given that a strong supply required the cohesive movement of every aspect of the supply chain, from the smaller businesses and individual employees contributing in creating the product, from its raw materials to finished good and finally its shipping process to the end user. This complex movement can become a key competitive advantage for corporations if managed correctly. Thus, a supply chain audit can help organizations become financially strong.

Supply Chain Audit Case Study

Case in point, a multinational corporation based in the United States and specializes in cosmetics and healthcare/beauty products was facing major supply chain issues. New products were constantly delayed beyond scheduled launch dates, global transportation costs were skyrocketing, in addition to increasing inventory costs. Customer service levels were declining and inventory costs were increasing as a direct result of poor inventory management systems in place. The company’s performance metrics were indicating that things had to change for the company to function at its optimum levels. In such cases, one of the first things that need to be done to right the ship is to conduct a supply chain audit.

A supply chain audit is a process of examining the company’s extended supply chain along several dimensions. Part of the supply chain audit process is to benchmark those processes to best practices in the company’s same industry as well as best practices in other industries. The supply chain audit is a critical component of improving a company’s supply chain performance as it helps identify the root causes of the problems. These problems could vary in nature from being strategic, operational, internal to the company, or external (suppliers or customers), or multiple of those issues combined. In addition to identifying causes of current problems, the supply chain audit may identify other potential areas for improving customer service levels and/or reduce operational costs, inventory levels, and waste in the supply chain.

The Audit Process

The data collection methodology for this supply chain audit consisted of an examination of relevant company documents and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with key employees. Over a period of three days, thirty-six interviews were conducted at the company’s facilities (headquarters as well as a production facility nearby). In addition, several telephone interviews (initial as well as follow-up) were conducted in the two weeks following the site visit. Altogether, forty-four individuals were interviewed. The interviews included employees at various levels and functions in the organization as well as some of its key suppliers and customers. The interviews were conducted in teams of two and a team debriefs was done after every interview. Once all of the data was compiled the team met to discuss the findings and analyze the data. A final report was delivered to senior management with an on-site detailed presentation of the findings, areas for improvements, and short and long-term actions.

Supply Chain Audit types

HafeziCapital supply chain audit is based on a proved methodology of success. The methodology is as follows:

• Deep Dive Supply Chain Audit: this initial phase is designed to learn about the organization its existing business model and delivery structures. This phase of the process includes interviews and learning more about the organization and the areas that may be a challenge to organizations. This analysis will quantify every aspect of your supply chain and define where the organization can improve in this performance.
• Comprehensive Supply Chain Audit: This phase of the audit is composed of a two-day, onsite visit including but not limited to supply function, support functions, and facilities. This will allow our organization to understand the touch points and the various suppliers involved in delivering the goods and services.
• Compare and Contrast Supply Chain Audit: this phase of the audits is based on a  comprehensive analysis, research, evaluation, and culminate in a set of recommendations based on a comparison of industry best practices. This will allow the organization to be benchmarked versus other key players and develop an understanding of what they have to do to succeed against their peers.
• Quick and Simple Supply Chain Audit: these audits are simple analysis with a set of initial recommendation delivered within four weeks of the on-site visit.  The recommendation phase culminates with a final report designed specifically to quantify profit and loss and restructuring needs to senior management

Audit Results

One of the major findings in this supply chain audit was a mismatch in alignment between the company’s strategy and their global supply chain structure. The company was positioning itself to be very responsive to market and customer needs yet following a dedicated manufacturing set-up rather than a regional one. Other recommendations for improvement included changes to the S&OP process, re-configuration of inter-functional and inter-firm processes to reduce lead time, integrating logistics into the stage-gate sign off process, restructuring the supply base, and adopting more advanced performance metrics.

1. Technology firms
2. Bioscience firms
3. Manufacturing Firms
4. Wholesale Operations
5. Retail Firms
6. Import/Export Firms