The Evolving Role of On-site Audits: An Integrated Approach to Supplier Sustainability Performance
4 major limitations prevent onsite audits from driving progress in supplier risk management. But integrating a broader approach alongside ratings & risk mapping delivers performance and value creation.
Combining Risk Mapping and Ratings to Overcome Limitations of On-site Audits
Stakeholder demands have gone beyond supply chain risk management and resilience to encompass value creation and positive impact, and traditional on-site sustainability audits are falling short. Four major limitations with audits -- reported in multiple expert studies -- prevent on-site audits from driving the progress and improvement needed to detect, report, and improve environmental and labour problems in supply chains.
This paper reviews these limitations, and presents a holistic “performance-based” approach integrating audits into a broader framework alongside sustainability ratings, intelligence & risk mapping tools. This enables procurement teams to engage suppliers in more enduring results that go beyond compliance, while strengthening their performance and ROI.
