A proper factory audit is critical in ensuring that your supply chain is compliant, efficient, and capable of delivering a quality product for your customers. Jonble helps ensure that your suppliers and vendors have quality control systems, regulatory compliance, and productivity measures in place to help your business flourish.
It is important for you to understand what a factory audit is, the three critical areas of a successful audit, and the different types of factory audits. This article provides you a clear explanation of a factory audit’s purpose and how Jonble will help your business achieve supply chain success and compliance.
What is a Factory Audit?
A factory audit is a formalized process to evaluate if a vendor or supplier conforms with regulations or required business standards. The purpose is to ensure that the supplier delivers quality services and products. Quality managers usually perform factory audits, and they evaluate the supplier’s production processes, organization, and quality management system.
3 Critical Areas to Assess on a Factory Audit
Factory audits ensure that you perform your due diligence in selecting the most optimal supplier for your needs. There are three critical factors to investigate when evaluating the supplier:
- Quality control
- Regulatory compliance
- Productivity
Quality Control
The vendor’s quality management system (QMS) guarantees that the quality of work aligns with regulatory standards. A quality QMS holds robust monitoring procedures in place to ensure consistent process improvement. The other typical components of a QMS include data management, quality manual and analysis, policies and procedures, and customer satisfaction.
Regulatory Compliance
Certifications and business requirements apply to both you and your potential suppliers. If the vendor does not have compliance, it will put the certification and business in jeopardy of closing. Many certifications represent a healthy company.
This evidence helps ensure that your vendor not only meets regulatory standards but also utilizes systems to deliver your products effectively.
Productivity
If you want your own business to operate efficiently, you must have a supplier who services your products on time. A factory audit evaluates the supplier’s production processes from start to finish, and will give you a good idea of whether the vendor can fulfill order quantities on time. Factory audits determine the efficiency of the manufacturing equipment and machines too.
Types of Factory Audits
To ensure your vendors are compliant and reliable for your business’s distribution channel, you must understand these five types of factory audits. Below are the most critical factory audit types and their benefits.
1. Ethical Audit
Ethical audits are critical because they confirm the review and evaluation of the vendor’s social accountability. Today, companies must achieve a higher standard of providing a safe, healthy, and ethical work environment, including creating quality pay and labor practices. A thorough ethical audit checks to see if the proper work conditions exist throughout the organization.
There are many benefits of ethical audits for your business. It confirms compliance with government requirements and provides you with the confidence that your supply chain has safe human rights practices and working conditions. Ethical audits help you understand what proper compliance looks like and will strengthen your company’s brand reputation.
2. Manufacturing Audit
A manufacturing audit determines if a vendor can produce and deliver a product that satisfies your company’s needs and specifications for manufacturing audits. It also prevents the possibility of costly disruptions or production issues, which could hurt your business. Manufacturing audits also play a role in mitigating operational, ethical, and quality risks.
Manufacturing audits provide other advantages to help your business move products to your final customers quickly and efficiently. It helps align your company’s sourcing and distribution policies with your vendor’s policies. You also receive an accurate snapshot of the factory’s competence and overall capabilities to produce a reliable product.
3. Environmental Audit
Environmental audits evaluate compliance with local regulations and laws for optimal environmental protection. It ensures that your vendor follows your business’ compliance requirements and other international principles. These audits also help foster continuous environmental performance improvement.
4. Structural Audit
Your vendor’s premises and buildings should prove that it has strong safety and compliance systems for a factory audit. Structural audits ensure compliance with fire safety measures, conditions and codes, and structural integrity. These audits provide a clear view of the quality of safety in your supply chain.
Structural audits play an essential role in preventing catastrophic and minor injuries by monitoring safe working conditions. In addition to ensuring employee health is not compromised, structural audits reduce the chance of future supply-chain complications.
5. C-TPAT Audit
Custom-trade partnership against terrorism audits will confirm that private companies in your supply chain promote a safe work environment regarding terrorism. This program, headed by the U.S. Customers and Border Protection, evaluates the security measures from a virtual and physical aspect.
Not only does a C-TPAT audit strengthen your supply chain’s security, but it ensures your business partners’ integrity, and security practices are compliant with the government. C-TPAT also plays a crucial role in improving border security in the United States.
How Jonble Can Provide You with a Quality Factory Audit
Jonble understands the importance of having a quality, efficient, and compliant supply chain, which is why we provide a robust factory audit service. Jonble’s factory audit system aims to minimize risks and deliver an accurate snapshot of your vendors. We want to ensure your success in providing a quality product to your customers in a timely and safe manner.
Backed by consistent communication and professionalism, Jonble offers on-site evaluations. Our professionals bring vital expertise and experience to the table, and we focus on providing a sound interpretation of how your business partners add value to your supply chain.
Our process starts with performing the due diligence of all vendors and suppliers. This step is critical in confirming a reliable:
- Production
- Partnership
- Supply chain
- R&D
Jonble’s auditor will conduct a factory visit to accurately assess the reliability, legality, and capabilities of all processes. Afterward, there will be an ISO9000 rating assigned accordingly.
There are many specific parameters that we evaluate during our Asia and China factory audits. We examine a standard factory profile, which includes legitimacy, trade credit, and necessary information. We look through the organization’s human resource function, including the charts and headcounts for each department.
Jonble also investigates the vendor’s trade capacity, which includes products, exports, and market distribution. We also believe production capability is a critical factor in the audit. We look at the condition of machinery, raw materials, and equipment to ensure the vendor can fulfill orders effectively and punctually.
Our auditors closely examine the quality control system of your supplier. We evaluate the supplier management quality, list of certifications, and the method of handling complaints. When we assess the research and development function, we provide you a full snapshot of the sampling, test equipment, and engineering quality.
Final Wrap-Up
So, why is it essential for Jonble to perform a factory audit for your supplier? We provide you with the confidence that your supply chain is strong and compliant so that you can deliver meaningful value to your customers.
Our factory audit process helps you verify if your vendor abides by your contract. It also enables you to understand your supplier’s administrative abilities, trading status, and overall factory size. Jonble’s factory audit gives you a real understanding of your supplier’s production capacity, so you can correctly forecast and service your customers.
Jonble is here to take your supply chain to a whole new level. Contact us today to learn more about how we can provide value for you and your business.