We recommend asking suppliers these five risk-reducing questions during your next site audit or plant walkthrough to determine if they’d be a good fit for your production program.

Economic shifts are times when you need to be extra attentive to a supplier’s financials and these 10 financial tools will allow your team to quickly assess their risk.

A site walk is an interview with a supplier as much as it is a tour of their facilities and assessing a supplier’s commitment to quality and understanding their work environment is most effective by visiting them on premises.

Enhance your firms short and long term future by establishing a single round of competitive bidding and then partnering with your supply partners to drive cost out of your supply chain.

The Launch Director of a rocket destined for space relies on a series of signed-off instructions before a rocket is “go for takeoff.” These operational checklists are meticulously reviewed to assure each flight is executed safely and flawlessly. Similarly, manufacturers must maintain a robust process to efficiently and effectively assess suppliers’ capabilities, operations, and financial stability both early in the supply-building stage and post sourcing to ensure successful production launches and ongoing operations.

Suppliers that take action to maintain metrics-based supply chain strategies, execute robust supply chain processes, and institute variable and flexible supply chain models will generate superior supply chain performance in the short and long term.

Improving the supplier plant audit process results in an enhanced supplier experience allowing companies to de-risk supply over time by proactively identifying continuous improvement opportunities and developing better relationships with their supply partners.