What is Outsourcing
Outsourcing is when an organisation uses the services or products of an external supplier, instead of doing that particular task in its own facilities so as to reduce costs. The choice to outsource is an important one for every organisation because it has to do with weighing the possible saved cost against the results of control loss over the service or product. Some popular instances of outsourcing include computer IT services, training administration, movement of products, customer service, some other HR functions, benefits & compensation planning, tax compliance & other functions of accounting, payroll and supplier audit function.
Supplier Audit
It is very important to have absolute trust and confidence in your suppliers and make sure there is uninterrupted supply of services and goods. Your chain of supply is only as efficient as its weakest link however; the only method to make sure there is a continuous supply is to have an efficient vetting procedure in place.
Supplier audits done by an external body is an effective way to obtain an independent review of prospective suppliers or making sure a supplier has the capability of delivering to a particular specification.
Outsourcing supplier audits is a flexible and bespoke solution which is usually tailored to meet the individual needs of each client.
Benefits of Outsourcing Supplier Audit Function
Access to the best and most recent technology
A lot of organisations can’t put aside valuable resources to continuously invest in upgrading to the very best supplier audits software or also to keep updated with the changes in laws & regulations. However, by outsourcing supplier audits, you will have access to the most recent software as well as professional knowledge. Also, every other ancillary costs like software and hardware support contracts, maintenance of back-up management, replacement of hardware, training of staffs are all taken care of by the outsourced external body.
Flexibility
Outsourcing supplier audits provides a company the flexibility to scale the quantity of work rapidly depending on the needs of the business. It also provides the business owner the flexibility of modifying the services gotten from the outsourced body as regards to any changes that might occur in the company without incurring the total expense associated with those particular changes.
Organisation Efficiencies
By making use of an external body for supplier audits, the organisation immediately possesses the resources, knowledge and experience from the very first day. This therefore helps avoid having to hire experienced personnel, having training for internal employees and then forming a supplier audits & management function within the organisation.
Free up resources
Outsourcing supplier audits also helps to free-up the company’s internal recourse so as to pay adequate attention to the main business functions.
The knowledge of best practices
A supplier audit consultant who is being used by many companies in the industry would have built up an information base of the way some processes can be carried out most effectively and efficiently, or have access to the particular information via other auditors. With this acquired knowledge, they can recommend some changes to the business. So many internal supplier auditors have been with a company for several years and therefore have not gotten enough knowledge base as a result of lack of acquaintance with other businesses.
Cost
Most times, the total cost of outsourcing your supplier audit is lesser than creating and sustaining the function within the company.
Continuity and Risk Management
Inconsistency and uncertainty will definitely be added to the operations during the periods of increased employee turnover. However, outsourcing the supplier audits function will give the company a level of stability while also lowering the risk a low standard level of operations that would be brought to the company.
Eliminating fixed costs
When outsourcing your supplier audit function, the fixed cost which is associated with the company’s internal employees, recruiting and training will be eradicated.
Absolutely no downtime
Outsourcing the supplier audit function to a third party helps the organisation to avoid a non-productive downtime which occurs sometimes with internal employees. An instance is the duration between the conclusion of one audit and the start of a new one.
Quick access
When a company opens up a new business in a foreign place and it is not convenient for its internal supplier audits staff to get there, then, outsourcing makes it easy for the company to quickly make use of a proficient audit team.
I you are interested in outsourcing your supplier audit function or just want some additional information on some of the benefits it offers, please contact us for a free consultation.
