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How to audit SCRM? Conducting the Audit (6/9) – List of questions (part a/c)

Below is a list of questions that can be used to audit the SCRM, concerning the topicsTransparency of supply chain structures and processes, Information and dependencies of suppliers and Identification.

Transparency of supply chain structures and processes Are the most important, value-creating corporate processes defined (e.g. development to production to sales)?
  Is there accountability in these operational processes, i.e. are the potential risks and their impacts on different departments known and addressed?

Information and dependencies of suppliers

Is there a list of all direct upstream suppliers?
  Is the most important company data of the upstream suppliers documented (corporate headquarters, production facilities, local contact persons, cell phone numbers, etc.)?
  Are the supplier contacts with decision-making authority known?
  What are all of the value creation processes of the direct upstream suppliers?
  What are the dependencies between upstream suppliers?
  Have they been properly identified?
  Is information about the suppliers obtained on a regular basis?
  Who are the most critical suppliers (critical suppliers can be characterized as the highest proportion of sales, or as the supplier of the material for the most products which cannot be easily replaced, etc.)?
  If the most critical supplier fails, what are the financial consequences?
  How often does the operational business check whether certain deadlines have/will expire?
  How often are the supply contracts checked to see if they need to be transferred to a new company standard?
  Is information about suppliers regularly shared with other departments?
  Does an on-site visit of the most critical suppliers take place every three to five years?
  Is there a structured guidelines in place for communicating with suppliers?

Identification

Are operational supply chain risks systematically identified at regular intervals?
  Are strategic supply chain risks systematically identified at regular intervals?
  Is there a catalog for the systematic identification of supply chain risks?
  Are external as well as internal corporate risks considered during the identification of risks?
  Are the interfaces with supply chain actors considered during risk identification?
  Is it always possible to add newly identified supply chain risks to the catalog?
  Are the results of the supply chain risk identification from each individual workplace recorded in writing?
  Are the results of the supply chain risk identification from the entire department recorded in writing?
  Are risks from supply chain partners that may have a negative impact on the company considered in the identification process?
  Is the identified supply chain risk list up-to-date?
  Is the operational supply chain risk assessment complete?

Extract from Schröder, M. (2019): Structured improvement of supply chain risk management. In: Supply Chain Management – Contributions to Procurement and Logistics, Series-Editor: Essig, M.; Stölzle, W., Kersten, W., Springer Gabler: Wiesbaden

How to audit SCRM? The preparation phase (4/9): Defining the auditing policy — configuration and reporting

The auditing policy must further specify whether audits are regulated using a longer-term auditing program or whether they are carried out only when required. The latter are referred to as “ad hoc audits”. Closely related to the auditing policies are the design variables of the auditing configuration, which are concerned with regularity/frequency, scope, and focus.

Reporting designs should be agreed in advance. In this regard, a suitable information and communication system should be established for all phases of auditing. The system should primarily enable general communication between the auditor or auditing team and the key person(s) responsible. To ensure unrestricted and confidential communication both within the auditing team and within the organization, appropriate information and communication tools must be available to all parties involved. In addition, an appropriate information and communication system can promote the efficient delivery of results and enable the application of the auditing methods described below.

The requisite questions for the beginning of the SCRM audit are therefore:

Scope and process of the SCRM auditing program
Have the subjects of the SCRM audit (e.g. sales or production departments) been selected?
Have the specific business aspects to be audited (e.g. logistics, supply chain management, etc.) been selected?
Have appropriate auditing techniques been defined (e.g. site visits, employee interviews, job observations, work-environment inspections, etc.)?
Is there a schedule for the SCRM audit process with the sequence, times, and duration of each individual department’s necessary approvals and access procedures?
What is the date of the SCRM audit kick-off meeting?
What is the date of the SCRM audit wrap-up meeting?
Has comparative criteria for the SCRM audit process been developed, which can be used to conclusively evaluate the audit findings?

Communication
Have all involved employees been informed of the SCRM audit schedule?
Have the physical workstations and corporate departments which will be audited been informed of the dates for the SCRM audit?
Are the communication channels for the SCRM audit defined?
Which employees will receive the final SCRM audit report?

Documentation
Is access to all the would be audited documents and details ensured?
Does the auditor have all necessary documents for the SCRM audit?
Does the auditor have any and all supplementary documents for the SCRM audit?
Have possible overlaps in content with other auditing systems been considered in order to avoid duplication of work?
Has a checklist for implementation of SCRM measures been prepared for the auditor?
Are the results of previous SCRM audits available? Where?

Extract from Schröder, M. (2019): Structured improvement of supply chain risk management. In: Supply Chain Management – Contributions to Procurement and Logistics, Series-Editor: Essig, M.; Stölzle, W., Kersten, W., Springer Gabler: Wiesbaden

How to audit the SCRM? Preparation of an SCRM Audit (Part 1/9)

Long-term efficiency of the SCRM process can only be achieved if comprehensive monitoring of the SCRM implementation process is performed in all phases. To this end, SCRM-related auditing is a suitable method.

In risk management literature, the additional process monitoring for the risk management process is being actively discussed but has not yet been applied to SCRM. Since there has been no attempt to date to develop SCRM auditing, either within the scientific literature or in practice, this topic has been addressed as part of our research.

Extract from Schröder, M. (2019): Structured improvement of supply chain risk management. In: Supply Chain Management – Contributions to Procurement and Logistics, Series-Editors: Essig, M.; Stölzle, W., Kersten, W., Springer Gabler: Wiesbaden