How Technology Simplifies Supplier Audits February 18, 2022 To maintain supplier assurance levels, industries are making the jump to remote audits. With added information and communication technologies (ICT), remote audits enable quality and compliance teams to play an active role with ongoing supplier activities without disrupting critical operational areas. The benefits of remote audits include lower costs, no travel restrictions, no logistical constraints, better use of resources and the ability to continuously monitor suppliers. Supplier Audits Ensure the Highest Level of Quality With the increased reliance on global suppliers, companies are looking to increase collaboration and transparency across the value chain. Now it is critical to maintain and streamline the supplier process using a single repository of suppliers. Utilizing a supplier module allows for quick onboarding eliminates multiple paper surveys. The supplier management module collects, tracks and manages required supplier documents providing real-time status on the dashboard. Risk-based supplier audits can be scheduled, allowing suppliers to update certificates, specifications or instructions for use (IFUs), and other documents in one location, enabling users to communicate bill of material (BOM) needs. Once the appropriate criteria are evaluated, auditors can generate a formatted report that includes the written audit observations of good practices and risks and problems identified. This report forms the basis of the discussion about the audit results and findings. An audit management system provides reporting capabilities that also generate trends and metrics against data gathered across reports. For example, using a system that can track multiple auditing groups, risk and prioritization can be rolled up and used to determine the prioritization of resources across groups, not just on a siloed basis within each group. Suppose a quality incident is related to a supplier. In that case, the supplier portal allows real-time communication between the company and the supplier to resolve the issue and quarantine any suspected material or finished goods, providing more significant supply chain reliability. The ability to quickly add, monitor, and remove suppliers will significantly impact the company’s ability to reduce the cost of inadequate quality. Keep Supplier Quality Top of Mind with Remote Audits Resiliency has proven to be a key criterion in the supply chain. Those with an electronic system in place were further along in their digital transformation journey; however, organizations can still catch up. The key to performing remote audits successfully is divided into six areas—plan, schedule, perform, report, action and close-out. More Resources About Supplier Quality Management DEMO: TrackWise Digital Supplier Quality Management (SQM) – Hear about Sparta’s Supplier Quality Management process. We introduce the supplier portal concept that will enable real-time collaboration, data capture and we will also touch on the various reporting that we have seen be very effective in helping streamline the process. CASE STUDY: Orion Corporation Transforms Quality Operations and Supply Chain Traceability with TrackWise Digital – “We needed to simplify the process and make it more transparent.” BLOG: Protect Your Product From the Risks of Supply Chain Complexity – When it comes to the supply chain complexity, visibility and collaboration are an integral part of a proactive quality management approach. BLOG: Managing Quality Within the Medical Device Supply Chain – For medical device manufacturers, supplier quality management can give crucial confidence in the quality of supplier components or raw materials. BLOG: How to Ensure Supplier Quality in Medical Devices – Supplier quality management systems can help medical device manufacturers ensure high-quality processes across an increasingly complex supply chain. EVENT RECAP: Q&A from Sparta’s “How to Establish Supplier Qualifications” Session – At the 11th Annual Medical Device Supplier Quality Assurance Conference, Sparta’s Zillery Fortner presented her topic “How to Establish Supplier Qualifications.” EVENT RECAP: Sparta Experts Present Their Insights on Digital Quality Transformation and Supplier Management – Sparta Systems, A Honeywell company, was a proud platinum sponsor of the 5th Annual European Medical Device and Diagnostic Supplier Quality Management (SQM) conference in Brussels, Belgium. Share via: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email
EVENT 9th GCC Regulatory Affairs Pharma Summit (and Quality Conference) 2024 GCC Regulatory Affairs Pharma Summit is an annual event that provides platform for pharmaceutical regulatory experts and industry professionals in the GCC region to share insights and discuss about the latest updates in the pharmaceutical regulations. We are Gold Sponsors of the 9th GCC Regulatory Affairs Pharma Summit 2024. Learn more
EVENT 7th Annual European Medical Device QA & SQM Conference 2024 The 7th Annual European Medical Device and Diagnostic Supplier Quality Management Conference aims to bring together the industry’s top-performing Supplier Quality Management (SQM) & QA QC professionals under one roof. We are Bronze Sponsors of the 2024 Medical Device QA & SQM Conference in Belgium. Learn more
EVENT TUG Americas Join industry peers at one of these FREE events for TrackWise and TrackWise Digital customers, with two dates and locations to choose from. Learn more
EVENT Building a Winning Life Science Eco-system – Leveraging the Quality Link between Platform, Processes and Patients Watch this unique webinar to discover how Life Science organizations can a combine a best-in-class platform with freedom of solution choice to improve product quality, productivity, and supply chain continuity. Learn more
CASE STUDY Empowering Innovation: Revelle Aesthetics Transforms Document Management and Training with TrackWise Digital Revelle Aesthetics selected TrackWise Digital to manage its key quality management processes—document management and training management. Learn more
BLOG The Impact of Digital QMS Solutions on the Life Sciences Industry The evolution of cloud-based quality management systems is transforming expectations and changing realities in the life sciences industry. Find out how in our latest newsletter edition. Learn more
BLOG Integrated Risk Management: Go Beyond Compliance To ensure patient safety, proactively detect signals and trends and continuously improve device quality and safety, integrating quality risk management with the quality management system (QMS) is essential. In our latest article, we consider the benefits of this integration and address the growing complexity of risk management. Learn more
BLOG Cultivate a Culture of Quality: 3 Steps to Getting Started Cultivating a quality culture is critical for any organization's long-term success, regardless of industry or size. Learn more
BLOG The Elements of a Successful CAPA Process To date, the most widely-used and effective process for ensuring safety and quality management is a closed-loop corrective action and preventive action system (CAPA). Learn more
BLOG How Pharmaceutical Quality Drives Performance While many pharmaceutical and biotech companies have begun investing in their quality systems, it’s not uncommon to still find mid-size or emerging manufacturers manually entering data into spreadsheets or using siloed systems that are unable to share information electronically. Learn more
BLOG CAPA Management: Technology to the Rescue If you have been struggling with corrective and preventive action (CAPA) management, it’s possible there is a tech solution that will lift the burden. Learn more
WEBINAR Meeting Compliance and Improving Efficiency with an integrated Quality Management System Join quality experts as they discuss how an integrated QMS can help manufacturers meet compliance while improving efficiency. Learn more
EVENT Quality Systems in the Digital Era: Are You Ready for the Future? Explore how to prepare for the future of quality systems in the digital era with Fabrizio Maniglio, Industry & Business Development Director. Hosted by Quality Digest. Learn more
BLOG The Power of Integration: A Holistic Approach to Quality and Document Management One of the key components for Life Sciences companies is to have their documents and data in order.... Learn more
BLOG It’s Time For The Life Sciences Industry To Embrace Quality 4.0 Sparta’s President and CEO, Oxana Karpenko Pickeral, explores how the Life Sciences industry can address core challenges and connect the “data dots” by embracing Quality 4.0. Learn more