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Maintaining an open and trusting relationship with clients remains a priority for logistics providers. Regular scheduled audits and inspections of transport services help maintain necessary quality standards. For 11 years now, the AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG international corporate group has been running systematic audits of its transport partners.
In summer 2021, the company’s Minsk branch started auditing its Belarusian suppliers. The results of each audit are recorded in a report showing compliance rates for transport and logistics service provided. Based on the results of the audit, AsstrA leadership determines whether to continue working with each partner and, if so, which categories of cargo order to place with them and the volume of orders to put in their hands.
Anna Budaj
"The first stage of the audit is a questionnaire which we ask each supplier to fill in independently. The supplier must complete at least 70% of the questionnaire or else fail this first stage and be removed from our system. The next step in the audit is a series of requests for documentation and inspections of rolling stock. This step can be completed remotely within a reasonable timeframe according to the supplier’s schedule. Based on the information provided, AsstrA experts compile a report indicating how well the supplier met a checklist of our requirements,” says Anna Budaj, a Quality, Ecology and Occupational Safety Specialist at AsstrA.
In each case, the audit design is determined by risk ranking methodology that takes into account factors like the number of shipments and discrepancies as well as the types of products the supplier is transporting, e.g. food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, household appliances, or electronics.
In this summer’s round of audits, 700 suppliers are being analyzed via individual audits according to this methodology. AsstrA’s team of the quality, environmental and occupational safety experts has drawn up a schedule of audits for the coming months. The plan includes three types of audits that will ideally be conducted remotely, given the global epidemiological situation.
Already at the beginning of this summer, AsstrA transport partner BelGruz LLC successfully passed a full AsstrA audit. This supplier is also ISO, GDP, and SQAS certified.
"BelGruz passed our audit with an impressive 93% compliance rate. The AsstrA team looks forward to seeing them maintain this outstanding service quality,” says Anna Budaj.