CI Audit™ for Food – food supply chain optimisation and visibility
CI Audit provides users with the capability to investigate CI World food “issues”.
Issues are alerts of non-compliance generated automatically on the system, which provide client management, growers, storage managers and agronomists with an efficient tool for conducting online audits.
The CI World rules engine is configured with business rules based on client specification, which alert users to possible problems and issues within the food supply chain. Issue alerts are generated automatically by CI World when data received from a particular location does not comply with the rules specified by management. As represented in the CI World web console, each control point or node in the supply chain displays a particular status according to non-compliance levels and the associated risk profile for the node.
All issues generated can be investigated by the designated receiver on the system. Alternatively, it can be delegated or escalated to a colleague for further investigation. When an issue is passed on, further investigation is undertaken by the receiving user and its findings logged and recorded in the system against the originating issue. Therefore, a full audit trail on supply chain issues is created over time. CI Audit also allows for file attachment (such as soft-copy documentation or photographs) which can be added to the explanatory text of an issue resolution. Issue alerts can be configured to be sent to users by e-mail, SMS or other paging media as well as being made visible online, depending on the client specification.
To ensure that issues are routed to the specified users or managers responsible for a particular region of the food supply chain or a specific area of operation, CI World’s web-based functionality can be designed around user roles. When an issue is resolved it disappears from the system console for the original responsible user, but it is retained within the system for audit purposes.
When required by the client, the audit functionality can be made visible to third party auditing organisations. This can bring substantial operational efficiencies to the auditor, such as:
- Providing access to records data online;
- Ending a “sampling only” approach and enabling review of 100% of supply chain data; and
- Removing dependence on the site visit format for audit review.
CI Audit functionality assists management and auditors by expediting audit work flow:
- CI World automated analysis of underlying food supply chain data enables data set comparisons across locations and companies allowing online benchmarking of comparable sites. This provides management and auditors with the capability to direct more efforts in evaluating companies/areas that are perceived to be ‘most at risk’.
- Extracting data in a useable and practical fashion enables auditors and management to plan their desk and field based testing (e.g. picking statistically significant sample sizes and sample records).
• Web-based documentation of audit tasks and findings provides the ability to enforce a standardised methodology for documenting methods, actions, results, findings and reporting, enabling auditors to control the quality of their work regardless of location or person. - The ability to upload documents and other evidence such as photos and scanned certification allows CI Audit to act as a repository for critical evidence to enable an audit trail of the work performed and findings.
- Remote monitoring and input allows central and remote staff to interact and supervise field staff on a real time basis.
- All tasks and uploaded documents recorded in the system can be shared and reviewed globally in real-time. This enables the quality of audits to be controlled and progress can be monitored at any time, which reduces the risk for the audit firm.
CI Audit users can also make their food supply chain data visible on a selective basis to authorized users from prospective buyers in the retail and wholesale sectors. This allows sellers to pursue a price premium for traceable assets, while buyers can maximise their risk management capability in the purchasing process.
CI Audit deployments deliver substantial Return on Investment with payback delivered in months and weeks. Read more.
Read more about CI Audit for food by clicking on case studies or see CI Audit in action by viewing a film clip
