Supplier audits – on site, remote, multilingual
Uniform catalogues for every supplier, actions handled where they arise, complaints as 8D reports and reports in the supplier’s language: IMS-Audit Cloud covers the complete supplier audit process.
Four cases from everyday purchasing and QM
Supplier evaluation & initial audit
New suppliers are assessed with a uniform question catalogue – every result is comparable with every other, and fulfilment levels appear on the dashboard immediately.
Follow-up audit
Last year’s audit sits alongside question by question; trend arrows show whether the supplier has improved. The proof of effectiveness is created as a by-product.
Complaint against a supplier
A supplier complaint becomes an 8D report with 5-Why analysis and immediate actions; corrective actions run with deadlines and escalation in action management.
Supplier abroad
The supplier answers in English or Polish, your purchasing team reads in German: audit answers are translated automatically (DeepL integration), and the report goes out in the supplier’s language.
Supplier audits with IMS-Audit Cloud
Question catalogues per supplier type
Your own catalogues for initial sampling, process or system audits at the supplier – imported from Excel or derived from ready-made standard catalogues (sold separately), multilingual in the master catalogue.
Go to feature →Audit on site or remotely
On a tablet at the supplier, offline in Excel with re-import when there is no network – or remotely in the browser – your audit team works simultaneously in the same catalogue.
Go to feature →Let suppliers work on their actions
Restricted logins in IMS-Audit Cloud are additional, limited logins: the supplier works on its own actions without occupying a full user – 5 to 80 included depending on the plan.
See pricing →8D reports for supplier complaints
Structured 8D workflow, 5-Why directly in the report, photos and documents as attachments, finished PDF report in your corporate design. On request, the supplier completes the released steps itself via its restricted login.
Go to feature →Report in the supplier’s language
Language selection per print run: the same audit report in German for purchasing, in English for the supplier – with logo and corporate colours.
Go to feature →Supplier audits in the management review
Results of supplier audits flow automatically into the management review to ISO 9001 clause 9.3 as a separate data block.
Go to feature →What you can rely on
- Self-assessment in advance: the supplier rates the question catalogue before the audit via its restricted login – you see its view next to your rating and adopt what fits
- Follow-up audit with the deviations only: the follow-up audit carries over only the conspicuous questions and shows the actions from the previous audit per question
- All supplier audits in one overview: filter, track status, compare fulfilment levels
- Audit programme for suppliers in the annual and Gantt view – together with the internal audits
- Multi-client capable: suppliers cleanly separated per plant or purchasing organisation
- User interface in eight languages; audit answers translated automatically, the original is kept
- Field-level change tracking – traceable who rated what and when
- A separate database per company, hosting in Germany, optional two-factor authentication
Related: International audits without language barriers · Software for internal audits · IATF 16949
Supplier audits in practice
Can the supplier assess itself before the audit?
Yes. On the audit you name a person with a restricted login in IMS-Audit Cloud and invite them by e-mail with a deadline. The supplier rates every question of the catalogue from its point of view, adds evidence and submits the self-assessment. In the question catalogue it appears as a separate column next to your rating; you can adopt it per question, for open questions only, or completely. Only your rating counts towards the audit result.
Can the supplier work on its actions itself?
Yes. Via restricted logins in IMS-Audit Cloud – additional, limited logins – the supplier works specifically on the items that concern it, without occupying a full user. Depending on the plan, 5 to 80 restricted logins are included.
How does a supplier audit abroad work language-wise?
The supplier answers in its language, your team reads in its display language: audit answers are translated automatically via the DeepL integration (with your company’s own API key), the original is kept and translations are marked as “machine-translated”. You print the report in the supplier’s language.
Are there ready-made question catalogues for supplier audits?
Ready-made standard catalogues – for example for ISO 9001, IATF 16949 or ISO 13485 – are sold separately and can be used for supplier audits. You can create your own catalogues tailored to your supplier type at any time free of charge, or import them from Excel.
How do I link complaints to the supplier audit?
You handle supplier complaints as 8D reports – on request, the supplier completes the released steps itself via its restricted login; corrective actions run in central action management with deadlines and escalation. In the next supplier audit you see the status – and in the management review, complaints and supplier audits appear as separate data blocks.
Supplier audits without paper and Excel attachments.
All modules included, restricted logins for your suppliers included – in the meeting we show you the process using your own suppliers.