Our services
We provide supply chain transparency and
compliance to the Modern Slavery Act
Our services
We provide supply chain transparency and
compliance to the Modern Slavery Act
Standard Social Compliance Audits
Using common methodologies such as SMETA or other ETI Base Code audit formats to perform onsite audits and ensure compliance and continuous improvement.
Social Compliance auditing entails visiting factories, farms or warehouses to ensure that legal, salary, health & safety standards are being met in relation to the employees. During an audit (often conducted unannounced) the auditors will spend one or two days touring the site, interviewing management and workers, reviewing payroll/working hours, employee training records and procedure documentation. An audit report is then issued within five working days which includes a list of any issues found and any recommended corrective actions that need to be addressed.
Common methodologies for these type of audits include SMETA (www.sedex.com) which is based on the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code (www.ethicaltrade.org). Verisio was involved in developing the SMETA format and guidance documents and we perform many of these audits regularly across Europe and Asia. Our auditors are also SA8000 certified which allows them to provide the social compliance component of the Aqua Culture Stewardship Certification Scheme (www.asc-aqua.com).
Verisio has a team of specialised social compliance auditors who visit many sites every day as part of our programs for major brands, retailers and fast-food companies. In the United Kingdom we regularly find the following issues which are considered indicators of Modern Slavery risk:
Deep Dive is a cutting-edge audit methodology that uses technology and professional auditors to drive ethical compliance within supply chains and improve labour standards.
Unannounced audits
Extensive experience auditing in the UK
Cost effective option for the suppliers
Managed entirely by Verisio’s Deep Dive team using our propriety software Optimus
Forensic examination of bank accounts, payroll records and related documentation
Full-time, professional APSCA listed auditors www.theapsca.org
Supply Chain Management
Initially mapping, then understanding the entire supply chain and its inherent risks using existing audit data or assessment questionnaires while pushing continuously for corrective actions to be addressed.
Verisio’s senior management has been helping many of the UK’s largest retailers and brands for over twenty-five years to manage their supply chains. We have helped them to understand and to address the existing risks.
Traditionally this has been done by repeatedly auditing factories in China and Asia which has started to lead to audit fatigue.
Managing and fixing all of the non-conformances (issues) found during audits has also been an administrative challenge for under-staffed Responsible Sourcing Teams.
Verisio now provides a comprehensive service using our ‘Optimus’ software tool which can manage all of the data and provide regular dashboards to Responsible Sourcing Teams and Chief Executives.
This works as follows:
- Verisio will contact all of the Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 suppliers on behalf of the client. This list may be anything between 10 – 50,000 suppliers.
- Verisio will request existing ethical audit reports (such as SMETA, Amfori or similar schemes) and review these, grade the issues found and enter this data in our Optimus system.
- Optimus will chase the suppliers for evidence to validate that corrective actions have been closed off. This might require a desktop review of documents or a follow-up audit by an approved audit firm (members of APSCA)
- If no ethical audit reports are available, a tailored, Online Risk Assessment (ORA) may be used by Verisio to provide a risk snapshot.
- A supplier’s risk grading and open non-conformances will be updated regularly as new data is provided showing improvements. This status feeds into monthly reports or the real-time dashboards that clients can view online.
- Most of the routine administrative work of following up on supplier issues can be handled on behalf of the client by Verisio and our Optimus software allowing Responsible Sourcing Teams to focus on more strategic issues and ‘beyond auditing’ projects.
- The data provided by Optimus, in turn, feeds into the client’s annual Modern Slavery Statement, giving real facts, figures and granular detail for the reporting. Going forward Modern Slavery Statements are expected to be dynamic, not generic policy statements.
The 2015 Modern Slavery Act and Annual Statements
Verisio has been involved in all the recent consultations regarding the UK Modern Slavery Act and has a practical understanding of how to provide cost-effective and commercially-viable processes that prove a high degree of due diligence in relation to the legislation and its expected amendments (such as penalties for non-compliance). We can guide you to find the most appropriate approach to your supply chain transparency as required by Section 54.
Based on current government guidance the following should, and in future must be part of any company’s statement:
- The organisation’s structure, its business and its supply chains.
- Its policies in relation to slavery and human trafficking.
- Its due diligence processes in relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply chains.
- The parts of its business and supply chains where there is a risk of slavery and human trafficking taking place, and the steps it has taken to assess and manage that risk, which might include actual site visits.
- Its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains, measured against such performance indicators as it considers appropriate.
- The training and awareness-building regarding slavery and human trafficking provided to its staff.
ONLINE SELF-INSPECTION MODULE
Reducing costs by allowing approved factories to perform their own final random inspections (FRI) using our online system. Ideal for retailers and importers looking to save money while still monitoring their quality data consistently.
Most retailers and brands importing products from factories in China and Asia spend vast sums of money inspecting each container before the goods leave the factory.
This is a multi-billion dollar industry dominated by several large firms who charge for their inspection services on a man-day basis. During an inspection a random sampling of cartons will be chosen and inspected using a standardised methodology called the Acceptable Quality Level (AQL). This standard is generally ISO 2859 which is equivalent to the following national regulations: ANSI/ASQC Z1.4, NF06-022, BS 6001 and DIN 40080.
Defects are graded by level of severity: Critical, Major, Minor and referencing a set of statistical tables this allows the inspector to judge if a shipment Passes or Fails the buyer’s quality standards and performance requirements. Tests will also be conducted on site.
For over 60 years this physical inspection has been the norm but during the pandemic, site visits became impossible and other ways of controlling shipment quality had to be implemented. At Verisio we developed an online self-inspection module within our ‘Optimus’ system which is now being used by many retailers.
How this works:
- Verisio will train the factory’s quality team to perform a standard AQL inspection against an agreed Product Protocol and how to use the Online Self Inspection Module (OSIM).
- The buyer provides Verisio with the Purchase Orders for upcoming shipments from designated factories.
- Verisio will confirm the shipment and inspection date with the factory.
- The factory will perform a Final Random Inspection using their in-house quality inspectors.
- The factory’s inspectors will upload the findings and photographic evidence to the OSIM module which alerts Verisio.
- Verisio will check that all data has been correctly and consistently entered, then advise the buyer that the inspection report is online, waiting to be reviewed.
- The buyer will check the inspection report and release the shipment if it is Pass, or request for re-working/ re-inspection if the result is Fail. The buyer may also release a Fail or Pending report at their own discretion.
- On a random basis, agreed with the buyer, Verisio will perform an actual on-site inspection to ensure the integrity of the factory’s inspection data.
Key Benefits:
A dramatic cost-saving from actual physical inspections.
Consistent dashboard data measuring factories’ performance.
Ability to ramp up to a more intense inspection regime if required.
Factories taking full responsibility for their product quality.
Reduced shipment delays.
Pricing:
No annual fees or software set up costs.
25 GBP per online self-inspection.
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