In CBM T6, supplier audits are typically conducted by which group to assess supplier quality and facilities?

• A. The supplier's own internal team
• B. A cross-functional supplier development team from the supplier
• C. The customer or procurement/quality team
• D. An independent third-party auditor

Answer: (C)

Audits are typically led by the customer’s procurement and quality teams because they own the requirements and want an objective check on whether the supplier can consistently meet them. This group evaluates the supplier’s quality management system, process controls, capability, and facilities from the perspective of what the customer needs—ensuring proper quality, traceability, corrective actions, and risk mitigation. Since the customer bears the downstream risk and payoff, they have the best authority and motivation to verify that the supplier operates to expected standards. Other options exist in practice, but they’re less common as the primary audit force: the supplier’s own internal team isn’t independent, a supplier development team from the supplier is still internal, and independent third-party audits can happen but are not the standard approach in this context.