Compliance is defined as the establishment of rules, processes and monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with the law, in addition to ensuring ethical standards in organizations. In the procurement area, compliance becomes a fundamental pillar to guarantee transparency, integrity, quality and sustainability in all procurement processes.
Benefits of implementing a purchasing compliance strategy
The implementation of a compliance program in the purchasing department offers multiple advantages:
- Fraud and corruption prevention: It establishes mechanisms that hinder practices such as bribery, kickbacks or conflicts of interest.
- Regulatory compliance: Ensures that all acquisitions comply with current legislation and industry regulations.
- Ethical relationships with suppliers: Promotes transparency and fairness in selecting and dealing with suppliers.
- Strengthening corporate reputation: Demonstrates the organization's commitment to ethical values.
- Mitigation of legal risks: Significantly reduces the risk of penalties, fines and litigation.
- Resource optimization: Improves efficiency and economic results by avoiding unnecessary expenses derived from bad practices.
Key steps to implement a purchasing compliance program
- Defines a regulatory framework
Establishes key compliance policies affecting the area and strategies for compliance.
This framework should include:
- Code of conduct for buyers
- Anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy
- Conflict of interest management guidelines
- Supplier selection and evaluation standards
- Compliance with sector-specific regulations (ISO 37301, ISO 9001, etc.)
- Automates processes
The digitization of purchasing processes is essential for:
- Reduce human error and manipulation
- Ensure complete traceability of each operation
- Ensure that all procurement is carried out in accordance with established standards
- Facilitating early detection of irregularities through automatic alerts
- Generate accurate and timely compliance reports
- Establishes periodic audits
A continuous monitoring system is essential to verify compliance:
- Defines clear performance and compliance metrics
- Schedules regular internal and external audits
- Systematically reviews compliance with policies in each process
- Adjusts procedures as needed based on findings
- Document all reviews to create a compliance history
- Encourages compliance
The human factor is a determining factor in the success of any compliance program:
- Continuously train your employees in ethical standards and practices.
- Develops specific training programs for the purchasing team.
- Implement secure whistleblower channels for irregularities
- Recognizes and rewards exemplary behaviors
- Clearly communicates the consequences of non-compliance
Key KPIs to measure compliance strategy in procurement
To determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the compliance program, metrics that fit the processes of the area and the needs of each organization must be implemented. Here you will learn about the main KPIs to measure the strategy:
| Measuring factor | KPI |
| Supplier evaluation | Percentage of suppliers evaluated under compliance criteria. |
| Risk control | Number of incidents or non-conformities detected. Average response time to a non-compliance alert. |
| Audit and traceability | Percentage of contracts audited annually. Percentage of digitized and traceable purchasing processes. |
| Prevention indicators | Number of suppliers rejected for non-compliance with compliance policies. Stakeholder satisfaction rate with respect to compliance. |
Establishing a procurement compliance strategy is not only limited to complying with current legal regulations. It also provides organizations with a competitive advantage where quality, transparency and ethics become the main gateway to sustainable growth and operational excellence.
Does your company already have processes in place to ensure the integrity of every purchase? Contact us to advise you and take your purchasing and compliance processes to another level.
