The three fundamental and widely recognized types of supplier audits in quality and supply management are Systems, Process, and Product audits. A Systems Audit is a high-level examination of the supplier's overall management systems (e.g., Quality Management System, ISO 9001). A Process Audit is a more focused verification of a specific manufacturing or service delivery process to ensure it meets requirements and is performed consistently. A Product Audit is an inspection of the final product or service to confirm it conforms to all technical specifications and quality standards. This three-tiered approach provides a comprehensive evaluation of a supplier's capabilities.

A: "Performance audit" is a less precise term. Supplier performance is an outcome evaluated through process and product audits, not a distinct audit type in this standard classification.

B: "Timely audit" is not a type of audit. Timeliness is a characteristic of how an audit is conducted (i.e., its scheduling and execution), not its scope or subject matter.

C: "Business audit" is too general. It can refer to financial or strategic reviews, which are outside the specific operational and quality scope of the standard Systems-Process-Product framework.

1. Goetsch

D. L.

& Davis

S. B. (2016). Quality Management for Organizational Excellence: Introduction to Total Quality (8th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 11

"Auditing

" the text distinguishes between audits of the quality system

processes

and products as the primary types of quality audits.

2. Foster

S. T. (2017). Managing Quality: Integrating the Supply Chain (6th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 9 discusses quality audits

outlining the hierarchy from system-level audits down to process and product/service-level audits as a standard methodology for supplier assessment.

3. Purdue University

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). (n.d.). Internal Auditing Basics for ISO 9001:2015. Courseware materials frequently explain the three types of audits: "There are three main types of quality audits: a process audit

a product audit

and a system audit." Retrieved from https://www.mep.purdue.edu/events/internal-auditing-basics-for-iso-90012015/