A logistics audit compares how your logistics actually work (procurement, storage, order picking, transport and delivery) with a benchmark: your own targets, your competitors or a recognised model. It takes three steps: gather the data, measure the gaps with a few indicators, then build an action plan. It can be carried out internally, by a customer or by an independent body.
What is a logistics audit?
An audit compares observed facts with a set of requirements, the benchmark. You choose it: an internal target, a customer’s specifications or an industry model.
ISO 19011, the standard on auditing management systems, was replaced by a new edition in May 2026. Its 2018 edition distinguishes three kinds of audit, according to who carries them out:
| Audit | Who carries it out | Logistics example |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | The company, or a contractor on its behalf | A colleague from another department audits order picking |
| Second party | An interested party, such as a customer | A customer audits your delivery times |
| Third party | An independent body | A certification body audits for ISO 9001 |
A logistics audit can cover each step of the chain:
- the procurement of raw materials and goods;
- storage and stock management;
- order picking and packing;
- transport and delivery;
- returns handling.
It also examines the warehouse layout, the tracking documents (purchase orders, delivery notes, transfer notes), your teams’ productivity and whether your resources match your objectives. The aim is always the same: find what costs money, what causes delays or what damages your goods, and fix it.
Rules checked in October 2026.
A logistics audit takes three steps
- Gather the data on how things work now: stock, warehouse locations, movement of goods, staff movements, deliveries. Measure over a period long enough to cover your peaks in activity.
- Analyse the gaps between that data and the benchmark, step by step, using the indicators below. Each gap shows you where you are losing time or money.
- Build an action plan. The auditor writes a report that ranks the gaps; you decide on each correction, with an owner and a deadline.
Which benchmark should you choose?
- Your internal targets, such as an order-picking time or a cost per delivery you have set yourself.
- Your competitors, when you know their lead times and quality of service.
- A recognised model. The SCOR model (Supply Chain Operations Reference), maintained by ASCM, describes the supply chain in 7 processes in its current version: Orchestrate, Plan, Order, Source, Transform, Fulfill and Return. In the automotive industry, the self-assessment tool Global MMOG/LE, developed by AIAG and Odette, has become, according to AIAG, the global reference for assessing these processes. Galia publishes an evaluation grid for carriers and logistics service providers, built on version 3 of the tool.
With a recognised model, your teams, your customers and your suppliers share the same vocabulary.
Rules checked in October 2026.
Which indicators should you track?
Choose a few indicators, linked to your objectives, that your teams understand. Ask for their view: they are the ones who will measure them. The definitions of the first five come from the APQC glossary (American Productivity & Quality Center), in its 2013 edition.
| Indicator | What it measures |
|---|---|
| On-time delivery rate | The share of orders delivered within the time frame the customer requested |
| Perfect order | The share of orders delivered complete, on time, undamaged, with complete and accurate documents |
| Order fill rate | The share of orders filled completely |
| Line fill rate | The share of order lines filled completely |
| Stock turnover | The cost of goods sold over the year, divided by the average value of finished goods stock |
| Cost per delivery | The total cost of transport, divided by the number of deliveries |
| Load factor | The share of your vehicles’ capacity actually used |
The SCOR model lists the perfect order among its level-1 reliability indicators, and breaks it down into four: orders delivered in full, delivery on the date originally promised, accurate documents and goods in perfect condition.
Rules checked in October 2026.
What recommendations can you draw from the audit?
The results show you which processes and methods to change. To make those changes last:
- explain the audit to your frontline teams before it starts, and what they gain from it: fewer last-minute rushes, fewer pointless tasks;
- reorganise the space: clearly marked work and storage areas, a warehouse arranged around its flows;
- review your schedules for procurement and delivery, and your rounds;
- write simple procedures for each step, and measure the same indicators again a few months later;
- adopt tools that automate repetitive tasks, so your teams can focus on what calls for their judgement.
What is the difference between an audit and a logistics assessment?
We found no official text that separates the two words. In practice, a logistics assessment is an operational review of the current state, often a quick one, that spots the symptoms of a problem. An audit compares the situation with a written benchmark, using a method and evidence, and when a certification body carries it out, it can lead to certification.
ISO writes the standards but does not certify companies. ISO 9001 certification comes from a certification body, which can itself be accredited by a national accreditation body: UKAS in the UK, Cofrac in France, BELAC in Belgium. AFNOR is France’s member of ISO and coordinates standardisation in France.
Rules checked in October 2026.
Has your audit found a delivery problem?
If your deliveries cost a lot, arrive late or keep your teams on the phone, look at your rounds first: the order of destinations, how full your vehicles are and the time spent tracking each delivery. We organise your multi-drop rounds with a vehicle reserved for your goods, and our planning and routing algorithms work out the order and ETA of your destinations according to your constraints. Every delivery is tracked in real time, with proof of delivery, and 94% of our deliveries arrive within the agreed window.
