Adviser — Traceability and Agricultural Sourcing Assurance

Claims must match the evidence available

Map the path from supplier information to customer-facing statements. Review how origin, chain-of-custody, processing and aggregation are recorded, including points where material from different sources is combined. Identify which claims depend on physical segregation, which depend on documented accounting and which currently lack a sufficiently clear basis.

Relevant assurance experience

Candidates should have substantial agricultural supply-chain assurance, traceability or responsible sourcing experience. They need analytical discipline, familiarity with physical product flows and the ability to distinguish evidence gaps from confirmed adverse findings. Experience working across procurement, quality and commercial teams is valuable.

Verify the mechanism and target the gaps

Assess supplier due diligence, document verification and the treatment of exceptions. Review the scope of third-party assurance and whether management understands its limitations. Where information is collected through intermediaries, examine the practical ability to verify it and the incentives that may affect its reliability.

Recommend a risk-based improvement plan that recognises the diversity of suppliers and the cost of information collection. The aim is not to impose the same burden everywhere, but to focus effort where uncertainty could materially affect product claims or sourcing decisions. Work with commercial leaders to align the wording of claims with the evidence available.

Advisory findings and their limits

Deliver a claims-and-evidence register, a traceability gap assessment and a prioritised remediation plan. Include practical ownership and a method for reviewing new claims before they are used. The adviser has no authority to certify suppliers, approve public statements or terminate contracts. Those decisions remain with management and authorised specialists. The final report must identify its scope and limitations clearly, allowing decision-makers to improve assurance without overstating what the engagement has established.