Know which supplier evidence needs another look.
A certificate arriving in your inbox is not the end of the review process. Keep the dates that matter, follow up when needed, and review replacements against your own supplier requirements.
For small teams responsible for keeping supplier evidence and renewal follow-up organized.
Separate expiry dates from review dates
Some documents have an expiry date; others need a scheduled review even though they do not expire. Record the appropriate date for the requirement rather than assuming every PDF has a validity period.
Your team should confirm dates against the original evidence. A date extracted during screening is a starting point for review, not independent confirmation that a certificate is genuine or currently valid.
- Record the relevant review or expiry date.
- Assign responsibility for following up with the supplier.
- Reconfirm dates when replacement evidence is reviewed.
Choose renewal follow-up deliberately
Recurring renewal automation is opt-in. Decide which requirements need it and review the settings before enabling follow-up. A due date is not permission to automatically accept a replacement document.
Keep supplier requests attached to the purchasing company's workflow. This makes the purpose of a request clearer and avoids treating one customer's evidence collection as another customer's approval.
- Enable recurring follow-up only where your team wants it.
- Keep renewal work connected to the relevant supplier requirement.
- Review incoming evidence before changing internal acceptance.
Inspect what changed in the replacement
A replacement can change more than its date. Select the earlier and newer PDFs for a comparison, ask the question your team needs answered, and inspect the cited source pages alongside both originals.
Supporting evidence exports can help your team assemble records for review. They are not an authenticated certificate, a statutory filing, or a guarantee that an auditor will accept the evidence.
A few clear answers.
Does an unexpired certificate mean the supplier is compliant?
No. A date alone does not establish authenticity, scope, or compliance with your requirements. Your team remains responsible for checking the evidence and deciding what it can support.
Will reminders run automatically for every supplier?
No. Recurring renewal automation is opt-in. The free sandbox also holds external supplier emails, so it should not be treated as an unattended supplier-email service.
What happens when a supplier sends a replacement?
Review the new evidence, reconfirm the relevant dates, and make a separate human acceptance decision. AI screening or comparison does not automatically certify or approve it.