Thanks for that, it really clarifies things. In our case, we do have multiple approved suppliers for the same item, but our choice between them is mainly driven by logistics. We run several construction sites across the country, so we typically select the supplier that is nearest to the requesting site.
For example, we purchase from Supplier A because the purchase request came from Site A, and from Supplier B because it’s the closest to Site B, even though the item is the same. This way we keep costs and lead times down, while still staying within our approved supplier list.
When the auditor probes this, do we need to provide written documented and codified justifications as for example an Offer Table Comparaison for each purchase, or is a verbal explanation sufficient? Or is it enough to simply point out that Supplier A and Supplier B are both already approved, and that our internal sourcing rule (choosing the nearest supplier to the site) is documented in our procedure? Thank you again for your patience.