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Supplier, API, Excipient & CDMO Audits

Your quality system is only as strong as
your weakest supplier.

Supplier and CDMO audits led personally by Roberto L. Rivera — four decades in cGMP and 24 years of GMP auditing, former Pfizer Senior Audit Manager II. Independent qualification and surveillance audits across global supply chains — whether you're qualifying a new vendor or extending an audit schedule your team can't cover alone.

The Situation

Every supplier you approve
becomes part of your compliance record.

When the FDA inspects you, your suppliers' failures become your findings. An unqualified API source, an excipient vendor with a weak quality system, a CDMO cutting corners on the floor — each one is a gap in your own compliance posture, whether or not your team has the capacity to see it.

Meanwhile, the audit schedule keeps growing. New suppliers to qualify, approved ones due for surveillance, for-cause audits that jump the queue — and an internal team that can only be in one place at a time. Audits slip, and unqualified risk accumulates quietly in the supply chain.

An experienced independent auditor closes both gaps: qualifying vendors rigorously, and giving your program the capacity to stay on schedule.

"We're short of auditing resources to meet our supplier, contractor, and internal audit goals. I need someone who has done it all to help us stay on schedule."

This is one of the most common reasons clients call. Roberto audits as an independent Lead Auditor on your behalf — using your program or his — so the schedule gets met and the qualifications hold up under inspection.

Rigorous Audits and Assessments

Rigorous qualification —
across every supplier category

From a single for-cause audit to a full outsourced audit schedule. Roberto is your Lead Auditor, not a project manager.

API & Excipient Supplier Audits

Qualification and requalification of active ingredient, excipient, and raw-material suppliers against ICH Q7, 21 CFR 211, and applicable regional standards.

CMO / CDMO Qualification

Full qualification of contract development and manufacturing organizations, including complex biologics and sterile operations, domestic and international.

Contract Laboratory Audits

GMP and ISO/IEC 17025 assessment of contract testing labs — analytical chemistry, microbiology, and specialized methods.

Ongoing Surveillance Audits

Scheduled requalification that keeps approved suppliers in a qualified state and your program continuously inspection-ready.

Audit-Capacity Support

Independent Lead Auditor capacity to meet your annual supplier, contractor, and internal audit schedule when your internal team is stretched.

CAPA Verification Audits

Independent verification that a supplier's corrective and preventive actions were genuinely implemented and effective — not just promised on paper.

The Process

How a supplier audit runs

Step 01Scope & planning

Roberto reviews the supplier, the materials or services involved, and your qualification requirements, then builds a targeted audit plan and agenda. A mutual NDA can be executed first.

Step 02On-site or remote audit

The audit is conducted against your program or his — systems, facilities, documentation, and the floor — with real-time observations and a daily debrief so there are no surprises.

Step 03Findings report

A written report with prioritized findings mapped to the applicable regulations, plus a clear qualification recommendation your quality system can act on.

Step 04CAPA review & approval

Review and approval of the supplier's corrective action responses, confirming the gaps are genuinely closed before qualification is granted.

Step 05Surveillance scheduling

A requalification cadence is set so approved suppliers stay qualified and your audit program stays ahead of the schedule rather than behind it.

Why Roberto

He led audits and enhanced the supplier audit program at global scale.

You work directly with Roberto L. Rivera — not a rotating team of junior associates. A former Wyeth and Pfizer Senior Audit Manager II at the Manufacturing and Supplier Quality Assessment Group, auditing biotech, pharmaceutical, nutritional, medical device, consumer healthcare, and veterinary suppliers on five continents. Bilingual in English and Spanish, with deep experience qualifying complex biologics and CDMOs internationally.

Four DecadescGMP Experience
24Years GMP Auditing
5Continents Audited
2Languages — English & Spanish
Common Questions

Supplier & CDMO audits, answered

What types of suppliers do you audit?

API manufacturers, excipient and raw-material suppliers, CMOs and CDMOs, contract laboratories, packaging and component suppliers, and specialized biologics and sterile manufacturers. Roberto has audited across all of these categories on five continents.

Can you extend our internal audit capacity?

Yes. Roberto accepts client engagements to meet a supplier, contractor, and internal audit schedule your team cannot cover alone. He performs audits as an independent Lead Auditor on your behalf — using your program and templates or his — and delivers findings your quality system can act on directly.

Do you audit international suppliers?

Yes. Roberto has performed supplier and CMO qualification audits across the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and is bilingual in English and Spanish — especially experienced with complex biologics and CDMO qualification across international supply chains.

What do we receive after an audit?

A written audit report with prioritized findings mapped to the applicable regulations, a clear qualification recommendation, and review and approval of the supplier's CAPA responses. Ongoing surveillance audits can be scheduled to keep approved suppliers qualified.

Qualify with confidence.
Stay ahead of the schedule.
Roberto responds personally within one business day. A mutual NDA can be executed before any detail is shared.
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