Supplier Provenance Trust & Data Transparency Assessment

Welcome to this survey on supplier provenance claims and data transparency. This survey takes approximately 14 minutes. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. There are no right or wrong answers — we are interested in your professional experience and opinions. All responses are confidential, will be anonymized, and reported only in aggregate. Results will be used for internal research to improve supply-chain transparency practices. By continuing, you agree to participate in this study.

In the last 12 months, how often did you encounter supplier provenance claims?

• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Once or twice
• Not in the last 12 months

Overall, how much do you trust the supplier provenance claims you encountered in the last 12 months?

Which types of data do you usually receive alongside provenance claims? Select all that apply.

• Batch/lot identifiers
• Timestamps by process step
• Process or quality logs
• Upstream supplier identifiers
• Transport/shipping documents
• Chain-of-custody diagrams
• None of the above

How often do provenance claims influence your supplier selection or qualification decisions?

Which of the following improvements would most increase your trust in supplier provenance claims going forward? Select all that apply.

• Batch-level traceability across tiers
• Independent certification from recognized bodies
• Standardized data formats (e.g., EPCIS)
• Real-time data access (API/portal)
• Tamper-evident packaging/technologies
• Clear chain-of-custody diagrams
• Supplier training on data quality
• Contractual warranties/penalties
• Other (please specify)

Which of the following best describes your primary role?

• Procurement/Sourcing
• Quality (QA/QC)
• Supply Chain/Operations
• Compliance/Regulatory
• Sustainability/ESG
• Legal/Contracts
• IT/Data
• Executive/Leadership
• Other (please specify)

Thank you for completing this survey — your insights will help improve provenance practices and data transparency across supply chains. Your responses are confidential and will be reported only in aggregate.

Why haven't provenance claims surfaced for you recently? Select all that apply.

• Not applicable to my current products
• Limited supplier communication on provenance
• Lack of common standards
• Verification costs are too high
• Customers do not request it
• Insufficient confidence in current claims
• Other (please specify)

How confident are you in the accuracy of the stated origin or source in supplier provenance claims?

How would you rate the level of detail in the provenance data typically provided by suppliers?

How often do provenance claims influence your contract renewal or negotiation decisions?

We'd like to explore your experiences with provenance data in a bit more depth. An AI moderator will ask you a couple of follow-up questions based on your earlier answers.

Which industry best describes your organization?

• Food & Beverage
• Consumer Goods
• Pharmaceuticals/Life Sciences
• Automotive/Industrial
• Electronics
• Apparel/Textiles
• Chemicals/Materials
• Other (please specify)

Which of the following activities do you personally handle related to provenance or traceability? Select all that apply.

• Supplier qualification/selection
• On-site audits/inspections
• Compliance documentation review
• Track-and-trace operations
• Purchasing/sourcing
• Contracts/legal terms
• Quality assurance testing
• Sustainability or ESG reporting
• None of the above

How confident are you in the completeness of chain-of-custody documentation provided?

In your experience, what provenance data is most often missing or incomplete?

How often do provenance claims influence your product acceptance or rejection decisions?

Based on your responses in this survey, is there anything else you would like to share about provenance claims or data transparency?

Approximately how many employees does your organization have?

• 1–49
• 50–249
• 250–999
• 1,000–4,999
• 5,000+

When suppliers refer to "provenance," which of the following best matches your working definition?

• Source geography and origin
• Chain-of-custody back to raw inputs
• Independent third-party certification of origin
• Digital traceability (IDs, QR, blockchain)
• Verified social/environmental attributes

How confident are you in the authenticity of certifications presented alongside provenance claims?

How do you usually validate supplier provenance claims? Select all that apply.

• Cross-check with purchase orders/shipping documents
• Sample-based physical testing
• Request third-party verification
• Supplier site audit
• Rely on established relationship
• Do not validate unless an issue arises
• None of the above

How often do provenance claims influence your compliance or regulatory reporting?

Where is your primary work region?

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa
• Multiple regions

How confident are you in the reliability of digital traceability data (e.g., lot IDs, QR codes, blockchain records)?

Approximately how many hours per typical purchase order does your team spend validating provenance claims?

• Less than 1 hour
• 1–2 hours
• 3–5 hours
• 6–10 hours
• 11–20 hours
• More than 20 hours
• We do not track this

In the last 12 months, did you formally dispute any supplier provenance claim?

• Yes
• No

How many years of experience do you have in your current field?

• Less than 1
• 1–3
• 4–7
• 8–15
• 16+

Rank the following signals by how much they increase your trust in a supplier's provenance claim. Place the most influential signal at the top.

1. Recognized third-party certification
2. Digital traceability across the chain
3. On-site audit results
4. Detailed process documentation
5. Peer or customer references

What was the primary outcome of the most recent provenance dispute?

• Claim withdrawn and corrected by supplier
• Partial discrepancy resolved
• Unresolved/no agreement
• Switched supplier
• Other (please specify)

Which of the following best describes your organization's typical relationship to suppliers?

• Direct manufacturer
• Distributor/Wholesaler
• Retailer
• Service provider
• Other (please specify)