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Why missing supplier information shouldn't become a risk finding.

Vettique uses AI to assess suppliers. I changed how its reports used external information so missing records were distinguished from evidence of risk.

Written by
Patrick Gibbs
Published
Reading time
2 min read

Vettique is a supplier-assessment tool whose risk reports are written by an AI model. When I worked on it, missing information could push a supplier’s risk score up even when there wasn’t evidence that the supplier was unsafe.

A business-directory search is one example. Failing to find a listing tells you that the search returned no listing; it doesn’t establish why the business is absent.

Make the available evidence visible

I connected seven sources of supplier information, including customs records, business listings, pricing information, and website checks, and rewrote the AI’s instructions so that evidence drives its analysis. The reports were also changed to show missing information separately from signs of risk.

In one recorded example, a verified supplier’s score changed from 85, labeled AVOID, to 25, labeled PROCEED. That example illustrates a corrected assessment; it doesn’t establish the overall accuracy of the scoring system.

Check whose records you’re using

The work also identified 396,339 shipment records assigned to the wrong suppliers. Those records were removed before launch.

Adding sources is only useful if the information belongs to the business being assessed and the report makes its limitations clear. That’s the lesson I’d carry into another research or assessment tool.

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