The statement mentions that there are annual audits at each of the facilities, and that the procurement department is in charge of conducting audits after careful selection of facilities to audit.

Ranjani probably means "To ensure compliance, KYOCERA AVX corporate personnel audit each facility at least annually" (p.2) and "KYOCERA AVX's procurement department determines which suppliers to physically audit as

part of the overall compliance effort" (p.3)

But auditing is not consulting.

The research question is applicable because the company discloses that it has own facilities as well as supply chain actors: "components manufactured in our facilities throughout the world and components manufactured by other suppliers to KYOCERA AVX." (p. 1/2)

Indicators for consultation:

- "KYOCERA AVX maintains an open dialog with all suppliers to ensure their understanding and compliance with these requirements as well as engaging in a risk-based analysis to determine ifaudits or inspections are necessary. "

- "Monitoring of news reports and other information publicly available about its suppliers",

- "Evaluation of any reports through the compliance reporting system"

(all p.4)

This metric is about consultation with entities the company owns or control, not consultation with suppliers.