Segura’s new AI Certification Automation is a game-changer for brands and retailers looking to streamline sourcing certificate approvals across complex supply chains.
Historically, the collection of scope and transaction certificates in multi-tier supply networks has been a time-intensive and highly manual process. Each certificate must be requested, the data entered, and then validated to ensure it matches the relevant supplier and associated purchase order. But with AI assistance, this process can now be completed faster and with greater confidence.
Before we go any further, let's take a step back and look at why this is so important.
What are Scope and Transaction Certificates for?
What does Certificate Management Look Like in Practice?
How can AI Reduce the Workload?
How does Segura's Automated Certificate Management System Work?
The Benefits of Certification Automation
Will AI Replace Human Teams in Certification Management?
Where does Certificate Management fit into the Supply Chain Mapping Process?
Sourcing certificates verify the sustainable attributes of a product by confirming the origin of its materials and the factories involved in processing them. Certificates are issued by independent bodies that audit and approve suppliers against defined ecological standards.
For retailers, certificates also attest that suppliers are using the specified materials and complying with agreed sourcing requirements. They also substantiate the information printed on care labels and in marketing claims related to the eco-credentials of a product.
Scope certificates validate a supplier’s declaration of who they’ve engaged as a manufacturer, and that their facility is an authorised location approved by the overseeing certification body.
Transaction certificates validate a supplier’s declaration that the sub-contractor has been engaged to fulfil the Purchase Order (PO) using materials with certified sustainable attributes in accordance with the requirements of the relevant certification scheme.
Examples of certificates
The major schemes that issue certificates to suppliers are:
A retailer needs to collect and verify certificates from their suppliers to validate that the materials used in their products have the sustainable credentials which have been specified in a purchase order. Multiple product lines, including an array of garments or shoes, will involve potentially hundreds of transactions and scope certificates. So, managing them all is no mean feat!
It is the retailer's responsibility to check that any certificates provided are valid. Key points are to ensure that certificates are in date, are issued to the correct supplier, and that the facility addresses match. Thereafter, a retailer can make further checks on the issuer's database to ensure that the certificate matches their entry.
Requesting and tracking certificates through emails, spreadsheets, dispersed data systems, and manual data entry requires significant effort and leaves room for error. The result is often chasing suppliers manually, missing deadlines and missing certificates altogether. There is also the potential that suppliers' certificates are not within their expiry date or not issued to the exact facility that was engaged for the work. This can lead to low confidence in sustainability claims, limited visibility into supplier risk, and increased exposure to compliance penalties, particularly around greenwashing.
Today, the challenges associated with manual certificate collection, tracking and management can be sped up and mitigated through automation using artificial intelligence.
Let’s explore how automated certificate management works in practice, the benefits it delivers, and how AI and human expertise work together to create a more efficient, resilient approach to ensuring your products genuinely align with sustainability claims you make about them.
The Segura system automates the request and chasing of suppliers to upload a valid certificate relevant to the products, components and services they are providing as part of their purchase order (PO).
Suppliers upload their certificates into Segura’s supplier portal against a PO. AI-powered document recognition extracts key data points directly into the client database, eliminating manual data entry and reducing human error.
The extracted information is automatically categorised, including:
This ensures structured, searchable, and standardised records across the entire supply base.
Reduced Manual Work and Lower Costs
One of the biggest advantages of certification automation is the significant reduction in manual effort. Time-consuming tasks such as manual data entry, certificate validation and approval, document chasing and follow-up emails are dramatically reduced.
AI excels at repetitive, data-heavy, time-sensitive tasks. It will never miss a deadline, get tired of monitoring data, or overlook a detail buried in a document.
By taking on the bulk of this administrative workload, AI frees up teams to focus on interesting and higher-value activities such as strategic supplier engagement, risk management and relationship building, all of which are more impactful and rewarding.
Reduced risk
Humans are naturally more prone to errors when handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks such as entering incorrect expiry dates or overlooking missing documentation. Automation reduces this risk by capturing and validating data consistently and accurately.
Furthermore, potential issues can be identified early through automated validation and confidence scoring. This proactive approach reduces the likelihood of non-compliant suppliers slipping through the net and strengthens overall supply chain resilience.
Improved Visibility
Instead of information being buried in spreadsheets, teams gain access to centralised dashboards that provide a clear, real-time view of certification status across all suppliers and tiers.
AI can also proactively flag expired, missing or soon-to-expire documentation, allowing teams to take action before issues escalate or disrupt operations.
Greater Scalability and Audit Readiness
AI-powered automation scales with supply chain growth, supporting hundreds or thousands of suppliers without proportionally increasing headcount. At the same time, documentation is structured, searchable and traceable, making audits faster, smoother and less stressful.
No — and it shouldn’t. Certification management within the supply chain is not purely administrative. While AI can take on the bulk of the operational workload, it cannot replace the human judgment, communication and relationship-building that effective supplier management depends on.
By removing repetitive administrative tasks, AI allows people to focus on the areas where they add the most value.
Human relationships remain essential for:
Negotiating corrective action plans
When certifications lapse or gaps are identified, resolving the issue often requires discussion and collaboration. Human teams are needed to assess context, negotiate realistic timelines, and agree on corrective action plans that are both compliant and commercially practical.
Communicating regulatory changes
Regulations and standards are constantly evolving. Translating complex regulatory updates into clear, actionable guidance for suppliers requires nuance, clarity and dialogue, something that still relies heavily on human expertise.
Supporting suppliers through improvement programmes
Not all suppliers have the same resources or maturity levels. Many need support to meet certification requirements. Human engagement helps suppliers improve over time through coaching, education and structured improvement programmes, strengthening the supply chain as a whole.
Managing disputes
Disagreements can arise around compliance expectations, documentation validity, or timelines. These situations require careful handling, empathy and negotiation skills that AI alone cannot replicate.
Building trust across the supply network
Strong supply chains are built on trust. Long-term supplier relationships rely on transparency, collaboration and mutual understanding, all of which are fundamentally human. Trust encourages openness, faster issue resolution and more resilient partnerships.
Ultimately, AI enhances human capability rather than replacing it. By handling the repetitive, data-heavy work, automation gives teams more time to focus on strategy, collaboration and supplier relationships, the areas where humans make the biggest difference.
Supply chain mapping to N-tier is a significant undertaking for any retailer. All businesses must begin with the basics. The mapping process starts by onboarding your Tier 1 suppliers, who, in turn, declare the suppliers, products and service they used to fulfil their purchase order. This declaration process cascades upstream through the supply chain down to raw materials, automating the discovery and mapping of retailers upstream supply chains, the traceability of the products and services which are being delivered to them, and the collection of ethical and environmental data and evidence such as certificates and test reports, all tied together by the purchase order chain of custody.
The collection of robust real-time granular data and evidence of what is actually happening in their upstream supply chains is essential. It enables retail teams to identify and action risk and build legal compliance and ethical sustainability (Ecodesign) into their responsible sourcing practises. It is this same real-time robust data that enables AI tools to generate robust outputs that stand up to scrutiny.
We encourage you to read "The Supply Chain Mapping Process - a step by step guide" to learn more about the Segura way of achieving supply chain transparency.
For more information about automated certificate management, please get in touch.
Segura is the leading fashion supply chain traceability solution, empowering fashion retailers and brands to deliver ethical, sustainable and efficient multi-tier supply chains.
Segura provides n-tier mapping, transparency, traceability, visualisation, compliance and reporting. Segura sits in the centre of your supply chain management structure creating a central repository for all your supply chain, ESG-related data and evidence, including from third-party data sources.
With all supply chain traceability data stored on a single platform, our customers get the right evidence in the right place to back up claims and meet regulatory compliance.
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