12-point supplier quality checklist
Do you practice supplier quality management?
Supplier quality is a relative thing: all suppliers aspire to a level of quality, but some are more committed to higher quality than others.
How can you assess the degree of your suppliers’ commitment to quality? A thorough assessment requires extensive supply chain quality skills, but the following checklist, from Next Level Purchasing, can get you started.
The more of the following characteristics that a supplier has, the more serious that supplier is about quality.
The supplier measures its quality performance.
The supplier uses parts-per-million (ppm) as its unit for measuring quality, not percent defective.
The supplier has quality performance goals.
The supplier has a documented record of continual quality improvement over several years.
The supplier’s quality efforts are focused on preventing defective items from being produced rather than detecting defective items that have already been produced.
The supplier has formalised quality documentation and training programmes to ensure that quality is sustainable through staff changes.
The supplier knows its standard deviation.
The supplier can demonstrate how it uses tools to determine whether or not it is in control of its processes.
The supplier has a quality-related certification like ISO9001.
The supplier has implemented a leading quality improvement programme like Lean, Six Sigma, or Lean Six Sigma.
The supplier has implemented a quality improvement programme with its own suppliers.
The supplier has won quality awards or is a member of associations that recognise quality.
Reproduced from the Next Level Purchasing Association
