6 Pillars Of Supplier Quality Assessments

Monitoring performance is essential to make sure all parts of the process are working as efficiently as possible. When selecting a sub-tier supplier OEM’s and Tier 1 suppliers will monitor key performance indicators using defined criteria for acceptable performance. These indicators will vary based on the supplier but there’s a general checklist of questions when assessing system quality. These questions fall into six categories: facilities, profile information, logistics, manufacturing, quality, and technology.

Here are some questions that will come up in supplier assessment:

Facilities

• Does the supplier have a formal capacity plan and analysis methodology that is used and maintained?

• List the employee turnover rate for the past two years

Profile Information

• What products or services does the facility manufacture?

• Is there any pending litigation against the supplier/facility?

• What is the supplier’s on-time delivery percentage for production and service parts for the past two years?

Logistics

• What are the different modes of transportation used to ship product?

• Does the supplier have internal packaging design capabilities?

Manufacturing

• Is there evidence of appropriate and adequate operator training?

• Is the work place properly organized, e.g., 5S, lean, ergonomic?

• Does the supplier select resources based on education, training, experience, and/or requirements?

Quality

• Does the supplier ensure early sub-tier supplier involvement in APQP?

• Does the supplier conduct equipment validation and perform run at rate in preparation for production?

• Does the supplier have an end-of-life management process, e.g., controlled ramp-down, to protect customer quality and schedules?

Technology

• Is there is evidence of regular design and development reviews with customers?

• Are technical reviews completed to address all open issues?

• Are formal documented design reviews by the appropriate functions conducted at appropriate stages of design per a design plan?

The full checklist of questions is available as a part of the CQI-19 guidelines and would be essential in dealing with assessments.