For manufacturing suppliers, we need to evaluate their quality , production and material management systems . These three systems are the guarantee of the supplier’s operational performance and the source of the supplier’s financial capabilities. Some companies evaluate these three aspects together, collectively referred to as “quality management system evaluation.”

In big companies, the evaluation of these three systems has a complete set of questionnaires and specific scoring standards. For example, for each specific question, if you meet certain standards, you will get 3 points, and if you meet certain standards, you will get 5 points. For example, a high-tech company stipulates that each of the more than 70 evaluation items in quality management must reach the passing line of 3 points (5 points is the highest); if it cannot be achieved temporarily, the supplier must have a clear improvement plan and meet the standards within a deadline, otherwise it cannot become a formal supplier.

The core of quality management is consistency, which ensures that the products are the same every time through systems, processes, operating procedures, etc. This requires suppliers to have a basic quality management system, a robust process, a complete set of procedures and operating instructions.

Firstly , we need to see whether the supplier has passed quality system certification. Many people are a little indifferent when they hear the word “certification”. Yes, passing these system certifications does not guarantee the quality of the supplier, but at least it means that the supplier has a basic system guarantee. You should know that the processes, procedures, and operating instructions we need to look at are actually the focus of ISO 9001 and other quality system certifications. Many shortcomings have been identified and urged to be filled by those professional certification agencies.

Quality system certification is not a one-time deal. In addition to the initial certification by a professional organization, there are also continuous re-certification (such as a major review every three years) and supervisory audits (such as annual minor reviews in the middle two years). In addition, companies must also conduct internal audits to maintain dynamic compliance – quality management cannot rely on external forces, but on one’s own responsibility. I used to work as a part-time internal auditor, which allowed me to be exposed to many processes of the company, especially those outside the supply chain.

You should know that whether it is an external audit by a professional organization or an internal audit by the supplier itself, these measures are like regular physical examinations. You certainly cannot expect to guarantee that you will not get sick, but it will reduce the probability of serious illness, at least to detect and treat it in time.

When reviewing supplier’s quality system, we do not repeat the items of quality system certification – that is the expertise of professional certification agencies. We can check more records to confirm whether the supplier has regular internal and external audits; for each problem identified in the audit, whether the improvement measures are implemented by the right person and whether the completion deadline is clear; for the improvement measures, we can check whether they are implemented by sampling, etc.

The evaluation of suppliers cannot stop at system audits. The system audits of professional organizations are third-party and transparent market information. We can use them to judge suppliers and our competitors can also use them. We must use management measures to obtain the opaque parts. That is, further evaluation, targeted evaluation of suppliers’ processes and products, to obtain differentiated advantages.

For process audits, we need to evaluate the supplier’s main processes, procedures and operating instructions. For example, analysis and feedback of quality issues, quality traceability, quality inspection and testing, corrective measures, environmental protection, health and safety, etc. Experienced auditors will first ask if there are any written documents, and if so, take them out and have a look. This sounds a bit boring – have you seen one thing on paper and another in reality? But think about it, you may not be able to do what you say, but if you can’t even say it, how likely is it that you can do it?

Well, if the supplier “said”, how can we confirm that they “did it”? Take me to the production line and randomly check a product that is being processed; then randomly check a product that was completed three months ago to see if it is done this way. You said you counted the defective rate and on-time delivery rate, then find out the data from last week, last month, and last quarter to see if there are any specific indicators. If the standards are not met, what are the corrective measures, who are the specific responsible persons, and whether they are implemented as planned?

In summary, this is the audit of “you say you do this, then you show me that you have done it this way before.” Now you know that it takes a lot of time to evaluate the dozens of items on the quality system assessment form one by one. It is not uncommon to spend two or three days or even longer when evaluating a new supplier for the first time.

Quality focuses on consistency , that is, the things that are made are the same every time. It is human nature to like to play freely, so it is difficult for the results to be exactly the same every time, which is the enemy of quality consistency. This is why “the coffee machine cannot make the best coffee, but the worst coffee is definitely made by people.” To make the results the same, the process must be the same . The simplest and most effective way is to write down what you want to do and the process step by step, and do it every time. No matter how good a person’s memory is or how rich his experience is, there will always be omissions. Relying on experience, you can probably only achieve eight or nine out of ten, which is obviously not good enough.

I visited suppliers in UK(mainly in the small-batch industry) and found that on the supplier’s production line, each batch of products was attached with a piece of paper that clearly stated the entire product processing procedures. After the key steps were completed, the executor signed, and some also required the signatures of the supervisor, quality inspection, etc. This paper is called a traveler, which means to follow the product all the way. It is generated when the order is entered into the system and printed out when the work order is generated. It guides the processing to follow the rules every time. After each step is completed, it is archived and becomes the key basis and documentation for tracing the source of subsequent quality problems.