If suppliers are regularly shipping products that don’t meet your spec, the problem isn't your supplier—it's your process

If suppliers are regularly shipping products that don’t meet your spec, the problem isn't your supplier—it's your process.

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟:

❓What is our supplier selection criteria? How are we verifying supplier capability?

❓Are we choosing suppliers with proven ability to meet our specification and quality standards?

❓How is the final specification communicated and agreed upon?

❓Is there a signed specification sheet or gold sample that's 100% agreed on by the supplier?

❓Are pre-shipment inspections conducted on EVERY shipment?

❓During inspections, is the specification sheet/gold sample used as the reference standard?

❓If above process was followed, why was a non-conforming shipment released?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦—𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬.

If this is happening, it’s time to look into your processes, identify the gaps and make the changes needed to get back on track.