Quality and inspection
Managing a supplier over years.
The risk after the first year is drift. Nothing goes wrong dramatically, the specification quietly loosens, and by the time somebody notices it has been happening for six shipments. Measuring the same things every time is what catches it.
What to measure.
Five things, recorded per shipment, in a spreadsheet that takes two minutes to fill in. The value is in the trend rather than in any single number.
- 01
Specification conformance
Did the inspection pass first time, and if not, what failed. Repeated failures on the same attribute is a signal rather than bad luck.
- 02
On-time performance
Against the agreed date rather than the revised one. Suppliers who slip a week every time are telling you their real lead time.
- 03
Quantity accuracy
Short shipments and over shipments both cost money, and a pattern in one direction is worth raising.
- 04
Documentation quality
Were the certificates right first time. Document errors are the cheapest signal that attention has slipped.
- 05
Responsiveness
How long questions take to answer, and whether that has changed. A supplier who has become slower usually has a bigger customer now.
The review conversation.
Have one, on a schedule, with the numbers in front of both sides. Doing it annually is enough for most relationships and it changes the dynamic entirely.
Bring the trend rather than a complaint. A chart showing three consecutive shipments drifting is a conversation, and the same point made as frustration is an argument.
Ask what would make their side easier. Longer lead times, better forecasts and earlier payment are frequently what a supplier needs to hold quality, and they cost less than a supplier change.
Say what your volume will be. Indonesian producers plan raw material buying around commitments, and a buyer who forecasts gets better treatment than one who surprises.
When to add a second source.
Before you need one. A qualified alternate takes months to develop and it is worthless if you start when the first supplier has a fire.
When the product is core to your business, when the supplier is small, or when the crop has a real seasonal or weather exposure.
The discipline is qualifying them properly rather than keeping a name on file: a sample order, an inspection, and documents that actually work.
Be straightforward about it. A supplier who learns you are dual sourcing from a competitor takes it worse than one you told.
The signals that a relationship is ending.
Slower replies, changed contact people, and a reluctance to commit dates. Usually it means a larger customer arrived rather than that anything is wrong.
Quality drift that persists after a conversation. Once is a lapse and three times is a decision.
Pressure to change payment terms in their favour without a reason. Sometimes it signals a cash problem that will become your problem.
None of these are cause to leave immediately, and all of them are cause to make sure your alternate is real.
Questions buyers ask.
How often should I inspect once I trust them?
Less often, and not never. Inspection frequency is a risk decision that should be reviewed rather than quietly abandoned, and the shipment that fails is usually the one after you stopped.
Should I tell a supplier I am dual sourcing?
Generally yes. Framed as continuity planning it is a normal commercial practice, and finding out indirectly damages a relationship far more than the fact itself.
What if quality drops and they deny it?
This is what the sealed retained sample and the recorded inspection results are for. A trend measured against an agreed reference is a fact rather than an opinion, and it usually ends the argument.
Read next.
Inspecting before it sails
The five moments worth inspecting, what a report has to contain, and the mistake that makes an inspection worthless.
Writing a specification suppliers can price
The document that decides what arrives. What belongs in it, what has to be measurable, and the words that cause disputes.
Negotiating without breaking the order
Six moves and four traps, about business mechanics rather than national character. What to fix before you discuss price.
What a factory audit can and cannot tell you
An audit is a snapshot of a place on a day. What that establishes, what it cannot reach, and how buyers over-read it.
Approving the first piece
One unit made to your specification, approved in writing before the run starts. The last cheap moment in the process.
Private label and OEM
Your brand on their product, or a product developed for you. Two different deals with two different risks.
Traceability and recalls
If you had to withdraw a batch tomorrow, could you say which one. What to hold before you need it.
When a supplier goes quiet
Silence usually means something specific. What it normally is and what to do in order.
When to change supplier
Switching costs more than buyers expect. Which problems to fix and which to move on from.
Scaling up
What worked on a first order stops working at volume. Which parts break and what replaces them.
Sourcing from Indonesia?
Tell us the product, the quantity and the destination. We come back with what it involves before anyone talks about money.