Posts Tagged ‘Supplier quality management’
Supplier Quality Management Benefits, Responsibilities
There are benefits to creating strong relationships with suppliers from a customer’s perspective especially if a standalone supplier quality management function exists. Supplier measurement can take place, risk mitigation exercises (both reactive and proactive) can be accomplished and information and improvements can be shared for common gain. A supplier quality management function can create a community for all those involved , Account Managers, Supply chain Consultants, Supplier Performance Managers, in which they can integrate knowledge and deliver profit generating opportunities for both organizations through the exploration of additional, above and beyond current contract business opportunities .
Executive involvement is vital to the success of aligning the relevant strategic players to accomplish objectives and form the basis of building partnerships and ultimately unlocking value for both organizations. The Procurement functions should take the central role in coordinating supplier relationships, at the same time as owning and coordinating the process, authority and technology.
ISO 9001 and Training: What Do I Need to Know?
ISO 9001 is not just satisfying the documentation requirements and your of and running. Training everyone to the standard and their part in the process is key to your success. If everyone in your organization has a working knowledge of the requirements and process of becoming certified, you can begin to develop the roles and responsibilities and the documentation. Once you have identified the roles and responsibilities and have developed the necessary documentation, you need to begin the training to each of the defined processes.
Here is the best part, by developing a robust training program you can reduce the amount of work instructions required to manage your processes. . The amount and extent of an organizations documentation, above and beyond the required documentation called out in the standard, is directly related to the amount and extent of the training an organization provides to its work force. This is not to say that you will not need some work instructions. Some training that you will need to consider while implementing your quality management system:
- ISO 9001 Introduction
- Corrective/Preventive Action
- Root Cause Analysis
- Introduction To Process Mapping
- Documentation Training
- Internal Auditing
- Quality Policy Training
- Job Specific Training
- Management Review Training
Suppliers: Positive & Negative Affects
Suppliers are an integral part of any organization’s overall process. As such, they have the potential to be a positive or negative force. When suppliers are a positive force, materials arrive on time, materials are processed in a problem-free manner and costs are controlled. When suppliers are a negative force, materials often arrive late, processing problems occurs, and the supplier is of little or no help in resolving such issues. Obviously, it just makes good sense to have good suppliers.
The industry is quickly moving toward requiring their subcontractors and suppliers to be AS9100 compliant and/or certified. By conforming to AS9100 or becoming registered by a third party, suppliers can gain a competitive advantage and benefit from the improved processes and continuous improvement that is the foundation of ISO 9001:2008 certified quality management systems.
General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) was one of the first manufacturers to require AS9000 compliance by all of their direct material suppliers. Currently, GEAE is requiring as9100 certification for all new suppliers, and existing suppliers have a gap audit and a certification audit performed to coincide with their existing surveillance audit schedule.
Quality Management Software
With the size and complexity of some supply chains, it is no wonder that organizations struggle with how to implement and control this process. Many small business owners have been asked to provide proof of this control by their customers. The question is, how?
If you are struggling with how to manage your supplier management program there are now software applications that can assist you with this task. For example, CIS Software can eliminate the time and money of issuing Supplier Report cards or Performance Reviews. Watch this YouTube video for some great information on how to better manage this process. CIS Software
Product Quality Risk And The Supply Chain
Product Quality Risk in a supply chain focuses on the quality problems in the supply chain context, rather in the manufacturing quality context.
Inherent quality problems such as. raw materials, ingredients, production, logistics, and packaging, in any of the supply chain members trigger a domino effect that spread through a multi-tier supply network. For this reason, it is hard for a network member to keep track of who did what, and when, to the final quality of the products. The product that a company sells to the consumer comprises components made by the company and its suppliers. When the product breaks down due to defects in either the company’s component or the supplier’s component, the company will have to bear the consequences.
Thus, Product Quality Risk is part of the supply chain risks. In other words, Product Quality Risk tend to comprise some or all the risk elements, such as operational risk, disruption risk, reputational risk.
For many small business owners this process can be painful and hard to implement. There are many quality management consulting firms available to help ease the pain by providing sound programs that will accomplish your risk management objectives.
Auditing Your Suppliers And Assessing Risk
Supplier audits need to focus on the suppliers and quality management systems that are truly critical to the supply chain, and better utilize available expertise to ensure that performance requirements will be met. Why do we perform supplier audits/? Once we understood that the purpose is to ensure overall success of the supply chain, then an expansion of related audit issues is also required. Supplier quality system audits have contributed to spreading the word about the importance of quality, and the need for a management system that helps keep quality on every business’ agenda. It’s now time to expand the boundaries of our thinking to include other issues, such as risk, that allow a business to grow and prosper or fail.
Companies that do not utilize a strategy for managing supply chain risk may be exposed to potentially negative influences, including impact on procurement, manufacturing and time to market processes in supply chain.
It’s for these reasons that supply chain risk management is now an essential part of a company’s supply chain strategy. It is the only way companies can ensure risks are identified in the entire value chain and mitigated to deliver financial goals.
Are Your Suppliers Meeting The Requirements Of ISO 9001:2008?
There are various ways in which your supplier can claim that its quality management system meets the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. These include:
- Supplier’s declaration of conformity: Your supplier makes a declaration affirming that its QMS meets ISO 9001:2008 requirements, usually supported by legally-binding signatures. This declaration can be based on your supplier’s internal audit system, or on second party or third party audits;
- Second party assessment: your supplier is audited directly by its customer (e.g., by you, or by another customer, whose reputation you respect) to check if its QMS meets ISO 9001:2008 requirements and your own requirements – sometimes used in contractual “business-to-business” transactions;
- Third party certification: your supplier uses an accredited Certification Body (Registrar) to audit and verify it’s conformity to ISO 9001:2008 requirements. This third party then issues a certificate to your supplier describing the scope of its QMS, and confirming that it conforms to ISO 9001:2008.
AS9100 Fast Becoming A Supplier Requirement
The aerospace industry has recognized AS9100 as a means for continually improving quality and on-time delivery within their supply chain. Most of the major aircraft engine manufacturers, such as General Electric’s Aircraft Engine division (GEAE), Boeing, Rolls-Royce Allison and Pratt & Whitney, are requiring their suppliers to be certified to AS9100.
AS9100 certification can be used throughout the entire aerospace supply chain including the design and manufacture of airport and airline operations, replacement parts, supply and maintenance, cargo handling, overhaul and repair depots and flight operations.
The industry is moving towards requiring their suppliers to be AS9100 compliant / certified. By becoming AS9100 compliant / certified, suppliers can gain a competitive advantage and benefit from the process approach and continual improvement that are the foundation of ISO 9001:200* certified QMS.
Currently, the Boeing Company requires all Boeing suppliers to be BQMS (Boeing’s Quality Management System) approved or have a waiver. AS9100 Rev B is a significant part of Boeing’s BQMS requirements.
General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) was one of the first manufacturers to require AS9000 compliance by all of their direct material suppliers. Currently, GEAE is requiring AS9100 certification for all new suppliers, and existing suppliers have a gap audit and a certification audit performed to coincide with their existing surveillance audit schedule.
What Must An Organization Do To Have An EMS That Meets The ISO 14001 standard?
The ISO 14001 standard requires that an organization put in place and implement a series of practices and procedures that, when taken together, result in an environmental management system. ISO 14001 is not a technical standard and as such does not in any way replace technical requirements embodied in statutes or regulations. It also does not set prescribed standards of performance for organizations. The major requirements of an EMS under ISO 14001 include:
A policy statement which includes commitments to prevention of pollution, continual improvement of the EMS leading to improvements in overall environmental performance, and compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
- Identification of all aspects of the organization’s activities, products, and services that could have a significant impact on the environment, including those that are not regulated
- Setting performance objectives and targets for the quality management system which link back to the three commitments established in the organization’s policy (i.e. prevention of pollution, continual improvement, and compliance)
- Implementing the EMS to meet these objectives. This includes activities like training of employees, establishing work instructions and practices, and establishing the actual metrics by which the objectives and targets will be measured.
- Establishing a program to periodically audit the operation of the EMS
- Checking and taking corrective and preventive actions when deviations from the EMS occur, including periodically evaluating the organization’s compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
- Undertaking periodic reviews of the EMS by top management to ensure its continuing performance and making adjustments to it, as necessary.
Customer Relationship Management Software
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a customer-centric business strategy with the goal of maximizing profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Technologies that support this business management system purpose include the capture, storage and analysis of customer, vendor, partner, and internal process information. Functions that support this business purpose include sales, marketing, customer service, training, professional development, performance management, human resource development, and compensation. Technology to support CRM initiatives must be integrated as part of an overall customer-centric strategy. Many CRM initiatives have failed because implementation was limited to software installation without alignment to a customer-centric strategy. This is why CIS Continuous Improvement Software excels in CRM. All of these CRM requirements are totally integrated into one CRM Solution including the Cross-Platform Communication capability of CIS!
Your CIS consultant can show you how to improve communication both internally and with your customers and suppliers any time, anywhere.