I'd like to add the following:
Attitude between supplier and customer is the most important factor here. The idea is to foster a concept of "joint" effort toward producing and receiving conforming product.
Certainly, a distinction ought to be made between
- nonconformances which are form, fit, function, or life-health-safety issues (definitely need root cause examination and subsequent correction)
and
- those which are technical glitches (missing document, miscount, early or late delivery) in the delivery system.
It's important to make a distinction in the "corrective action" sought.
- Does the customer want repair/replacement of goods?
(or "Just do better next time"?)
- Is this a request to pay for sorting at customer's receiving station?
- Is the technical glitch [missing documentation/miscount/early or late delivery] causing a crisis at the customer's facility? This is a matter for discussion with supplier, not just shuffling of CA forms [a form of playing "gotcha" when canceling an order or dropping a supplier.]
Either way a credit is immediatley taken!
Good advice, EXCEPT when your organization is caught in the great maw of some Standard or some Regulation that makes the documentation of such things imperative. All Standards and Regulations I'm aware of, however, DO ALLOW room for levels of response to nonconformities. As you suggest - the trick is to look at the end goal of resolving an issue and not the short term task of shuffling paper. Certainly, the "sugar" of the phone call first helps the supplier recognize you are not trying to sandbag him.
