Customer has requested electronic copies of our SOPs and WIs

K

kennypa

#1
Hello all,
A customer has requested electronic copies of our SOPs and WIs, related to the fulfillment and distribution service we provide for their finished goods. Management has agreed to provide them and assigned me the task of creating a confidential and proprietary disclaimer to place at the beginning of each document. The customer has stated that they will only be accessible by four people in their Quality group and will only be used for the purpose proving Quality compliance.
Does anyone have some examples of some language I may want to use?
Has anyone else come across a request of this nature?
We are not ISO certified, nor are we required to be by our customer.
Also, customer relations are good and they are very forthcoming to us with Quality information.
Thanks for your thoughts and advice.
Ken
 
Elsmar Forum Sponsor
R

ralphsulser

#2
Probably not a big deal, what can they do with them other than audit you to them. Usually these do not contain trade secrets or proprietary information.
You could always write up a simple confidentiality agreement for them to sign, this is something they should not have a problem with doing.
 

CarolX

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#3
"This Quality Assurance Manual and all associated procedures are proprietary and may not be reproduced with the written consent of the Quality Assurance Manager."

This is the standard statement I put in my upper level procedures. You could add this as a footer to your documents.

I never send my customers my procedures in their native format. I always convert to pdf before send off.
 

Marc

Hunkered Down for the Duration with a Mask on...
Staff member
Admin
#4
The closest I would come is a pdf file locked from printing, copying/changing, etc.

Actually, they would have a difficult time convincing me to send them what are typically considered proprietary information. I have seen companies do this: get a supplier's work instructions, control plan, FMEA, etc., then take them to a cheaper competitor supplier and then giving them the business.

My opinion: Don't.

If they want them, invite them to visit and review them in-house.
 
R

RosieA

#5
I've had to do this in the past, and did so with reservations, even WITH a confidentiality agreement.

I think it depends on how competitive an industry you're in and how many proprietary details are in your documents.

I'd much rather tell them that access to your documents is available on-site only. But this decision is often made by higher ups and we're not given a lot of choices.
 
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