Customer just sent me a 118 page Supplier Self Survey!

[Mustang]

Here's a new one:

One of our Customers just sent me a 118 page survey (a combination of the QSA and TS standard (text included) with their own stuff thrown in), and they want it by the end of next week. Ugh! :mg:

Oh yeah, and as an added bonus, it is in .pdf format so I can annoy anyone else here that wants to print in the next couple of hours as well... and I have to complete it by hand.

 

[Cari Spears]

Oh...my...gosh!

 

[SteelMaiden]

Mustang, there is a program that will take a .pdf document and convert it to a Word document. I think we paid 50 bucks for it and it works amazingly well. I am sorry but I cannot think of the name of the program but it may be an option for you.

 

[Wes Bucey]

Mustang, there is a program that will take a .pdf document and convert it to a Word document. I think we paid 50 bucks for it and it works amazingly well. I am sorry but I cannot think of the name of the program but it may be an option for you.

Here is some boilerplate from at least one such program. Download a free trial https://www.elcomsoft.com/apdfpr.html (does only small number of pages of translation from pdf to Word):

Advanced PDF Password Recovery (or simply APDFPR) has been designed to decrypt protected (restricted) Adobe Acrobat PDF files, which have "owner" password set, preventing the file from editing (changing), printing, selecting text and graphics (and copying them into the Clipboard), or adding/changing annotations and form fields (in any combination). Decryption is being done instantly. Decrypted file can be opened in any PDF viewer (e.g. Adobe Acrobat Reader) without any restrictions – i.e. with edit/copy/print functions enabled. Please note that APDFPR doesn't work with documents which have user-level passwords (preventing the files from being opened), if both user and owner passwords are unknown; or if the file is protected with any 3rd party security plug-in. The program is also able to convert Kinko's Document Format (KDF) files to PDF files.

Please note that APDFPR cannot (yet) decrypt some files created in Adobe Acrobat 6.0 (PDF 1.5 specification).
Fully registered version of APDFPR can be purchased at a cost of $30 (personal license) or $60 (business license). With the personal license, you can use the program for non-commercial purposes in non-business, non commercial environment. To use the program in a corporate, government or business environment, you should purchase a business license.
You can select one of the following methods to make the payment:
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Fax - Credit Card ($2.50 fee)
Check/Money Order ($2.50 fee)
Invoice ($2.00 fee)
Bank/Wire Transfer ($10.00 fee)
Purchase Order ($10.00 fee)
All major credit cards are accepted: VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, VISA Check Card, Eurocard, MasterMoney. If you would like to pay using American Express or Discover/Novus, you have to select USD currency option.

For all methods listed above, online order form should be used:
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You can also place an order by phone (24/7):
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You will need the product ID (1170-52) or the complete name of the product (Advanced PDF Password Recovery), license type (personal or business), and credit card information. For orders by phone, there is $3.00 additional fee.
On payment approval (for online orders, usually within a few minutes), we'll send you the registration key which will remove all limitations of the unregistered version. Your registration will be valid for all future versions of APDFPR.

 

[Mustang]

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will look into the software suggested. Luckily, this doesn't happen very often. The peculiar thing, too, is as I am reading it, it appears to be a manual and questionnaire that the "mother ship" sends out to the plants. I'm not sure why it was sent to us. Sometimes I think the buyers haven't a clue.

 

[SteelMaiden]

The peculiar thing, too, is as I am reading it, it appears to be a manual and questionnaire that the "mother ship" sends out to the plants. I'm not sure why it was sent to us. Sometimes I think the buyers haven't a clue.

See also, https://elsmar.com/elsmarqualityforum/threads/8409/ some interesting discussion on customers surveying and auditing suppliers. This thread fits right in with it.

 

[Claes Gefvenberg]

One of our Customers just sent me a 118 page survey (a combination of the QSA and TS standard (text included) with their own stuff thrown in), and they want it by the end of next week. Ugh! :mg:

Oh yeah, and as an added bonus, it is in .pdf format so I can annoy anyone else here that wants to print in the next couple of hours as well... and I have to complete it by hand.

118 pages?! That is insane... Particularly considering that the returned document is unlikley to be of any great use. The most likley action is that it will be filed, and never be seen in the world outside the filing cabinet again... Here is an old thread that may be of use: It deals with exactly the same problem: Supplier Evaluation and Approval forms - Discussion and Evaluation Examples

/Claes

 

[db]

...Particularly considering that the returned document is unlikley to be of any great use. The most likley action is that it will be filed, and never be seen in the world outside the filing cabinet again...
/Claes

This is too often the case, I'm afraid. Someone, somewhere said that TS (or ISO) says we gotta have a supplier survey. It will probably most likely used to show either their customer, or their registrar that they do supplier surveys.

I would recommend calling the customer, and asking how it will be used. Of course, my gut instinct is to fill it with nonsense, to see if anyone actually reads the thing. Unfortunately, then someone probably will, and you will lose your customer.

 

[Aaron Lupo]

One thing we developed as a result of all the "Supplier Survey's" we were getting was our own Self Assessment, this includes a description of our Quality System, what Standards/Regulations we comply with, copies of our ISO/EN Certificates, our FDA Registration our Quality Manual and merkting information. We have yet to have anyone ask for additionla information.

 

[Mustang]

Unfortunately...

This is from our largest customer, and they have no sense of humor. It was sent to me from a plant in Mexico, and the parent company is French. Talk about a communication barrier! :truce: