ISO 9001 Clause 7.4.1 Purchasing Process (Supplier Approval)

[TTUK01]

Hello Cove!

I am currently reviewing our Manual, and I have hit a road block under 7.4.1 Purchase Process...

In the Standard 9001:2008 it states:

The organization shall ensure that purchased product conforms to specified purchase requirements. The type and extent of control applied to the supplier and the purchased product shall be dependent upon the effect of the purchased product on subsequent product realization or the final product.
The organization shall evaluate and select suppliers based on their ability to supply product in accordance with the organization's requirements. Criteria for selection, evaluation and re-evaluation shall be established.
Records of the results of evaluations and any necessary actions arising from the evaluation shall be maintained​

I get stuck where it says 'evaluate and select suppliers based on their ability to supply product in accordance to the organization's requirements'...

The majority of our business is supplying parts to another Company (Customer) we are oftern governed by our Customer as to where we can and cannot get the part from(Suppliers).

But we do have 100's and 100's of Suppliers - how are we suppose to evaluate them all and keep regular re-evaluation checks?

Is it a simple way of saying in a Excel Spreadsheet - Here is the Supplier Name, the Customer has requested we use this Supplier. Yes it is still an active trade connection?


Im my Manual would this cover this Clause..............Auditors??

However in the majority of circumstances the Supplier is nominated by the Customer.

Supplier performance is monitored through evaluation of Product quality, problems reported by the Customer involving supplied product, and delivery performance.

I'm certainly feel in the dark on this one here!

I look forward to your replies and help! If you require any further information please let me know!

Many Thanks, TTUK

 

[somashekar]

Re: 7.4.1 Purchase Process (Supplier Approval)

Hi TTUK01 ...
First, you need not say anything about your purchasing in the quality manual.
Your organization requirement is to meet customer requirement and as the customer tell you to buy parts from here, here and hear, he is making your job of selection easy.
The criteria for selection is "Customer recommended supplier"., and for evaluation it can be sample approval and re-evaluation can be continued acceptance of supplied parts over time.
You still are responsible for the quality of what you supply to the your customer and you are not hence passing off any rejection parts from such suppliers just because the customer has recommended. In doing your bit to get acceptable parts from customer recommended supplier, if you have to get any further corrective actions from such suppliers, please do so and in keeping the customer who recommended in the loop.

 

[TTUK01]

Re: 7.4.1 Purchase Process (Supplier Approval)

@ Somashekar,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me! Your reply has helped me alot! Not as bad as I originally thought!

- TTUK

 

[Big Jim]

Re: 7.4.1 Purchase Process (Supplier Approval)

Hi TTUK01 ...
First, you need not say anything about your purchasing in the quality manual.
Your organization requirement is to meet customer requirement and as the customer tell you to buy parts from here, here and hear, he is making your job of selection easy.
The criteria for selection is "Customer recommended supplier"., and for evaluation it can be sample approval and re-evaluation can be continued acceptance of supplied parts over time.
You still are responsible for the quality of what you supply to the your customer and you are not hence passing off any rejection parts from such suppliers just because the customer has recommended. In doing your bit to get acceptable parts from customer recommended supplier, if you have to get any further corrective actions from such suppliers, please do so and in keeping the customer who recommended in the loop.

Well stated. Don't forget to keep supplier approval records.

 

[thira7]

Hi all,

Here again. I have a question about supplier evaluation. We currently have a process which deals only with P.O requests and with the invoices received. What i mean is that the procedure tells you who must approve the P.O. where to archive the P.O and all these kind of stuff.

First an introduction about what we buy. We buy translation services, proofreading services and print services.

We do not evaluate our suppliers. Someone verifies that this is what we asked for and if is not then he sends it back and asked the supplier to provide what we asked for. To start a supplier list we need data; and here is my question, can i consider current suppliers as approved suppliers and then evaluate them based on data that we will collect?

And my second question is, how can i evaluate new suppliers. The problem here is that we are NGO and we get some services pro-bono or at a very low price as resources are limited.

Any ideas?

 

[SimpleIsGood]

We do not evaluate our suppliers ... How can I evaluate new suppliers. ... Any ideas?

If you don't evaluate your suppliers, you are not meeting the ISO-9001-2008 standard--period.

But let me ask you this, some guy walks up to you in a bar and says, "I heard you need translation services, and I speak freakin' puuuurfect Nepali, man! Why don't you send some of that NGO money my way?" What would you do?

• Wouldn't you at least ask him to translate the Nepali movie poster on the wall?
• Wouldn't you have him talk with someone you trusted who spoke Nepali?
• Would you not at least ask him where he learned to speak Nepali, if he ever lived in Nepal, or if he has a degree in Far East Studies?

Any of those things can be a valid evaluation criteria. Write down some simple requirements and start using them today. Even a couple of lines is enough, but you need SOMETHING.

 

[John Broomfield]

Hi all,

Here again. I have a question about supplier evaluation. We currently have a process which deals only with P.O requests and with the invoices received. What i mean is that the procedure tells you who must approve the P.O. where to archive the P.O and all these kind of stuff.

First an introduction about what we buy. We buy translation services, proofreading services and print services.

We do not evaluate our suppliers. Someone verifies that this is what we asked for and if is not then he sends it back and asked the supplier to provide what we asked for. To start a supplier list we need data; and here is my question, can i consider current suppliers as approved suppliers and then evaluate them based on data that we will collect?

And my second question is, how can i evaluate new suppliers. The problem here is that we are NGO and we get some services pro-bono or at a very low price as resources are limited.

Any ideas?

Thira7,

Find out from the users of these three services what they value about the existing suppliers. From these discussions agree with them the criteria they used to select them and will use to re-select or replace them.

Then capture how they say they do or will evaluate existing and new suppliers against these criteria and record the results. Update your filing and archiving procedure and your purchasing procedure accordingly and alert their supervisors to monitor their use of these new preventive controls.

Reacting to a bad supplier is not preventive, is expensive and does not conform to clause 7.4.1 of ISO 9001. Further such practice does not enable your NGO to reduce the price of nonconformity (aka safeguard donations).

Yes, you may discover that your existing suppliers meet the selection criteria.

John

 

[somashekar]

We do not evaluate our suppliers. Someone verifies that this is what we asked for and if is not then he sends it back and asked the supplier to provide what we asked for. To start a supplier list we need data; and here is my question, can i consider current suppliers as approved suppliers and then evaluate them based on data that we will collect?

Please decide on your criteria required and check if the supplier meets it. You are then evaluating. By all means you can consider current suppliers as approved suppliers and then evaluate them based on data that you will collect?

And my second question is, how can i evaluate new suppliers. The problem here is that we are NGO and we get some services pro-bono or at a very low price as resources are limited.

Translation and proof reading are technical services and the more dependent upon the personnel of that organization who provide them to you. You can simply ask and get the Biodata or portfolio of the person who is providing such services, review the same and get your services from that person (Deliverable duly signed by your selected person). This forms your evaluation.

 

[Tara Monson]

Thira7,

We experienced this same issue when implementing ISO 9001. We had been using the same suppliers for years but never had them qualified.

Our consultant deemed it sufficient to "grandfather" them in. So we wrote up a little blurb explaining this, and attached our current list of suppliers. After that date of "grandfathering" we performed evaluations to approve. I have attached our grandfather blurb for information. We currently perform evaluations on a sample. If the sample arrived on time and with no nonconformities, we accept them as a supplier.

Service providers have requirements of certificates, and a manager write up as supporting documentation.

Good luck!

 

[jonref]

Hi. I am a newbie in the world of ISO and was hired to document the procedure manual of a medical equipment trading company which is a sole distributor in our country for a certain medical equipment manufacturer .

I am now drafting the procedures for Procurement and came up with the following criteria for selecting suppliers:

Selection criteria for suppliers
N2.1 Trade
N2.1.1 Foreign
N2.1.1.1 Medical Equipment, Third Party peripherals, Parts & Supplies
N2.1.1.1.1 Must have valid registration with their respective country of
origin's medical devices and Food & Drug regulatory bodies.
N2.1.1.1.2 With Quality Assurance Certification
N2.1.1.1.3 Satisfactory experience and qualifications in supplying the
products based on testimonies of their existing clients
N2.1.1.1.4 Preferred or recommended by the Customer
N2.1.1.1.5 (etc)

N2.1.2 Local
N2.1.2.1 Medical Equipment, Third Party peripherals, Parts & Supplies
N2.1.2.1.1 Must have valid registration certificates from the
Department of Health and its bureaus and NTC, whichever
is applicable.
N2.1.2.1.2 With Quality Assurance Certification
N2.1.2.1.3 Satisfactory experience and qualifications in supplying the
products based on testimonies of their existing clients
N2.1.2.1.4 Preferred or recommended by the Customer
N2.1.2.1.5 (etc)

N2.2 Non-Trade
N2.2.1 Furnitures & Fixtures, Office equipment, Office and Housekeeping
supplies
N2.2.1.1 Must have valid registration with the SEC / DTI and the BIR

N2.3 Services
N2.3.1 Courier
N2.3.1.1 Must have valid registration with the SEC / DTI and the BIR
N2.3.1.2 Door-to-door delivery
N2.3.2 Brokers
N2.3.2.1 Insurance - must have valid registration with the
Insurance Commission
N2.3.2.2 Customs - must have a valid registration with PRC
N2.3.3 Manpower
N2.3.3.1 Must have valid registration with the SEC / DTI and the
BIR

Their product lines include: Ultrasound & Imaging devices and Clinical Devices.

I am pretty aware that the Biz Dev can provide me the criteria that should have appeared above, unfortunately, it is either they dislike "change" or they have this mindset of "go figure it out yourself". Also, the replacement of the procurement officer totally have no idea about "Purchasing".

I am seeking both destructive & constructive criticism to the above. Recommendations to improve the above will also be highly appreciated.

TIA