Lateness Delivery Notice to Customer

L

LesPiles

Hello,

Recently, my presence has been requested at a supplier to hear its complaints.

He wanted us to identify orders that might me at risk, delivery date wise.

I proposed to use a form : this would allow me to better pinpoint why we put the customer's order delivery date at risk.

Furthermore, most of the time, when our project administrators do a monthly report on the causes of why we've delivered late, they accused our suppliers, making the Purchasing Group look bad. Hopefully, this would allow the Quality guys to catch up the "real" source of the problem.

Is this kind of form something that you've seen / used ?

Regards,

François
 
S

silentrunning

I will put myself in the customer's shoes for a minute. If you were late enough on deliveries to cause concern to our production and I requested a meeting - I would expect YOU not a form. I don't know all the circumstances or your type of business, but late deliveries can cost a lot of money to your customers. On time delivery is a part of the overall quality of a company so I would get at the root cause of why you can't meet their requirements.

Doug
 

Jim Wynne

Leader
Admin
Hello,

Recently, my presence has been requested at a supplier to hear its complaints.

He wanted us to identify orders that might me at risk, delivery date wise.

I proposed to use a form : this would allow me to better pinpoint why we put the customer's order delivery date at risk.

Furthermore, most of the time, when our project administrators do a monthly report on the causes of why we've delivered late, they accused our suppliers, making the Purchasing Group look bad. Hopefully, this would allow the Quality guys to catch up the "real" source of the problem.

Is this kind of form something that you've seen / used ?

Regards,

François

Let me see if I understand the question(s) correctly. You have a supplier that's complaining about something--being unjustly accused of late deliveries to you? The supplier wants you to prioritize your orders, such that they are aware of critical dates for your customers? If the foregoing assumptions are accurate, I can't understand how you think a form of some kind will help, or what it's supposed to accomplish.

If your purchasing people give your suppliers reasonable required delivery dates and your suppliers are late with deliveries, you have a supplier problem. Perhaps suppliers are being pressured to make promises they know they can't keep.

If your purchasing people are being unreasonable with regard to delivery dates, they need to start being reasonable. This all might lead back to project managers who also might be making claims they know they can't back up but do so in order to placate your customers.

As I said, I don't know how a form would help with any of this. Perhaps you could elaborate on what you have in mind.
 

Sidney Vianna

Post Responsibly
Leader
Admin
Let me see if I understand the question(s) correctly. You have a supplier that's complaining about something--being unjustly accused of late deliveries to you? The supplier wants you to prioritize your orders, such that they are aware of critical dates for your customers?
I am no mind reader, but the OP post would be much clearer and coherent if we substitute the word supplier by customer in the first sentence. It might be a case of a simple mistake.
Hello,

Recently, my presence has been requested at a CUSTOMER to hear its complaints.

He wanted us to identify orders that might me at risk, delivery date wise.

I proposed to use a form : this would allow me to better pinpoint why we put the customer's order delivery date at risk.

Furthermore, most of the time, when our project administrators do a monthly report on the causes of why we've delivered late, they accused our suppliers, making the Purchasing Group look bad. Hopefully, this would allow the Quality guys to catch up the "real" source of the problem.
 

Jim Wynne

Leader
Admin
I am no mind reader, but the OP post would be much clearer and coherent if we substitute the word supplier by customer in the first sentence. It might be a case of a simple mistake.

You're right. I've made the same mistake myself, so I should have recognized it. :notme:
 
L

LesPiles

Sorry my mistake ... As you've mentionned, I was talking about a CUSTOMER, not a supplier ...

And of course, I went to visit my customer. It's in our meeting that I proposed a form.

Meanwhile, I asked our Buyers if they receive sometimes proactive notice from suppliers that they would be late (or possibly late) and ... nope ! It's quite surprising isn't ? Furthermore, we hear more and more about "Risk Management" ... For me, it's exactly a "practical" application of this ...

Buyers told me that they send "follow up notice" to supplier ... I'm not sure my translation is right but it is a printout of what is late or will be in a week or so and they ask the supplier to confirm delivery date.

Also in my mind :
- Since On-Time Delivery is so important, why can't we find easily some "form" about this on the Internet ?
- For people knowing TL9000 (I implemented this Standard but in Release 3.5 for the Metrics part ... a long time ago - in 2000): I was wondering if this standard was talking about this ... At least, in the Metrics Section. Since I've not followed the evolution of this set of requirements (They are now in R4.5 I think), maybe some provisions might have been included from the time I worked with it).

Thanks for your replies. I hope discussion will continue though ... On Time Delivery is so important !!!

Francois
 

Jim Wynne

Leader
Admin
Sorry my mistake ... As you've mentionned, I was talking about a CUSTOMER, not a supplier ...

And of course, I went to visit my customer. It's in our meeting that I proposed a form.

Meanwhile, I asked our Buyers if they receive sometimes proactive notice from suppliers that they would be late (or possibly late) and ... nope ! It's quite surprising isn't ? Furthermore, we hear more and more about "Risk Management" ... For me, it's exactly a "practical" application of this ...

Buyers told me that they send "follow up notice" to supplier ... I'm not sure my translation is right but it is a printout of what is late or will be in a week or so and they ask the supplier to confirm delivery date.

Also in my mind :
- Since On-Time Delivery is so important, why can't we find easily some "form" about this on the Internet ?
- For people knowing TL9000 (I implemented this Standard but in Release 3.5 for the Metrics part ... a long time ago - in 2000): I was wondering if this standard was talking about this ... At least, in the Metrics Section. Since I've not followed the evolution of this set of requirements (They are now in R4.5 I think), maybe some provisions might have been included from the time I worked with it).

Thanks for your replies. I hope discussion will continue though ... On Time Delivery is so important !!!

Francois

In your initial post you made reference to project managers. In my experience, those people are supposed to manage projects, which for the most part involves managing the timing of various milestones, including supplier delivery obligations. It appears that your project managers aren't doing it, and that's probably the top of the list as far as your problem is concerned.

Part of the difficulty in managing projects in manufacturing is that suppliers will lie to you in order to get the business. This is true even in the best of economic times, and in the present economy it's almost a certainty, and should be approached as such.

If your suppliers are consistently missing their dates, there's something wrong that a form won't help. Either they're being given unreasonable delivery expectations, or they're just not performing, or some combination of the two. Sometimes adding a penalty clause to the contract will get their attention, but you have to make sure you're not penalizing them for things beyond their control.
 

somashekar

Leader
Admin
Hi François ~~~
Supply chain visibility, forecasting, MOQ and leadtime management, Shelf life parts management, Logistics, are some of vital elements of Inventory control that will aid in smooth production and ontime delivery.
You must ask for forecast and periodic updates on forecast from your customer and your planning and purchase must sit down together to analyse this information and deal with your suppliers on long term basis.
In your customer meeting you have to take reasonable time to tide over your lateness delivery issue and request for best forecast (perhaps an annual forecast) from your customer and explain to him your inventory control approach and supply chain visibility.
 
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