P.O. As evidence of customer confirmation of requirements

Uriel Alejandro

Involved In Discussions
Hello everybody,

I have some doubts so I hope you guys can help me to solve them. I will try to explain myself as clear as possible.

One of our company bussines it?s the Mechanical Desing ( Mostly of tooling), we're going to AS9100. We have a "Gathering of requirements form" that we fill based in customer requirements, then we obtain the customer aceptance of this form to make sure we have all the requirements clear, after that, we sent the quote and they send us the PO.

We consider PO as the evidence of customer acceptance of quoted requirements.

But we have a customer in particular who never send us PO's for design packages, we have a contract for some desing hours so they just send us the "Design Request" when they need a design package and we just make it.

So my doubts are: It?s necessary to have PO for every single design package? Is there a nonconformity if we don't have it?. I mean, we have customer requitements clearly defined in the "Design Request" but we don't have the evidence of aceptance. Sound a little bit absurd ask them for a confirmation when they specifically said what they want on the DR but is this enough?

I hope you can help me

Thank you in advance
 
Last edited:

Cari Spears

Super Moderator
Leader
Super Moderator
Re: P.O. as an evidence of customer confirmation of requirements

We have a "Gathering of requirements form" that we fill based in customer requirements, then we obtain the customer aceptance of this form to make sure we have all the requirements clear, after that, we sent the quote and they send us the PO.

We consider PO as the evidence of customer acceptance of quoted requirements.
Hi :bigwave:
Do your customers sign or otherwise acknowledge the customer acceptance form before you send the quote?
 

Uriel Alejandro

Involved In Discussions
Re: P.O. as an evidence of customer confirmation of requirements

Hi Cari

Yes, we try to obtain the signature but most of times it?s not possible, so we consider an e-mail (even if it only says: "yes, I'm agree" or something like that) as an evidence of acceptance of the requirements to be quoted.

We have two types of evidence of acceptance:

1. for the requirements (The sign or acknowledge)
2. and for the quote (PO is the evidence)

For the customer I was talking about in my first comment, we don't have the second type.

So, I think you made myself meditate about my doubts and maybe the answer it's just in front of me :rolleyes: but just to be sure, It's there a nonconformity if we don?t have the PO?

Thank you very much for your help
 
K

kgott

Re: P.O. as an evidence of customer confirmation of requirements

Hi Cari

Yes, we try to obtain the signature but most of times it?s not possible, so we consider an e-mail (even if it only says: "yes, I'm agree" or something like that) as an evidence of acceptance of the requirements to be quoted.

We have two types of evidence of acceptance:

1. for the requirements (The sign or acknowledge)
2. and for the quote (PO is the evidence)

For the customer I was talking about in my first comment, we don't have the second type.

So, I think you made myself meditate about my doubts and maybe the answer it's just in front of me :rolleyes: but just to be sure, It's there a nonconformity if we don?t have the PO?

Thank you very much for your help


I have worked in manufacturing where contracts worth $2-3m have the verbal go ahead but a contract is not signed for some months afterwards. The supplier proceeds with ordering and production in order to get the job completed by the due date so trust and history with the customer comes into play.

You have a non conformity with your own procedures if your procedures say that you must have a signed PO before proceeding.

What you may like to consider is including wording in your submission of the customers request for quote document, that any instruction to proceed or acceptance of the quote (not acknolwedgement) is acceptance of your organisations standard terms and conditions and that the customer has xyz time to provide a PO otherwise your organisation will not proceed further until a PO is issued, or something to that effect.

Alternatively you may like to consider including that the customer has xyz days in which to seek clarifications or to advise your organisation that they will not be proceeding with the order, otherwise your quote and standard terms and conditions have been accepted and your organisation will proceed with the order.

Hope this helps
 

Uriel Alejandro

Involved In Discussions
Re: P.O. as an evidence of customer confirmation of requirements

I have worked in manufacturing where contracts worth $2-3m have the verbal go ahead but a contract is not signed for some months afterwards. The supplier proceeds with ordering and production in order to get the job completed by the due date so trust and history with the customer comes into play.

You have a non conformity with your own procedures if your procedures say that you must have a signed PO before proceeding.

What you may like to consider is including wording in your submission of the customers request for quote document, that any instruction to proceed or acceptance of the quote (not acknolwedgement) is acceptance of your organisations standard terms and conditions and that the customer has xyz time to provide a PO otherwise your organisation will not proceed further until a PO is issued, or something to that effect.

Alternatively you may like to consider including that the customer has xyz days in which to seek clarifications or to advise your organisation that they will not be proceeding with the order, otherwise your quote and standard terms and conditions have been accepted and your organisation will proceed with the order.

Hope this helps
Of course it is helpful! you cleared me a lot of things :D

Thank you very much for your answer!
 
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