Supplier Audits - How far do we have to go? How much detail?

[kspurling]

SUpplier Audits

Does anyone have a well documented supplier audit. We are outsourcing 80% of our product now and our ISO needs have changed. Our auditor told us we need to develop a system to audit our suppliers and although I have a 3 page audit it is not enough. Does anyone have a handle on the flow down requirements and what works best.

 

[Aaron Lupo]

What you should have asked your auditor is where in the standard it requires that you audit your suppliers? You need to evaluate and re-evaluate your suppliers and maintain the records of the evaluation and re-evaluation it mentions nothing about auditing them. Evaluation can be done in a variety of ways like survey/questionnaires or incoming inspections. JMHO but when they told you that you needed to develop a system to audit suppliers you should had said show me where that is required.

 

[Mike S.]

Agreed.

 

[kspurling]

I should have been more clear. We have been using the supplier audit in the past and once we showed the auditor the audit it was not sufficient. I am looking for a better audit or a better way to evaluate and re-evaluate our suppliers. We have tried a score card system in the past but it doesn't work well with our KBM system. We are moving to BPIX and have hopes we can make it work. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for the input I know many times we have had to tell our auditors that we feel we have met the standard althought it isn't the way in which they would like to see it.

 

[Mike S.]

I still do not understand, but I'm dense sometimes.

Why, specifically, is the current audit not sufficient?
Did you decide this or did the auditor?

 

[Aaron Lupo]

Why did you show the auditor the audit report in he first place, what you should have shown him was a cover sheet that shows the audit was completed by XXX on XXXX and they remain on the approved supplier list. If you want to show him the report that is your choice but IMHO you are opening pandoras box.

 

[kspurling]

Our auditor requested the audit from a P.O. she was auditing. There was a problem with the flowdown of requirements on assembly piece parts rev levels etc. Anyway she wanted to see the audit we did on the supplier to check our evaluation process. We do not keep a cover sheet and that is a good idea. Thanks .. Being that we are new to outsourcing so many parts there are many things we had not considered in our ISO System to qualify our suppliers. On 1 piece parts before we just required that they make it to print and then we did a first article. we have so much to consider now.

 

[Mike S.]

Sorry, but I'm still confused. Did the ISO auditor say that since there was a problem with the vendor, then your supplier audit and method of qualifying suppliers is not sufficient? If you can give more details it would be helpful. Or post a copy of your current "insufficient" audit questionaire (is it a self-audit or do you visit the supplier?).

Or, perhaps someone else understands the issue better than I and can help.

 

[Aaron Lupo]

kspurling said:

Our auditor requested the audit from a P.O. she was auditing. There was a problem with the flowdown of requirements on assembly piece parts rev levels etc. Anyway she wanted to see the audit we did on the supplier to check our evaluation process.

She wanted to see the audit from a P.O.??? Did you tell her you audited that supplier. The key here is your "evaluation process" that does not mean they have to be audited. Like Mike said do you have more information you can provide, this is confusing.

 

[kspurling]

Obviously our auditor is very thorough. The evaluation process need corrective action. We used an onsite audit and based on their answers they were added to the ASL. Our auditor has been with us a long time and knew of our massive change from being a plant that did all of our own fabrication to a plant that outsources large assemblies and makes the final assembly in the plant. The auditor had concerns about our evaluation process. It didn't meet the expectations because it lacked information that is important. Although we may have visited the plant and deemed a supplier "Approved" as I am sure our Purchasing dept. did it was not documented enough. I was asking for ideas and suggestions on a good evaluation process. I am stuck on the audit process because that is what I am most familiar. I am a one plant QA person and I only have experience based on this plant and its previous practices of which we did well for many years on our ISO Audits.