In today’s world when the competition is kicking in, it becomes very important to have an efficient supply chain. To manage your supply chain in a hassle-free way you need reliable suppliers who can deliver quality products.
Businesses around the world find it tricky to sustain their supply chain because of the poor services. So what can you as a business owner do to save your supply chain from a disaster?
A supplier evaluation!
Supplier performance must be measured and evaluated to reduce costs, improve process efficiency, and improve business performance. They aid in the prevention of product faults and post-payment defects, as well as supply chain improvements.
how supplier evaluation helps your business?
Be it small businesses or big corporations, all require a systematic supplier evaluation plan. The integrated plan helps to evaluate your suppliers on certain focal points. These focus points depending on what you are looking for in your supplier.
But how can a supplier evaluation plan help your business?
- The comprehensive evaluation plan helps you to plan ahead for a repeat purchase.
- It also helps you to sort out the good suppliers from a pool of sloppy suppliers.
- Supplier evaluation at regular intervals enables you to replace the poorly performing suppliers in your supply chain with more dynamic ones.
- It also assists businesses in cost management through comparison and in-depth analysis.
supplier evaluation checklist
Supplier evaluation should be majorly based on your business requirements and expectations. That is why it is very important to set clear business needs from your suppliers before evaluating.
Your supplier evaluation plan should be based on structured data like delivery time, cost, production capacity, delivered quantity, and payment terms. Though the parameters mostly include quantitative pointers, qualitative performance is vital as well.
You need to focus on suppliers’ professionalism, service quality, quality of products delivered, value, and compliance.
Every industry has its own set of customized checklists but here are few evaluations points that are common for all.
production capacity
You must check whether the supplier will be able to meet your required order quantity or not. You cannot have a supplier with less production capacity to deliver huge orders.
This puts the supplier under stress and the quality of the products gets affected.
quality
It is always difficult to compare the quality of products but certifications make it easier to decide. ISO BS/EN ISO 9001:2000 certified suppliers can be trusted to deliver premium quality products.
service quality
A supplier who practices professionalism in his business will resolve issues and tackle orders smoothly.
You must check if the supplier can handle typical orders, frequent customizations, and emergency orders if needed.
payment terms
Agile payment methods and conditions provide sourcing firms with far more payment flexibility than a fixed payment process.
environmental impact
For both financial and ethical grounds, sustainability is a vital component of a successful business. A supplier’s waste management plans, waste reduction techniques, and material procurement procedures, as well as efforts to achieve energy efficiency and any protocols used while handling hazardous products, should all be evaluated.
conclusion
Good suppliers won’t magically emerge to support your business growth. You will need strategic measures to find the good ones from a never-ending list of suppliers.
As a business owner, you need to invest both money and time to build a strong relationship with your suppliers. This way, you can transform your suppliers into profitable business partners.
Learn how to source your business supplies from China like a pro with our online guide.
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