When you run a business that relies on receiving materials from suppliers to complete your products, something that can affect the end product is the quality of your suppliers.
There are many ways you can ensure that the quality of these materials are to a high standard before you use them in creating the final product. This is important when thinking about customer satisfaction because if you are producing faulty products, even if this is through no fault of your own, you will have unhappy customers, and they will not be willing to encourage their friends and family to buy from you.
Software Services
Several organizations offer their services by enabling your business to check the quality of the materials, including after the product has been made. For example, ETQ’s SCAR software can enable your business to identify any quality issues that may have arisen, as well as allow you to fix and record these issues. SCAR stands for Supplier Corrective Action Request, and some scenarios that may involve the need for this to take place include a missed delivery, a customer complaint, or any materials that don’t meet the standard requirements.
Look at Costs
It may also be a good idea when you first start your organization to look at the difference between good and poor-quality materials and how much both cost. This can help you decide which supplier to go for and can almost certainly guarantee consistent good quality across all your products, and this will lead to happier customers.
Set the Criteria
This procedure involves looking at suppliers who meet your criteria for materials. Many organizations often have similar criteria points, such as knowing what the minimum order quantity is, what the payment terms are and what their certifications are. It may be worth noting that the minimum order quantity will most likely be more applicable to smaller organizations as those are the ones who may not be able to afford to spend money on high-quality materials if it’s not guaranteed that customers will purchase that amount.
Make a List
You can also make an approved suppliers list, and this is something that can be developed over time. As you work with multiple suppliers over multiple years, you will soon begin to learn which suppliers are more reliable, deliver on time, and give you high-quality materials as opposed to others. This means that as your business progresses, you will have the knowledge of which suppliers you can trust more than others and will therefore be able to know which suppliers to avoid in the future.
Inspect Materials and Products
Inspections of these materials are also needed. This should be done when you receive an order from the supplier because if you fail to properly do these checks and then give your customers faulty products, they will no longer be able to trust you and will take their business elsewhere.
Conclusion
Product supplier quality may not be something every new business owner will think of when they first start their organization, as it may be wrongfully assumed that the materials will always be of good quality. Getting these checks in place, even if it’s after a customer has complained, is always important to secure the trustworthiness of your organization.
