Collaborating with suppliers can be the solution to quality issues.

When it comes to quality issues with your suppliers, the biggest problem might be you.

Managing the supplier relationship on a day-to-day basis is a fundamental principle of supplier management. You rely on your suppliers to keep your customers happy and your business running smoothly. This is especially true in today’s competitive landscape, where businesses need to leverage all their assets to stay on top. That’s why it’s important to work with your suppliers to improve quality.

Rick Jones, a quality specialist and consultant with more than 25 years of experience in quality management, talked about supplier management through the lens of ISO 9001 during a recent webinar hosted by the CWB Group.

In the webinar, Rick recommended taking a collaborative approach to handling supplier issues. “If you approach people in the spirit of, ‘hey, let’s work together to be better,’ you’d be surprised at how often the response you get from an underperforming supplier is actually positive.”

One thing Rick advises businesses to do is take a critical look at their own processes and procedures. In many cases, it’s the business itself that’s causing problems and making it hard for the supplier to provide quality products and services in an efficient way.

Here are a few examples from Rick of when the business might be causing the problem:

Not providing specific due dates. “Are you putting ‘ASAP’ on your purchase orders? Please don’t do that. That’s a terrible idea. ASAP doesn’t mean anything.” You can’t expect a supplier to provide a product by a due date that is vague or ill-defined.

Providing unclear requirements or inaccessible terms. If you need a certain grade or origin of material, is that information on the PO? Is it easy to find and read? Are your drawings clear and easy to understand? “Make sure you’re giving your suppliers clear requirements,” said Rick. “That’s in ISO 9001. You can be caught out by an auditor for not doing this well.”

Assuming your supplier understands quality management. Your business may have been doing quality management for a long time. That might not be the case for your supplier. They might not understand the quality terms you’re using or how to fill out the nonconformance forms you send them. This is a great opportunity to help them become a trusted supplier.

Not telling your supplier about problems. “The last thing you want to do is not tell them everything that’s happening, allowing the frustration to bubble up, and then once a year say, did you know you made these mistakes?” said Rick. If they don’t know about the issues, they can’t work with you to make it right.

A lot of supplier management comes down to relationship management. ISO 9001 encourages a systematic approach to supplier evaluation and relationship management. It’s up to the business to establish and document clear criteria for selecting and monitoring suppliers, ensuring they consistently meet requirements.

Ultimately, working with your suppliers will lead to improved product or service quality and reliability, which is a win-win-win – for your suppliers, for your customers, and for your business.

CWB Group helps businesses identify ways to improve processes and save money through auditing services and registration to ISO standards so they can reach operational goals. Learn more about our registration services at www.cwbgroup.org.