By working with suppliers to improve quality, manufacturers can greatly reduce their cost of poor quality (COPQ). According to a recent AMR survey, 67% of the cost of poor quality is attributed to non-material costs; among them quality department handling, communications with suppliers, new instructions, etc. IQS dramatically reduces supplier-related COPQ with fact-based quality data used to achieve quicker problem resolution, faster change turnarounds, supplier scorecards, supplier charge back systems, and supplier audits.
Some of the best practices being employed by leading global manufacturers by leveraging IQS's Supplier Quality Management solutions include:
Giving suppliers web-based access for responding to corrective actions as well as collecting and analyzing inspection data to identify potential nonconformance’s before product is shipped.
Tracking supplier nonconformance issues in real-time by establishing consistent procedures for components and lots that do not conform to specifications. IQS supports 8D, 7D, 5 Why, Counterbalance and Problem Solving methodologies.
Engage teams to collaborate on development and implementation of problem solving and corrective action plans.
IQS enables the analysis of nonconformance trends to trigger a Corrective Action, perform root cause analysis, assign follow up actions while effectively tracking and routing activities from initiation to closure and then provide validation of effectiveness that the corrective action eliminates the reported issue.
Charge cost of poor quality back to the supplier for the costs incurred by a manufacturer due to nonconforming components, materials, in order to introduce business discipline and accountability into the supply chain.
IQS supports recovering both - material costs and processing costs associated with the nonconformance. It allows users to manage the end-to-end chargeback process - aggregate all costs from an incident, route for approvals internally and to the supplier, collaboratively resolve the disputed recovery amounts, and notify back to office systems for financial closure.
Monitor supplier performance on scorecards to proactively identify and implement timely corrective actions, which improves supplier performance.
IQS's scorecards measure the metrics in real-time and track improvements over time supporting sound decision-making based on actionable data.
Conduct supplier audits to ensure that suppliers meet the established product and process quality requirements and the audit process drives continuous improvement.
IQS provides capabilities to plan, schedule and conduct audits, allows audit findings to be analyzed and enables the initiation of follow-up activities such as corrective action requests and re-audits.