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Supplier Sourcing Checklist
Supplier Checklist
Guidelines for choosing the right supplier
Each of the following points will have a bearing on your selection of supplier for your custom project. The answers you get from prospective suppliers and their references will all play a role in your evaluation. The weight of the factors will depend on how you assess their relative importance in the project at hand.
Experience
Quality
Responsiveness
Schedule
Price
Each of the following points will have a bearing on your selection of supplier for your custom project. The answers you get from prospective suppliers and their references will all play a role in your evaluation. The weight of the factors will depend on how you assess their relative importance in the project at hand.
Experience
- Has the supplier handled similar work?
- What was the size and complexity of their projects?
- Can the supplier provide three or more references?
- What does the supplier do in house? What do they subcontract?
- Are their welders qualified to ASME Section IX?
- What is their size capacity for parts manufacture?
- What level of detail do they work with on drawings?
- What procedures are in place, including pre-weld and final cleaning?
Quality
- In what ways do they provide exceptional quality?
- What materials have they worked with?
- What is their technical expertise in welding and fabrication?
- What is their capacity for testing and quality assurance? Be sure to ask about any specific type of testing your project requires.
Responsiveness
- How well do they understand and address the special needs of your project?
- Are they focused on the needs of your project, or just on executing what is on the prints or in the specs?
- How were you treated during the bidding process? What sort of information was provided with the quotation?
- Who will be your contact for technical issues? Schedule issues? Contract issues?
- How well do they communicate issues and solve problems that arise in the manufacturing process?
- How flexible are they as issues arise, and how well do they make adjustments throughout the production process?
Schedule
- What is your schedule, and what is it based on? What is the absolute deadline?
- If the schedule is tight, find out how it will affect other parameters, including cost.
- If problems arise along the way, how will they adjust to ensure on-time delivery?
Price
- When comparing vendor prices, be sure to take into account other comparative factors — numbers alone don't tell the whole tale.
- Is there adequate explanation to support the price?
- Ask about "surprises" that could arise that would have an impact on estimated costs.
