Customer supplied product

A note in clause 4.7.1 points out that customer-owned returnable packaging is included in customer supplied product. 

Is customer supplied product verified, stored, and maintained in accordance with documented procedures ... 

Is lost, damaged, or unsuitable customer supplied product recorded and reported to the customer ... 

Reporting lost or unsuitable customer supplied product to customers (clause 4.7.1)... 

In many cases these requirements will not apply but in some contractual situations the customer may provide products or services for use by the supplier in connection with the contract. This clause of the standard specifies requirements that apply in such situations. The product being supplied may have been produced by a competitor, by the customer, or even by your own firm under a different contract. These requirements apply to any product supplied to you by your customer and not only to what is to be incorporated into supplies. The customer may in fact supply facilities, equipment, software, or documentation for use in conjunction with the contract, which may be provided on loan, to be returned on completion of the contract or to be retained. Customer-owned tooling and returnable packaging also constitutes customer supplied product. If you use the customer s facilities, such use should be governed by the regulations imposed in the contract rather than these requirements. If the customer supplies documentation, unless it is required to be returned, you should assume it is yours to keep. Such documentation is not governed by these requirements although, if the customer requires the documents to be returned, you should assume that these requirements do apply, but apply them with discretion. 

Figure 7.1 Clause relationships with customer supplied product element...

The standard requires the supplier to establish and maintain procedures for verification of customer supplied product provided for incorporation into the supplies or for related activities. 

Customer supplied products that are issued for incorporation into supplies don t often require maintenance however, items for use in conjunction with the contract may be retained for such a duration that maintenance is necessary. If the products require any maintenance you should be provided with a maintenance specification and the appropriate equipment to do the job. Maintenance may include both preventive and corrective maintenance but you should clarify with your customer which it is. You may have the means for preventive maintenance, such as lubrication and calibration, but not for repairs. Always establish your obligations in the contract regarding customer supplied product, because you could take on commitments for which you are not contractually covered if something should go wrong. You need to establish who will supply the spares and re-certify the equipment following repair. 

You should maintain a register of customer supplied product containing the following details ... 

Part number and serial number of product embodying the customer supplied product Dispatch note reference of assembly containing the product... 

These details will help you keep track of the customer supplied product whether on embodiment loan or contract loan and will be useful during customer audits or in the event of a problem with the item either before or after dispatch of the associated assembly. 

Make provision for customer supplied product to be processed through receipt inspection. 

Prepare procedures for inspecting customer supplied product and notifying the customer of any problems. 

Provide separate storage areas for customer supplied product. 

Provide a mechanism for gathering change of use and location of customer supplied product. 

Do make sure that users are aware that customer supplied product is not company property. 

Do give customer supplied product an identity that denotes its source. 

Do establish the condition of customer supplied product before use. 

Do report back to the customer any performance variation of customer supplied product following its embodiment in your product. 

The manufacturer should establish and maintain procedures for verification, storage, and maintenance of customer supplied products intended for incorporation into the... 

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