Monitoring Suppliers

Establishing a continuing bilateral relationship requires careful scrutiny of other parties in a relationship. Therefore, supplier-mOTiitoiing is an important step in ensuring supplier s ability to perform as expected. It may range from financial checks to examining a supplier s manufacturing operations, production capacity, 

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In the apparel industry, H M operates about 2,000 stores globally. The company uses close to 700 suppliers to manufacture H M products such as its new eco-clothing line called Conscious Collection. Many of the suppliers are located in countries where issues such as child labor and workplace safety can be problematic. H M works with suppliers to promote labor rights and reduce negative impacts on the environment, and has an audit team of 70 people that monitor suppliers compliance with the H M code of conduct. To improve working conditions, H M also provides training to its suppliers (Swedish Institute 2011). 

The note attached to clause 4.1.1.3 needs to be interpreted carefully otherwise you will have every individual setting up systems to monitor their relationship with the people to whom they provide product or information. Everyone needs to be aware of their relationships with others but formal systems are only necessary between organizations. If your organization receives formal orders from other parts of the same company then there may be benefit in treating this as a customer-supplier relationship and monitoring customer satisfaction. 

This requirement does not mean that you need to maintain a list of approved suppliers. You should monitor the performance of all your subcontractors and suppliers and classify each according to prescribed guidelines. It is equally important that you list those... 

The standard requires the supplier to implement a system to monitor the delivery performance of subcontractors with corrective actions taken as appropriate, including tracking incidents of premium freight. 

The key phrase in this clause is or otherwise verified as it allows you to receive product into your company and straight onto the production line if you have verified that it conforms to the specified requirements before it arrives. An example of this is where you have performed acceptance tests or witnessed tests on the supplier s premises. You may also have obtained sufficient confidence in your supplier that you can operate a Just-in-time arrangement but you must be able to show that you have a continuous monitoring program which informs you of the supplier s performance. 

The standard requires suppliers to monitor adherence to established lead-time requirements. 

What details must be sought from the suppliers of both hardware and software packages How can the computer best meet the department s current requirements and how can it be added to if and when necessary (e.g. increased demand from planned maintenance) How can it be extended to cover other departments (network) Energy consumption input from condition monitoring, stores inventory, project work and possible interaction with space allocation must also be considered. 

With each shipment of fresh catalyst, the catalyst suppliers typically mail refiners an inspection report that contains data on the catalyst s physical and chemical properties. This data is valuable and should be monitored closely to ensure that the catalyst received meets the agreed specifications. A number of refiners independently analyze random samples of the fresh catalyst to confirm the reported properties. In addition, quarterly review of the fresh catalyst properties with the catalyst vendor will ensure that the control targets are being achieved. 

Installation qualification involves performing checks to ensure that the correct equipment or system has been installed and/or connected, including all necessary controls, monitors, instrumentation, or ancillary services. These checks should include verification that relevant operator manuals or instructions have been received from the supplier and that any applicable calibration steps have been identified. 

Assessment of raw materials (purity hidden ingredients supplier monitoring)... 

Current good manufacturing practices (CGMPs) indicate that a parenteral manufacturer should confirm supplier certification on packaging components. The following characteristics are usually monitored for a specific elastomeric formulation ... 

Operations processes are on the operative level focusing on order scheduling for a specific day or point in time. The schedules have a shorter horizon than the planning processes focusing on days. The schedule is monitored and updated continuously - daily to weekly. Orders are managed on the most detailed level for single customer respectively suppliers and articles. 

Solution Discuss this result with the packaging material supplier and with your purchasing department. Monitor new lots of the packaging... 

Modern advances in metering hardware, communications, and software considerably reduced the cost of how to monitor and control energy use, especially in regulated environments with rate structures. These new tools and technologies even allowed companies to negotiate better rates with their utility suppliers. 

In addition to the facilities monitored by the Risk Management Program, numerous facilities with smaller quantities of such chemicals can raise homeland security concerns. In particular, the fifteen thousand facilities in the program exclude retail outlets for flammable chemicals used as fuel, which are not required to report to USEPA. The many smaller suppliers, transporters, and consumers of those chemicals may hold sufficient quantities of dangerous materials to cause harm if the materials were released or set on fire. They may also have the information or equipment necessary to make even more dangerous substances. Further, because those smaller potential targets are especially dispersed and potentially more difficult to defend, they may be attractive as terrorist targets (GAO 2004). 

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