Selection of a Preferred Supplier

Companies today are looking for ways to reduce raw material costs. Some companies still believe that demanding reduced prices from suppliers is the way to control costs. A more effective way of controlling costs is by doing a supply base reduction process and a preferred supplier selection. When this process is completed successfully the best suppliers are found and real financial benefits as well as many intangible benefits can be obtained by both companies. 

The impact of implementation of a preferred supplier program can be significant, as shown in Table 6.1. Implementing a preferred supplier program will directly increase the profit picture of the compaiy. 

The largest part of the cost of materials today is raw material costs. This is an area where large savings should be obtainable. Raw material costs in most businesses today are between 60 to 70 percent of sales. This is the area that will yield the largest savings the fastest, and these savings will drop through the process and show directly on the bottom line of financial 

Annual business volume (sales) Raw materials % of sales Percent annual savings Annual savings  

Since upper management talks money, these kinds of potential savings will get their attention. Wall Street talks about compaiy performance based on the profit of the compaity and dividends paid to shareholders. A change as dramatic as shown in Table 6.1 will get the analysts attention as well. 

---

Because of the wide diversity in PUF manufacturing processes and likely contaminant chemistry, users are cautioned that sorbent quality control is more critical than with other synthetic polymers such as the Amberlite XAD series. Every effort should be made to procure PUF products consistently from the same manufacturer, preferably in each instance from the same production lot. Moreover, because of inconsistencies in manufacturing practices, first-time foam users should solicit the advice of other satisfied and experienced users in the selection of a sorbent supplier. 

MATERIALS. Selection of a base polymer thermoplastic resin from which a molded substrate is produced is influenced by factors of price and performance. Secondary considerations include supplier preference. Given the uniqueness of each product application, standardization of generic polymers is unlikely. In fact, the selection possibilities are likely to grow with continued diversification of application requirements/specifications. 

Self-leveling floors are produeed from low-viscosity epoxy systems. Low-exotherm, unfilled systems are preferred. The entire floor should be cast in one operation, and thickness should preferably be at least 5 mm over the entire area. Because of their excellent chemical resistance to a wide range of chemicals, epoxies are often selected for flooring in chemical plants. Systems vary from trowelable to pourable or brushable and are usually filled. Choice of hardener and filler will depend on the specific chemicals encountered. Although tables of chemical resistance from suppliers will aid in selection of a suitable system, this system should always be tested using the chemicals that the floor is expected to withstand. 

Some of the steps in the validation fife cycle will not be needed in some validation projects. For instance, the use of preferred suppliers for software and hardware products or services removes the need for repeated supplier appraisal and selection. Life-cycle steps, however, cannot be eliminated for packaged systems with embedded computer system systems purchased from, or subcontracted to, a vendor. The degree of redundancy in the life-cycle model used for validating existing computer system systems will be specified in the Validation Master Plan. 

Postal Audits are usually used as part of the supplier selection shortlisting process. They may recommend an audit on a supplier s premises where extra detail is required, but typically such Supplier Audits are reserved for the preferred supplier in order to confirm their acceptability from a compliance perspective. 

Of course, this is not to say that costs should not be minimized and potential complications, such as impurity profiles, etc., avoided by working with potentially commercial sources as early in the development process as possible. The problem is that only approximately 10% of phase I candidates will eventually be launched, and, furthermore, estimates of ultimate commercial demand will usually only become available toward the end of phase II. Suppliers may incur significant development costs before having any idea of the potential return, if, indeed, there is to be one at all. Obviously, this situation is not unique to chiral compounds and has lead to customers working with a selected number of preferred suppliers who gain access to a continuing number of opportunities. Speed of response will be one very important factor in making this selection. 

The best approach is to seek and follow suppliers reconunendations on handling of their products. Suppliers data also help in the preliminary selection of an agent, but best results usually require testing on plant brine. Previous experience with similar brines is also very valuable. Finally, the flocculant selected must not have any deleterious effects on the operation of the cells when present in a recycle brine stream. In a membrane-cell plant, preference should be given to those that have been shown to be compatible with the membranes. 

More specifically, the models assume multiple products are offered. The materials needed in assembling end-items are grouped into different component types. The manufacturer may have multiple suppliers to provide materials of the same type, which differ in features such as quality, price and technology. The authors denote the combination of a component type and a supplier as a component instance, which represents the very basic material element in the models. Each customer order has an associated BOM that specifies the quantity of each component type required to build the customized product. Furthermore, for each selected component type, a customer can specify a set of preferred suppliers. The manufacturer is allowed to take advantage of this customer preference flexibility relative to components. This implies that the models only allow component substitution at component-instance level. However, the manufacturer has to take into consideration the incompatibility between certain pairs of component instances. This further complicates the formulation of these advanced pull-based ATP models. 

The natural color of this material is an opaque, yellowish white but it is not often seen as this. Usually supplied in fully compounded form in a number of opaque shades which may be formulated to suit a particular type of use, for example, outdoor use. If dry colorants, or masterbatches, are to be blended with the natural polymer then, the selection of pigment type is important (so as not to damage the weather resistant property of ASA). It is for this reason that material suppliers prefer to supply the material in the compounded form. 

To illustrate the LWP method, consider a simple supplier selection problem with two suppliers and five criteria (Quality, service, capacity, price, and risk) as shown in Table 6.3. Each criterion is measured over a scale of 1-10, with higher numbers preferred over lower ones. Note that Supplier A has higher quality, service, and capacity but costs more and has higher risk of supply disruptions. The ideal values in Table 6.3 represent the best values for each criterion. However, the ideal values are not achievable simultaneously for all the criteria, because the criteria conflict with one another. 

Fill Materials. Since the fill material is an additional fabrication material that becomes a part of the design construction, procurement documentation is required to specify a fill material type and thereby implement the via fill process. The selection and documentation of the fill material require the same consideration as the base laminate preference. This is especially critical when targeting a lead-free-compatible process. Currently, an industry-based material specification for via fill material does not exist.Therefore, specific fill-material brands may be named on the drawing, or some other form of user/supplier agreement must be established.The fabricator has preferences for the type of material used for via fill. Just as suppliers often have preferences for a specific solder mask brand, they also often prefer to use of a specific via fill material around which they have developed their principal processes. Supplier preferences can be driven by specific via fill material characteristics, such as accessibility, equipment compatibility, process supportability, plateability, and/or shelf/pot life. This may complicate source selection, or it might influence the use of a dedicated service center for the hole-fill process. The fabricator may not always know the reliability of its preferred material for a given via structure or end-use environment. 

The industry trend of forming close working relationships with given food companies (select or preferred suppliers) has resulted in some flavor companies having creation/evaluation laboratories isolated from the daily activities of the company as a whole, where the food company may send product development staff to work with the creative flavorists/application staff on flavor development. This laboratory must assure confidentiality both to the visiting company and other chents. The laboratory typically offers creation/evaluation facilities, office space, plus access to the outside world via phone and the Internet. 

Ideally, the sponsor chose the vendor because it offers expertise in a particular field. This is often forgotten when the stress level increases. All vendors prefer to be asked what is possible rather than be told what to do. The politics of the relationship between the vendor and the supplier must be carefully examined and managed by thoughtfully selected individuals within the sponsor organization. 

---