1. Using Quality Management
  2. How to Work with Suppliers to Manage Quality

How to Work with Suppliers to Manage Quality

This example describes how Kevin, an engineer, and Adam, a supplier, work together to address a problem with the RDO-1500 Mobile HF radio.

In this example, Kevin creates a specific type of problem report called Supplier Problem Report.

The administrator has added two configured text fields in this problem report type to capture responses – Supplier Response and Engineering Response. He has also included a workflow status called Engineering Approval.

First, he ensures that Adam is added to the Security tab of the item and has the necessary privileges to view the item: View Item Attributes, View item Basic, and View Item Pack, and View Item Structure.

The engineer creates a problem report
  1. Kevin navigates to the Quality Management work area and creates a problem report.
  2. In the Create Problem Report window, he chooses the type of problem report as Supplier Problem Report.
  3. He adds the name and description, then saves the problem report:
    • Name: RDO-1500 Power Issue
    • Description: The RDO 1500 loses power 10 minutes after use.
  4. On the Affected Objects tab, he adds the affected item.
  5. On the Security Tab, he adds Adam as the supplier, so that he can access it.
  6. He clicks Change Status to change the status of the problem report to Open and saves it again.
The supplier reviews the problem report and adds a response
  1. Adam logs in to the Supplier Portal work area and accesses the problem report. He clicks on the Manage Problem Reports task link.
  2. On the Edit Supplier Problem Report page, he can see the details of the problem in the description field.
  3. He clicks the Affected Objects tab and opens the item to check the structure. He realizes that the part has a fault and needs to be replaced with a better part.
  4. He provides his response in the Supplier Response field of the problem report. He adds details about replacing the part and creating a corrective action: I see it’s using PS-2500 as the power supply. We’ve been having trouble with that one. I’ll create a corrective action and propose a better part
  5. He clicks Save.

The supplier creates a corrective action

  1. From the Actions menu of the problem report, he clicks Create Corrective Action.
  2. In the Create Corrective Action window, he chooses the type as Supplier Corrective Action. He enters a Name, which, reflects the problem: Corrective action for RDO-1500 Power Issue and adds details in the Description field, which suggests a solution: Try changing the power supply.
  3. In the Supplier Response field, Adam recommends actions to be taken and adds the specification of the new part as an attachment: PS-2500 failing tests. Recommend switching to PS-2510. Specification attached.
  4. He then changes the status to Engineering Approval so that Kevin can review it for approval and saves it.

The engineer approves the corrective action

  1. Kevin receives a notification from Adam about the corrective action. He reviews the specification for the new part.
  2. Next, he navigates to the Relationships tab. The problem report is related to the new corrective action for tracking purposes.
  3. He also adds his own response in the Engineering Response field: Testing proved successful. Please proceed.

    Now that Kevin has reviewed the specification, he can approve the corrective action.

  4. He clicks Save and then clicks Approve.

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