Prevention of supplier issues is better and more cost effective than the cure , says G & P
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Supplier issues can lead to manufacturing downtime and severely impact profitability and brand reputation , meaning proactively preventing issues from arising is prudent and more cost effective than reactive solutions . Companies across the manufacturing industry are still seeing macro issues in the supply chain . For example , microchip shortages are still causing delays in production across a variety of industries such as automotive , aerospace , off-highway and even home goods , to name a few .
Nominating Suppliers
When it comes to nominating a supplier , manufacturers must have a solid process for validating a suppliers manufacturing system before start of production . This will help them to establish how adept the supplier is at maintaining quality and delivery levels with fluctuations in demand and supply chain constraints . For due diligence , this analysis should be repeated every time existing processes are changed or new ones are introduced .
To ensure existing supply chain risk is minimised , manufacturers should also have a robust , risk-based analytical process in place to identify weaknesses in the supply chain that could create disruption in the end manufacturing process and ultimately lead to financial and reputational damage . Evidence of strain such as late parts deliveries , frequency of failure and issues with shipments are all warning signs to a business that there may be more serious challenges beneath the surface .
Digging Deeper
If an issue with quality does arise , it is standard practice within manufacturing to implement additional controls to contain the issue while actions are taken to resolve the root cause . What is less common is a thorough investigation into the supplier ’ s business to understand if there are any underlying stress points that are contributing to their process failures .
It isn ’ t uncommon for businesses to want to grow quickly , but supply chains are not always equipped to cope with an increase in demand or complexity making the potential for regular disruption a reality .
Supply Chain Risk Management
For many businesses , dealing with supplier issues is more of a reactive process , meaning some form of disruption to the production line has already occurred .
Leading provider of quality management services to the manufacturing industry , G & P has created a process to actively prevent quality spills rather than controlling spills that have already happened . By proactively intervening with suppliers that pose a high risk of disruption , G & P aims to protect the customer from costly