You're faced with supplier selection decisions. How do you ensure quality without breaking the bank?

To ensure quality without breaking the bank in supplier selection, focus on conducting thorough evaluations of potential suppliers through a balanced approach. Begin by establishing clear quality standards and criteria relevant to your needs. Request detailed proposals, including samples and references, to assess their capabilities. Perform cost-benefit analyses to compare options, considering both upfront costs and long-term value. Implement a trial period or small-scale orders to test their reliability and quality consistency. Additionally, negotiate contracts that include quality assurance clauses and periodic reviews to maintain standards and foster a collaborative relationship focused on continuous improvement.

This is the challenged!! do you accept? It is so easy, are you commitment with the quality in your life? remember, if you are in a pharmaceutical and medical devices companies.. the quality is the most important value, due to is the way that the product can be safe....or not...so it doesn′t matter breaking a bank.....

To ensure quality without overspending, consider evaluating suppliers based on their reputation, quality control measures, and references, while negotiating competitive pricing and exploring potential cost-saving strategies during supplier selection decisions.

I don’t usually find multiple suppliers for one product, but if I did, I would use both and I would simply ask that if one of them give me a better price than they get more sales of that product

Risk assess the suppliers according to a low vs high risk [ie those that have direct impact to your own product/service] eg raw material supplier would be high risk vs a low risk supplier of kitchen towels for the office canteen. Spend the energy on assessing the high risk suppliers through a vetted cross functional onboarding process that includes quality and commercial team members. Take into account how long their organization has been in business and do they operate in same industry / have customers in same industry as you.

Don't just ask to see an ISO certificate. Dig deeper to ensure that processes and proceedures are actually being followed and haven't just been a paperwork excercise to get certification.

Often, quality is at the forefront of most RFQ's. This quickly shifts once the cost becomes known, all of a sudden the discussion becomes one of cost. Value must be the focus not price. You need a supplier that can achieve your quality requirements, often this attracts a premium. But what is the true cost of poor service, visual or dimensional defects, re-work and re-makes?

Develop competition as much as possible. Also de-proliferate part numbers to spread your volume over fewer parts to incentivize suppliers to bid, especially where your volume is low.