Managing Suppliers and Customers

The Suppliers and Customers modules enable Quality Managers to manage their organization’s suppliers and customers, and track their related activities.

  1. In the Quality menu click Suppliers (or Customers).

  2. If necessary, use the provided fields and views to filter the list. Click a link to edit a record, or click New.

  3. On the initial tab, complete general information about the supplier/customer. You may want to include the following:

  4. On the Questionnaires tab, identify any questionnaires that the supplier/customer is required to complete, such as a pre-quality review, or prior-to-hire questionnaire.

  5. The Letters tab allows you to view past letters or generate new letters to employees. Form letters are stored in the LettersTemplate look-up table. For information about creating letters, see Generating a Letter.

  6. On the Contacts tab, record the key individuals you deal with.

  7. On the Products tab, record the product(s) that this supplier provides (or that this customer typically purchases), including product requirement characteristics that can be monitored in inspections (see Managing Inspection Data).

  8. On the Accreditations tab, record any certifications or documentation that you require of your suppliers/customers.

The Linked Records tab displays any nonconformances, audits, or complaints involving this supplier/customer (provided the Supplier/Customer field has been added to those related layouts and captured for related records). Click an ID link to open the corresponding record.

To view all products recorded for all your suppliers/customers, choose Products in the Quality menu. You can also create new products from this form and assign them to suppliers/customers.