Selecting the right supplier may seem like an onerous process for our supply chain. While having a more simplistic supplier selection process help our supply chains, a more involved process of selecting the right suppliers help our company to meet or exceed regulatory standards, drive customer demand and build a strong brand reputation of quality products.
Quality and safety of our products are paramount to our success at Lufuma Services Ltd, so choosing a good supplier is a critical business decision. We has identified five steps for choosing the right supplier. The process to find the ideal supplier is often not easy and requires discipline and hard work.
1. Identifying a Supplier
We kept in mind that the ultimate goal is a win-win situation for the manufacturer; therefore, open and transparent communication is extremely important. A key criterion in selecting the right supplier is value.
• Customer service
• Delivery commitments
• Reliability and responsiveness
2. Measuring Supply Performance
We always conduct an audit before the contract is signed to confirm that the supplier does not have any significant compliance or quality system failures that could affect our ability to produce top-quality products. To determine the frequency, all suppliers are categorised into a level of risk or importance.
3. Gaining Supplier Feedback
In addition to audits and assessments, it also is beneficial to monitor informative metrics that direct value to the business. The metrics selected measure the total cost of ownership, as well as improve performance toward the maximum finished product performance.
4. Developing Partnerships
A strategic partnership, allowing full knowledge of the source of materials and ensuring high quality.
With a stronger business partnership, a supplier is more likely to:
• Notify if problems occur that limit production availability, or a quality issue is identified.
• Communicate production delays when downtime or maintenance is required.
5. Ensuring Quality for Consumers
We choose to build strong relationships with reliable suppliers, to have peace of mind, knowing we are delivering high quality to consumer and focused on issues other than material quality. We are here to build trust and satisfied end-users having confidence in the products that we are provided.