Page 34 - MetalForming December 2013

Reliable Supplier Network
let alone assess risk within their supply chain. These companies simply lack the resources to create and maintain a documented supplier-evaluation sys- tem. Without such a system, companies have a hard time defining if supplier performance is productive or if it should improve. And no company can afford to find out after the fact that a supplier is underperforming—not when businesses are in a growth cycle.
Suppliers that are true partners want to help customers succeed by improving their own performance. These suppliers value the consistent and measurable feedback that a formal evaluation system provides. The advan- tages to having a formal evaluation and audit process in place benefits your organization as well as your sup- pliers’ organizations. Empirical evi- dence illustrates that firms with sup-
plier-evaluation systems realize improvements such as higher rates of on-time deliveries, fewer defects and quicker response time.
That said, most small and mid- sized firms typically have only enough resources to manage the per- formance of their top few suppliers, at a basic level. The process requires support of multiple departments such as engineering and operations, as well as senior leadership. Each must work together to determine that all parts of a supplier relationship are being considered in the evalua- tion process.
Ultrafryer and Romac—and other Prime Advantage members—are able to use two systems in place at Prime Advantage to ensure they work with best-in-class supply partners. Suppliers must complete an audit process to enter the network and attain endorsed status. Then, members provide ongoing feedback through a formal evaluation process. The supplier evaluation process begins with many of the steps followed by the world’s top manufac- turers, in which subjective and objec- tive aspects of a supplier relationship are analyzed and weighted. Factors include quality, delivery, total cost, sup- plier diversity, service, design control and R&D.
Additional Resources
Harry Marcionetti, senior vice pres- ident of operations for truck-body manufacturer Knapheide Mfg., Quincy, IL, also appreciates the added support Prime Advantage provides, via an account manager. This dedicated resource helps Knapheide (and other member companies) identify the best supplier options in the group based on needs and supplier capabilities.
“Our Prime Advantage account manager has helped us build a bench of quality suppliers across a number of specific material and service cate- gories,” says Marcionetti, “where we previously only had one supplier con- nection. They have effectively added arms and legs to our team without needing to hire new staff.” MF

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MetalForming/December 2013
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