# Approve and manage suppliers (/docs/purchasing/suppliers)

Only an **Approved** or **Conditional** supplier can receive a purchase order. This page covers the
supplier list, the supplier's paperwork, corrective action requests (SCARs) and evaluations. It is
for Purchasing and QA. The default roles are Purchasing (Lim Wei Jie) and QA (Jason Wong, Grace Ooi).

## What the supplier statuses mean [#what-the-supplier-statuses-mean]

Open **Purchasing > Suppliers** to see the list.

| Status | Can it receive a purchase order? | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| **Approved** | Yes | Passed its evaluation with a score of 85 or more. |
| **Conditional** | Yes, under tightened inspection | Scored 70 to 84. The order screen shows "\{name\} is conditional" and the note to follow. |
| **KIV** | No | On hold. The order screen says "\{name\} is KIV (on hold)". |
| **Disqualified** | No | Scored below 70, or the certificate has expired. |

You cannot set **Approved** or **Conditional** by editing the supplier. An approved supplier
evaluation sets it. A new supplier is added as **KIV**: the Add form shows the status locked, with the
note that the supplier is on hold until a supplier evaluation approves it. See
[Score a supplier](#score-a-supplier).

Each supplier row also shows three things that update by themselves:

- **Certificate** reads `Valid to {date}`, `Expires in {n} d` (within 60 days) or `Expired {date}`.
- **Inspection level** reads `Normal`, `Tightened · {n} of last 5 rejected` or
  `Reduced · 10 accepted in a row`. Incoming inspection follows this level.
- **Re-evaluation** reads `Due {date}` or `Overdue since {date}`. A supplier overdue for
  re-evaluation cannot get a new purchase order approved.

<GuideStep
  title="The approved supplier list"
  description="Status, certificate validity and re-evaluation date for every supplier."
  src="/guide/suppliers/1.png"
  alt="Suppliers list on desktop showing status chips, certificate validity and re-evaluation dates"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 30, y: 30, caption: "Filter or search the list by supplier name or status." },
    { x: 52, y: 40, caption: "Status chip: Approved, Conditional, KIV or Disqualified." },
    { x: 70, y: 40, caption: "Certificate validity and inspection level of each supplier." },
  ]}
/>

## Record supplier documents [#record-supplier-documents]

Use this when a supplier sends a new certificate, a signed quality agreement or an outsourced
process control. One person records it. A QA manager who is a different person verifies and signs
it. Nothing applies until then.

<Steps>
<Step>

Open **Purchasing > Suppliers** and open the supplier, for example `ASL-052`.

</Step>
<Step>

Choose **Record supplier documents**.

</Step>
<Step>

Fill only the fields that change: certificate, expiry, quality agreement, agreement reference and
revision, outsourced process, and its validation or control reference.

</Step>
<Step>

In **Evidence**, enter the certificate number, agreement reference or audit report that supports the
change. For example `ISO 13485 certificate No. 4471`.

</Step>
<Step>

Attach the certificate in **Certificate file** and the signed agreement in **Quality agreement file**.
Both are optional, but they are the proof the QA manager checks. The files are stored on the supplier
record, in its **Attachments**.

</Step>
<Step>

Choose **Send for verification**. The supplier now shows **Waiting for the QA manager**, with the
files you attached.

</Step>
<Step>

The QA manager opens the same supplier and checks the evidence and the listed files. When nothing was
attached, the banner and the dialog say "No file attached". Then choose **Verify and sign** and sign.
The new values apply when the signature is accepted.

</Step>
</Steps>

If you filed it by mistake, choose **Withdraw**. If the supplier's documents changed after you filed
it, the banner says "The supplier's documents changed after this was recorded. Withdraw it and
record it again." Choose **Withdraw**, then **Record again**.

<GuideStep
  title="A supplier record with a request waiting"
  description="The banner shows who recorded the change and who must verify it."
  src="/guide/suppliers/2.png"
  alt="Supplier record ASL-052 on desktop with the documents banner and the Record supplier documents button"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 80, y: 14, caption: "Record supplier documents starts a change." },
    { x: 50, y: 28, caption: "The banner shows the request is waiting for a QA manager." },
    { x: 50, y: 50, caption: "Supplier details: status, certificate, agreement, outsourced process." },
  ]}
/>

## Answer a supplier problem with a SCAR [#answer-a-supplier-problem-with-a-scar]

A SCAR (supplier corrective action request) asks the supplier to contain a problem, find the root
cause and fix it. Open **Purchasing > SCARs**.

```mermaid
%% title: SCAR status flow
flowchart LR
  A[Draft] -->|Issue to supplier| B[Issued]
  B -->|Record supplier response| C[Response received]
  C -->|Accept response · verify| D[Verifying]
  C -->|Reject response| B
  D -->|Close · effective| E[Closed]
  D -->|Not effective · reissue| B
```

| Status | Buttons | Who signs |
|---|---|---|
| **Draft** | **Issue to supplier** | The person issuing. Describe the problem first. |
| **Issued** | **Record supplier response** | Anyone in Purchasing. Needs containment, root cause and corrective action. |
| **Response received** | **Accept response · verify**, **Reject response** | QA engineer (Jason Wong). |
| **Verifying** | **Close · effective**, **Not effective · reissue** | **Close · effective**: QA manager (Grace Ooi). **Not effective · reissue**: QA engineer. |
| **Closed** | None | |

<Steps>
<Step>

Open the SCAR in **Draft**. Choose **Issue to supplier** and enter the **Problem**. The supplier has
14 days to answer.

</Step>
<Step>

When the supplier replies, choose **Record supplier response**. Enter **Supplier containment**,
**Root cause** and **Corrective action**.

</Step>
<Step>

The QA engineer chooses **Accept response · verify** to start checking, or **Reject response**. A
rejection needs **Reason response rejected**, and the supplier has 7 days to answer again.

</Step>
<Step>

The QA manager chooses **Close · effective** once three lots from that supplier were accepted
since the response. If fewer than three arrived, enter **Verification on following lots** instead.
If the fix did not work, the QA engineer chooses **Not effective · reissue**.

</Step>
</Steps>

<GuideStep
  title="The SCAR register"
  description="Each SCAR shows its supplier, due date and status."
  src="/guide/suppliers/3.png"
  alt="Supplier corrective actions list on desktop with status chips and due dates"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 30, y: 30, caption: "Search for a supplier or SCAR number." },
    { x: 50, y: 42, caption: "Status chip shows where the SCAR stands." },
    { x: 68, y: 42, caption: "Due date for the supplier's response." },
  ]}
/>

## Score a supplier [#score-a-supplier]

Each approved supplier is evaluated at least once a year. Open **Purchasing > Evaluations** and add
an evaluation. **Evaluation type** is **Periodic** for a supplier that has delivered, or
**Initial** for a new supplier with no receipts yet. The status flow is **Draft**, **Scored**,
**Approved**.

### Periodic evaluation [#periodic-evaluation]

Nothing is typed. **Calculate score** counts what the system already holds for the supplier between
**Period from** and **Period to** (blank is the 12 months up to today):

| Figure | Counted from |
|---|---|
| **Lots received** | Incoming inspections of the supplier's lots that were decided, **Accepted** or **Rejected**, in the range. A lot still Pending or On hold is not counted yet. |
| **Lots rejected** | Those decided as **Rejected**. |
| **On-time delivery %** | Posted goods receipts in the range that were received on or before the due date of their purchase order, out of the receipts whose order has a due date. |
| **NCRs raised** | NCRs raised for the supplier's incoming lots in the range. An NCR names no supplier, so it belongs to the supplier through the lot it was raised for. |
| **SCARs open past due** | The supplier's SCARs that are Issued and past their due date today. |
| **Certificate valid** | The supplier's certificate expiry in the supplier register: valid when an expiry is recorded and has not passed. |

<Steps>
<Step>

In **Draft**, set **Period from** and **Period to** if you want a range other than the last 12
months, then choose **Calculate score**. The record shows the figures and, under **Scored from**,
where each one came from, with the numbers of the inspections and NCRs counted.

</Step>
<Step>

The score is half lot quality, three tenths on-time delivery, and two tenths a penalty of 15 per
NCR and 30 per overdue SCAR. 85 or more is **Approved**. 70 to 84 is **Conditional**. Below 70, or
without a valid certificate, is **Disqualified**.

</Step>
<Step>

A QA manager other than the person who scored it chooses **Approve · update supplier** and signs.
For a **Conditional** result, enter the conditions first, for example tightened inspection.

</Step>
</Steps>

A supplier with no decided lot in the range cannot be scored this way. Use an initial evaluation.
To count a different range after scoring, choose **Re-calculate**; typed figures are never used.

### Initial evaluation of a new supplier [#initial-evaluation-of-a-new-supplier]

A supplier with no receipts has no lots to count, so an initial evaluation is judged on documents,
an audit and a sample. It has no score: the **Outcome** is the result.

1. Choose **Evaluation type** **Initial**.
2. Set **Quality agreement signed**, **Supplier audit** (**Passed**, **Failed** or **Not done**) and
   **Sample / first lot** (**Accepted**, **Rejected** or **None**). Whatever you claim needs its
   reference: **Audit report ref.** for an audit, **Sample / first-lot ref.** for a sample.
3. Choose **Calculate score**. The certificate comes from the supplier register.

| Outcome | When |
|---|---|
| **Disqualified** | The certificate is not valid, the audit **Failed**, or the sample was **Rejected**. |
| **Approved** | The certificate is valid, the quality agreement is signed, and the audit **Passed** or the sample was **Accepted**. |
| **Conditional** | Anything else: something is still missing. Enter the conditions at approval. |

Approval is the same for both kinds: a QA manager other than the person who scored it signs.
It updates the supplier's status and sets the next evaluation date: one year for **Approved**, six
months for **Conditional**. Later evaluations of the supplier are periodic, scored from its
receipts, inspections and NCRs.

## If the system refuses [#if-the-system-refuses]

The messages for these tasks are listed in
[Purchasing refusals](/docs/purchasing/refusals#suppliers). Signature authority, reason and access
refusals are explained in
[Signatures and refusals](/docs/get-started/signatures-and-refusals).

<NextSteps>

<NextStep href="/docs/purchasing/requisitions" title="Raise a purchase requisition" description="Ask Purchasing to buy something." />

<NextStep href="/docs/purchasing/purchase-orders" title="Issue a purchase order" description="Approve and send an order to an approved supplier." />

<NextStep href="/docs/purchasing/incoming-inspection" title="Inspect incoming material" description="How supplier lots are accepted or rejected." />

<NextStep href="/docs/purchasing/refusals" title="Purchasing refusals" description="Every message and what to do." />

</NextSteps>