GlossaryKind of term: Manufacturing termSupplier evaluation
What is supplier evaluation?
A supplier evaluation is a customer's periodic assessment of you as a supplier, usually on on-time delivery, quality, price and responsiveness.
A supplier evaluation, also called vendor rating, is how a customer periodically assesses its suppliers, often per quarter or per year. Common criteria are on-time delivery and quality. On-time delivery is the share of order lines that arrived complete on the confirmed date; quality is often expressed as rejected parts per million delivered (ppm) or as the number of complaints. Price, the speed and completeness of quotes and the handling of non-conformances are often added. The outcome is usually a score or a class, for example A, B or C.
What does the standard say about supplier evaluation?
Clause 8.4 of ISO 9001:2015 requires an organisation to determine and apply criteria for the evaluation, selection, monitoring of performance and re-evaluation of external providers. The standard does not prescribe a scorecard, metrics or classes; each customer chooses its own. Sector standards, for example in automotive and aerospace, add requirements for monitoring supplier performance. So the calculation differs per customer: what counts as on time, whether early delivery counts as a miss, and how much each criterion weighs. A certificate says your quality management system has been audited, not how you perform on delivered orders.
How does supplier evaluation work in practice?
Part of the score is already decided when you quote. A lead time that covers the whole route, including outsourcing, inspection and material, reduces the risk of late delivery. A tight tolerance priced without a suitable measuring method or inspection time can come back as rejects. Open points on the drawing confirmed up front limit disputes later. A low class can lead to fewer requests, an improvement plan or an audit; how customers act on it varies.
What is supplier evaluation often confused with?
A supplier audit examines your way of working, often on site; the evaluation measures performance on delivered orders. And an ISO 9001 certificate can be a condition for getting onto the approved supplier list, but says nothing about your score.
Frequently asked questions
How is on-time delivery calculated in a supplier evaluation?
Usually as the share of order lines that arrived complete and on time, sometimes within an agreed window. Whether on time means the confirmed or the requested date, and whether early counts as a miss, varies per customer. Ask which rule your customer applies.
What can I do in the quote to improve my evaluation?
Promise a lead time that covers the whole route, including outsourced operations and inspection, and have the drawing's requirements confirmed up front. What the quote leaves open can come back later as a late delivery or a complaint.
Does ISO 9001 require supplier evaluation?
ISO 9001 requires an organisation applying it to evaluate and monitor its external providers against criteria it sets itself. The standard leaves the method, whether a scorecard, classes or something else, to the organisation.