Method · criteria, scale, cycle
An evaluation produced only before the audit evaluates nothing.
The common mistake is not a missing scheme but an over-engineered one. Twenty weighted criteria get maintained for a year and then never again.
Supplier evaluation measures how well a provider meets the agreed requirements. Four dimensions are usual: quality, delivery reliability, cooperation and cost – plus compliance criteria such as valid certificates or completed self-disclosures.
Repeatability matters more than granularity. A five-criteria scheme applied to everyone every year is worth far more in an audit than a sophisticated model used twice.
What makes an evaluation hold
- Criteria defined before the evaluation, not after it.
- A scale whose levels are described – “3” does not mean the same to everyone.
- Data that arises anyway: complaints, delays, incidents.
- A cycle per criticality class instead of one date for everybody.
- A consequence: what actually happens after a poor score?
Five steps
- Classify
- Group suppliers by criticality – the class sets depth and rhythm.
- Define criteria
- Few, measurable criteria with a described scale.
- Collect data
- From ongoing operations, not from memory shortly before the date.
- Score
- On fixed cycles, with four-eyes review for critical suppliers.
- Act
- Communicate the result, agree measures, check effectiveness.
How SCRM covers it
Scheme per class
Defined once, then assigned to the right group automatically.
Continuous data
Complaints and incidents feed the score instead of living separately.
Due dates, not reminders
The cycle creates a task with a name and a date.
Visible trend
Development over years – exactly what the auditor asks about.
Frequently asked
How many criteria make sense?
Four to six for most companies. More raises effort without improving the decision – and lowers the odds that the evaluation happens at all.
Must the result be shared with the supplier?
Not always required, almost always sensible. An evaluation nobody hears about changes nothing.
What about suppliers with few orders?
A simplified evaluation on a longer cycle suffices. What matters is that the grading is defined and justified.