Initial approval · criteria · decision
The most expensive supplier is the one nobody ever approved.
Qualification means settling before the first order whether a provider meets your requirements – and who decided that, on what basis.
Supplier qualification is the first step in the lifecycle and the only one that cannot be done retrospectively. Checking after goods arrive means checking a decision already made. Audits spot it instantly: an order date before an approval date is a finding you cannot argue away.
In practice the problem rarely comes from negligence but from haste. An urgent need, a supplier who can deliver quickly, formalities to follow later. Which is why the process needs tiers: a fast lane for non-critical purchases and a thorough one for everything else.
Why initial approvals fail
- The process has only one depth and is therefore too slow for urgent cases.
- Approval happens verbally and leaves no trace.
- Evidence is requested but never assessed – receipt is not judgement.
- Who may decide is undefined, so whoever is available decides.
The sequence
- Frame the need
- Determine criticality before searching – it sets the depth of scrutiny.
- Self-disclosure
- Request master data, certificates and declarations and capture them in structure.
- Verify
- Check issuer, validity, scope and register data.
- Decide
- Approve, approve with conditions or reject – with reasoning and a named person.
- Time-limit
- Approvals age. A recall date belongs to the initial approval.
How SCRM covers it
Tiered lanes
Depth follows the criticality class, not chance.
Approval as a record
A decision with date, basis and person – the evidence arises while deciding.
Conditions with deadlines
Conditional approvals do not roll on unnoticed.
Linked to ordering
Visible whether a valid approval existed – before the auditor checks.
Frequently asked
How fast can qualification be?
Minutes for non-critical purchases, provided the criteria are set in advance. Delay almost always comes from undefined rules, not from the check itself.
What about an urgent need?
A time-limited approval with conditions is legitimate if it is reasoned, documented and dated. What does not work is the silent exception.
How does it differ from evaluation?
Qualification decides access; evaluation measures performance afterwards. Both belong on the same record.