Does it matter which people from your organization chase parts from suppliers?
During the purchasing process one of the common tasks to be completed is the delivery schedule – typically this will be outlined during the quotation phase and confirmed at time of order placement. This is usually in the form of an agreed lead time – i.e. 3 weeks – or a specified date/time.
The expediting process refers to the procurement organization contacting the supplier for either updates on the delivery schedule or to reassess the schedule based on issues with the supply of parts.
The challenge for this process and one which is a common issue is who actually chases the supplier. In many cases this will typically be the buyer that raises the order – they may have a regular process where they reconfirm the order book or a specific order.
Where there are many stakeholders relying on delivery – in a manufacturing organization for example – there may be a temptation for everyone to get involved in this process where the part becomes critical – or is late enough to hold up production.
Where problems occur with delivery a supplier could find themselves hastened multiple times from buyers up to management. This does cause some issues – take for example a supplier that is supplying multiple products to different manufacturing cells and they are experiencing production problems impacting delivery– where they are expedited from different sources they are unable to prioritize which can result in further issues and delays and more frustration.
In many cases the buyer is divorced from the manufacturing line and therefore doesn’t have sufficient information to prioritize – this requires a formal communication method to mitigate the problem which the buyer must adhere to before agreeing to a revised delivery schedule.
Where problems continue and poor performance becomes an issue with a supplier then a suitable member of the management team should become involved (often the procurement functional lead). Ensuring this is adhered to can also alert management to the need to kick off formal supplier improvement initiatives.
Formal relationships between suppliers and buyers should be established to minimize the points of contacts – it’s understandable for dis-satisfied stakeholders to want to get involved but generally they may not be armed with all the information and skills to make the right decision.
Finally – ensure your organization has a policy/procedure for supplier escalation – ensure that it lays out when, how and who will be involved in the process and share this information with the supplier. Where suppliers do not achieve 100% on time delivery – expediting or rescheduling becomes a necessary evil – however a common sense approach can ensure that a bad situation doesn’t become worse!
Comments
One Response to “Expediting process – Chasing the supplier when things go wrong”
The article does not serve to demonstrate who expediting can be used in reducing the risk of a project incurring late delivery charges,and cost overruns while sub-contractors on site have men idle while the material that was due to be shipped was not even complete.
The purpose should be proactive where the Project own engineering teams are pushed to review design data and resolve technical disparities with the supplier or sub-contractor
In fact production cannot commence without design approval.
In addition many of the manufacturers are late due in turn to materials and components arrivinge later than required. The expediter should jointly or with the supplier contact and visit the sub suppliers. There are several reasons ranging from world shortages of materials,bottlenecks in the works due to cover commitment and a whole host of other issues.
If the Stakeholder wishes to get involved the Expediter can accompany him to the works or arrange telephone conferences. So multiple contacts will not be a problem.
Meanwhile the expediter need not always rely on single point contacts. Sometimes he may approach a senior person or another person who is a decision maker, so can consider recovery plans for something that is later or an action plan where a possible delay is identified in advance.