Original Date: 06/29/1995
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Wainwright’s Vendor Certification Process ensures that a supplier has the capabilites to provide quality products and services on time and within the agreed price. The process also provides a method for measuring and providing feedback to the supplier through pre-survey questionnaires, on-site reviews, and delivery-rating and discrepant- material reports. This process helps Wainwright maintain acceptable quality standards and capabilities within its supplier base.

The Vendor Certification Process consists of two key elements -- a pre-survey evaluation report completed by the vendor and a survey evaluation report completed by a Wainwright evaluator through an on-site review. The on-site review captures first-hand testimony and validates the survey results. A point scoring system is applied to the survey results that ranks the vendor’s conformance in the following categories: general (quality) systems, statistical process control, drawing and specification control, measurement and test equipment control, subcontracted supplies and services control, nonconforming materials control, and final inspection/audit. An internally-developed standard survey form is used to collect the data and calculate the scoring results as a percentage. The process rates vendors as Approved, Preferred, or Certified, the latter being the highest level. A score of 50% or more classifies a company as an Approved Vendor, 70% or more as a Preferred Vendor, and 65% or more with a score of two or better on each question as a Certified Vendor. Additionally, the process feeds back to the vendor information on its strengths and opportunities associated with each section.

Approximately 45 vendors supply over 50% of the materials required by Wainwright based on purchase cost. These vendors are the focus of the Vendor Certification Process, with an additional 12-15 vendors targeted for future certification. Since 1993 when the program was initiated, 41 vendors have achieved Approved ratings, one has achieved the Preferred rating, and four are at the Certified level. Wainwright strives to bring the Approved and the Preferred vendors to the Certified level.

Under this Vendor Certification Process, raw material delivery dates have improved from an average of 50% late deliveries in mid-1993 to less than 10% in mid-1995 (Figure 2-2). On-time deliveries have contributed to steel inventory levels decreasing from 2.3 million pounds to 1.15 million pounds (Figure 2-3). Rejection rates have also been reduced from 30% in 1993 to 10% in 1995.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.