Supplier evaluation and complaint handling
Two requirements 17025 demands, and most labs settle both over email, where the evaluation disappears into an inbox and the complaint becomes a thread of messages no one reconstructs later. Here the two live inside the flow, with the record and the handling ready to open in front of the auditor.
Pick the critical supplier on evidence, not just price.
When a purchase is received, the supplier is scored on quality, delivery, price and communication, 1 to 5, with a searchable history. Next time you decide with data in hand.
The outsourced sample stays traced.
When an analysis goes to a partner lab, it's recorded and linked to the sample. Traceability doesn't break just because the test left the building.
Customer complaints handled and proven.
There's no screen labeled 'complaint,' and we're upfront about it. A complaint enters as an occurrence and runs on the same nonconformity engine, so the customer who complained becomes a handled, auditable record instead of an email that gets lost.
Supplier history is your purchasing memory.
Every receipt leaves a score. Over time, the supplier who always runs late or always delivers off shows up in the history, not just in the buyer's memory.
Four criteria, not a hunch.
Quality, delivery, price and communication scored separately. The cheap supplier who delivers wrong and goes silent on the phone stops looking like the best option just because it had the lowest price.
The outsourced test stays linked to its source sample.
The parameter that went out stays tied to the client's sample. On the final report, the outsourced part is traced, not floating.
Why continuous evaluation beats the yearly one
A supplier evaluation that happens once a year is a stale snapshot. The one that happens at every purchase is the real film of the relationship.
Evaluation at receipt, not at year-end.
The score comes out when the purchase arrives, with the facts fresh. You don't try to recall in December how March's deliveries went.
The trend says more than the single score.
One late delivery can be bad luck. Three in a row is a pattern. The searchable history shows the difference before you renew the contract.
Data to negotiate, not just to file.
When you sit down to renegotiate, you bring the quality and delivery history. The conversation stops being only about price.
Frequently asked questions
How is the supplier evaluated?
When a purchase is received, you score it 1 to 5 on quality, delivery, price and communication. Each evaluation stays in the supplier's history, so the next pick of a critical supplier leans on data, not on the buyer's impression from last time.
Is there a dedicated complaint management screen?
No. Being honest, there's no separate screen just for complaints today. What we do have is the robust nonconformity workflow, which takes the complaint through the full CAPA cycle: cause, action, evidence and effectiveness. We'd rather tell you that than sell you a screen that doesn't exist.
How does traceability hold when I outsource a test?
The analysis sent to the partner lab is recorded and linked to its source sample. Traceability doesn't break because the test left the building, and the outsourced part stays tied to the client's report.
Want to see the QMS running with your lab’s routine?
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