Approval and Qualification of the Product/External Provider
Benelli manages its providers in a structured manner and has procurement procedures in place where methods and rules are defined for the management of all stages in the purchasing process. The company has always continued to seek out potential “external providers” to outsource its supplies of materials and/or services. To qualify, each external provider must meet the minimum requirements in terms of quality, delivery times, costs and above all, actions for continued improvement.
To reach out to the Company, there is an internet portal that allows existing and/or potential providers to communicate with Benelli. The website can be reached at http://suppliers.benelli.it
A careful reader will certainly have noticed that both here and on the portal, we have used the term “external provider” to replace the term “supplier”; the figure of the “traditional” supplier has in fact been superseded by this new definition, encapsulating all types of company that procure any type of material or service required. The “provider” is seen as a sort of partner, with whom to collaborate in order to obtain products, services and processes that make it possible to achieve the satisfaction of the end customer as a result. According to the information entered in the website, Benelli will decide whether or not to send a request for tender to a potential provider. If the offer is found to be competitive, an assessment procedure will be implemented for qualification purposes. As a rule, this procedure will include an audit at the provider’s premises.
The different stages that each “new” external provider must pass through to become a Benelli partner are configured in a path that, commencing with the prototyping of very few samples, will evolve through to the manufacturing of production quantities.
We can define these salient stages as:
- Prototyping
- Feasibility analysis
- Qualification
- Oversight
Prototyping: is represented by a small sample quantity (1-10 pieces). In this stage, all of the necessary documentation is provided and a communications channel is opened between the external provider and Benelli, in order to make it easier to create the samples. The tool that makes this type of relationship possible is our external provider relationship management.
Guided by the development and introduction of new technologies, including in communication and the search for relational Quality, Benelli has set up a means to make the interaction between the various stakeholders in the supply process even more efficient. The characteristics guiding this activity/stage are:
- Guarantee and usability of information
- Project surveillance
- Security of information
- Responsibility and speed (priority communication)
- History of data
- Monitoring of the quality and quantity of the information
This approach therefore allows all stakeholders to proceed according to a shared working methodology, optimising supply activities and freeing up resources that can be allocated to focusing more attention on quality aspects.
Feasibility analysis: external provider efficiency levels are assessed through auditing in key areas such as procurement, design, production and quality management in order to assess whether or not the provider’s process is reliable and that is to say, whether it can be industrialised. Benelli pays specific attention to the way in which its providers act with regard to the environment, in terms of their management and control of emissions into the air and drainage systems, as well as the waste they produce. If any critical aspects are identified and assessed, the provider must solve these and this will be checked in subsequent audits.
In case of positive audit outcomes, if the process and provider is found to be reliable, the activity can pass on to the next stage in qualification; otherwise it will be necessary to change process and/or provider.
Qualification: this is understood as an initial formal assessment enabling the inclusion of the provider in the list of external providers. This stage is the the most important one in the process. The importance of quality aspects plays a decisive role and in fact represents an essential requirement in its final success. Being able to arrive at this stage/date with all the right credentials in place is a fast track to product approval and inclusion in the list of external providers. If, on the other hand, there are any shortcomings in the supply, the process will stall, through to rejection of the customer-provider partnership request. The operating methods are detailed and defined in procedure PQ 09-10, which regulates the limits and responsibilities of this type of activity. At this point, we need to point out that the concept of adopting a shared work method and all of the means devised and made available to achieve the set goals are contained in the PPAP file.
The PPAP File (Part Production Approval Process) states what to prepare to have all the credentials in place at the moment of provider/ product assessment; it can be summed up in 10 points:
- Approval request
- Metrology report with measurement of all characteristics
- Calculation of process capability (cp cpk)
- Methodologies and instruments of control used
- Control plans used by the provider for production
- Certificates for the materials used
- Certificates for heat and/or surface treatments
- Physical samples and images of the definition of aesthetic conformity limits found
- Process flow chart
- Logistics sheet
This information will be drawn up by Benelli’s Quality Division which, only in case the minimum requirements as stated above are found, will publish formal notification of the qualification for the product/provider pair.
The integrated system, consisting of various tools, puts the external provider in the position to assess, itself and its capabilities, as well as the product being made, in complete autonomy. This stimulates the supplier to make small changes every day, with an overall effect that becomes an improvement process for the whole organisation.
This approach, which is guided by a structured, regulated method, ensures that all suppliers can start from the same condition, making it possible to have an objective comparison on the qualitative results and level of service obtained. It is essential that the energy powering the various efforts to improve the products, services and Quality in general comes mainly from above and not only from those operating on the processes.
Monitoring: external provider performance is measured in real time. Providers who show excellent results in meeting performance requirements in terms of Quality and Service, making a determining contribution to Benelli’s success, will be appointed and recognised as “Pro-viders of Excellence”. What are the requirements for obtaining this status? These are key:
- The adoption of a quality approach in line with the Benelli philosophy
- Making this method functional within your own production set-up
- Developing a solid approach, structured in line with quality problems, based on the foundations developed by Benelli
- Applying all this to at least 80% of your own processes.
These aspects of course make the difference, especially today, in view of the position of the Benelli brand, with an increasingly vast range of products, and a market that is ever more sensitive to quality. They are also essential for achieving the aim the first time around, in order to satisfy the changed needs of the customer.
Achieving this late is the same as not achieving it at all.
This is why Benelli needs partners rather than providers, where Quality and Service standards meet the minimum requirements. Providers with unsatisfactory performances in terms of quality, assistance, costs or technology, will not receive purchase orders. Business relations will be limited to the issue of pending invoices, after which the supplier will be removed from the list.
However, these providers have the possibility to be re-qualified by Benelli in the event they decide to implement a plan of action as approved by the Benelli Quality Division, with satisfactory results. This re-qualification process is subject to the sole discretion of Benelli.