10 replies to this topic

[GoldFishPanic]

Im at a boutique-sized middleman manufacturer and we are prepping for our first SQF audit in the next month.

 

We have had multiple incidents of inclusions, spoiled, and out of temp. materials from a supplier and I have documented and notified their sales and QA team many times. They keep giving us the run around, and will not fill out our Supplier Corrective Action Reports, or give any disposal guidance.

 

Our customer has specified that we use this supplier due to all the additional value added claims that come from using them, despite that company having a rather dismal reputation with other manufactures in the industry. We have notified the customer at every occurrence.

 

What is your opinion of the best course of action? I have all of these unresolved incidents sitting on my books and the our pre-scheduled SQF audit is a month away.

[acarver]

I have to wonder what the supplier and customer have worked out with "dismal reputation" and "added value" in the same sentence? It seems a bit incongruent.

 

Anyway, to start, I would have to refuse any shipment at all out of specification. Explain to the customer that their items may not be fulfilled because supplier is out of compliance. Write up your plan to share with auditor.

[MDaleDDF]

Find a new supplier if possible.   I know for certain sized places this is easier said than done though.

[GoldFishPanic]

I have to wonder what the supplier and customer have worked out with "dismal reputation" and "added value" in the same sentence? It seems a bit incongruent.

 

Anyway, to start, I would have to refuse any shipment at all out of specification. Explain to the customer that their items may not be fulfilled because supplier is out of compliance. Write up your plan to share with auditor.

Thats the protein market for you. Value added claims like "free range" and "organic" have nothing to do with how the protein is actually processed and handled in their facility. This company has a pretty fancy high-end reputation for their primary meat product, and could care less about any secondary products produced. Many other processors we have talked to have had the same problems with materials sourced from them and lack their lack of responsibility.

 

We will no longer be doing business with them in the future, and our customer has been notified. I am not sure how to record all this for the auditor. I am fresh from school and management is minimally educated in these matters.

[GoldFishPanic]

Find a new supplier if possible.   I know for certain sized places this is easier said than done though.

Ain't that the truth! The fun part is that the bad supplier is very close to us, <2 hours away and the other approved supplier is on the other side of the country. We are a mom n pop sized operation. We don't have the storage space to make such a shipment cost effective.

[nwilson]

Document and file everything, including emails you've sent.  Show that your company has done all they can to remedy the situation and that this supplier is non-responsive.  You can also show that you are working toward procurement aspects with a new supplier, or even general research.   Could a broker also be an option?  

[MDaleDDF]

Ain't that the truth! The fun part is that the bad supplier is very close to us, <2 hours away and the other approved supplier is on the other side of the country. We are a mom n pop sized operation. We don't have the storage space to make such a shipment cost effective.

Lol, yeahhhhh, we're in the same situation with a few suppliers.   We're not even a drop in their bucket.   We're like a hydrogen molecule of a drop in their bucket, lol, so there's not a ton I can do in certain situations.   I think if I threatened to go elsewhere they'd be like "oh thank God, BYE!".... so I just have to deal with some things the best I can.   For these kinds of entities supplier approvals are a joke.   If I rate them low, what am I gonna do?   I'm painted into a corner and that's that.

So I feel your pain there....

[GoldFishPanic]

Document and file everything, including emails you've sent.  Show that your company has done all they can to remedy the situation and that this supplier is non-responsive.  You can also show that you are working toward procurement aspects with a new supplier, or even general research.   Could a broker also be an option?  

I can compile everything I have access to on my end, but I am often limited by our lack of organizational structure. I am the first semi-managment-ish employee for this company and there is a lot that I am not privy to due to the owner running it solo for years.

[acarver]

Document and file everything, including emails you've sent.  Show that your company has done all they can to remedy the situation and that this supplier is non-responsive.  You can also show that you are working toward procurement aspects with a new supplier, or even general research.   Could a broker also be an option?  

Exactly.  Document what you did to address the situation, the supplier's response (or, in this case, non-response), and what you are going to do moving forward, even if you do not have a new supplier lined up at this time. (CAPA). Auditors don't expect that you have found that everything is perfect, but that you have worked to correct that which you found to be lacking.

[SQFconsultant]

It would appear quite obvious that your customer has a deal worked out with the supplier like a kickback, etc.... a fraud sounds about right and at the risk of taking a sizeable loss I would tell the customer to cut the shit. That either they use a different supplier or you drop the customer.

 

Relationships like this are dangerous to your company.

 

As far as the Auditor is concerned you tell the truth about everything - you don't want to begin with SQF on anything less than truth. 

[Tony-C]

Hi GoldFishPanic,

 

 

Welcome to the IFSQN forums

 

As you have documented everything that should help quite a lot.

 

If you have not used any materials that are out of specification and rejected or disposed of those materials then I don’t see you having a problem, especially if you have evidence that you will no longer be doing business with them in the future, and that the customer has been notified of your intention.

 

Good luck with your audit.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony