The Day I Put Three Suppliers on CS1
One of the toughest decisions of my quality career was placing three suppliers on Controlled Shipping Level 1. The experience taught me that recurring supplier problems are rarely about individual defects and almost always about underlying system weaknesses.
I Really Don't Want to Manage Your Supplier. But If I Have To, I Will.
One of the clearest signs of supplier management failure is when the customer becomes responsible for driving the supplier's improvement efforts. Customers should not have to manage their supplier's quality management system, let alone their supplier's suppliers. When that happens, the issue is rarely the latest defect and is usually rooted in weaknesses within the supplier's management system.
Why Supplier Quality Problems Keep Returning
Supplier quality problems rarely repeat because organizations lack corrective actions. They repeat because organizations lack sufficient understanding of the conditions that created the outcome in the first place.
Why Corrective Action Often Fails
Corrective action cannot eliminate a cause that has not been adequately understood. Sustainable improvement begins with understanding, not activity.