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Business Review with Customer

Discussion in 'IATF 16949:2016 - Automotive Quality Systems' started by Carlee Gruizinga, Apr 4, 2023.

  1. Carlee Gruizinga

    Carlee Gruizinga Member

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    Hello all,

    We had a customer reach out stating that they need to do a Quarterly Business Review with us and that it is an IATF Requirement.

    We want to prepare for this discussion, but I cannot see to find where in the IATF standard this type of requirement exists. I also reviewed the supplier quality manual for this customer, without any hint towards a business review.

    Does anyone know where this is stated in the IATF standard?

    Thank you!
    -Carlee
     
  2. qmr1976

    qmr1976 Well-Known Member

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    Did they provide an agenda on what will be discussed in the quarterly review? IATF states we have to adhere to all customer specific requirements? Do they have written CSRs on file?
     
  3. Carlee Gruizinga

    Carlee Gruizinga Member

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    No agenda was provided. Our customer does not have formal CSRs on file - we use the supplier code of conduct and supplier quality manual (which did not have any discussion on business reviews. Our customer's customer does have CSR on file, perhaps this is where the requirement is stated (looking through it now).

    Thanks!
    -Carlee
     
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  4. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    It’s not in there, Carlee! Which function wants this review? How will they use the results? I’d be somewhat circumspect about it a) without any agreement and b) not knowing what they want to review. Clearly, it’s not an IATF requirement, so that’s a red flag.
    What’s this customer worth to you?
     
  5. Golfman25

    Golfman25 Well-Known Member

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    It’s not a requirement per se. However, they are required to do supplier review/development type stuff. So they may have committed themselves to Quarterly Business Reviews to meet those requirements. It’s no big deal and gives you a contact point with the customer to gauge customer satisfaction. Ask them for an agenda so you’ll know what’s covered. The ones my customers do focus on the weather, oh and deliveries and any rejections, quality issues etc.
     
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  6. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Correct, but that doesn’t necessarily mean doing what Carlee described. There are far too many people interpreting what they think the requirements are and then, without ANY formal, documented contractual arrangements, “blackmailing” suppliers into such events. Who sets up a review without an agenda? Is this the whim or some low-level quality person, or a Purchasing review? What’s going to happen with the results. I wouldn’t be entertaining anyone without some basic, professional courtesy being extended first…
     
  7. Golfman25

    Golfman25 Well-Known Member

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    You can do that, but they are likely just checking a box for their system. No problem asking for an agenda. I wouldn't be adversarial. Regular reviews between customer and vendor are common. Like I said, ours usually consist of talking about the weather, and with our customers in UK, the Queen and now King. The numbers review is pretty quick, unless there are issues (which is very rare).
     
  8. Jennifer Kirley

    Jennifer Kirley Moderator Staff Member

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    Since we haven't seen the review I can't say it is value added or not, but my employer tries to make ours value added so the supplier gets a good holistic sense of what the metrics are, what concerns have been raised, and so on. I am asked to provide input. When I do it includes a dashboard showing top 5 part numbers defective, plus trended on-time delivery, DPPM and Quality Score that results from a combination of open/late corrective actions, DPPM, late certificate and others. I also list some bullet points such as successful PPAP submissions, timely responses to change notices, how many CARs and their status, and other things if notable such as year over year differences in assembly issues and issues found with directly shipped kits at installation sites. For suppliers I don't hold regular meetings with this package of in-depth information does not get made available to them in other ways.

    I think it's a good idea to ask for an agenda but it is hard to predict what gets included in the package. It could be a whole bunch of additional things from what I listed, as I don't do financials.
     
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