BSI (The British Standards Institution) released in October 2014 a new standard for supplier qualification. If you haven't had a chance to read through this 64 page classic I will give you the skinny version here.
It is noteworthy to understand the authors of this document - a range of software providers, consultants, industry associations, public bodies and a small scattering of actual businesses. Now call me cynical but this does feel like a self congratulatory group who are seeking to set the benchmark for businesses to seek their approval and services.
Maybe I am being overly harsh, it is actually a pretty good piece of work!
Having put aside my cynicism, as I read through I felt the guiding principles were common sense and not overly bureaucratic. I also thought they have a scalable nature to flex for businesses of different sizes and industry nuance.
The first delineation made is between 'Core' and 'Additional' topic modules. Core are deemed to be those aspects of supplier qualification that should always be covered. They include:
- Organisational profile
- Supplier capabilities and capacities
- Financial information and insurance
- Business governance
- Employment policies
- Health and Safety
- Data protection
- Environmental management
- Quality management
For each core topic the second delineation is between 'essential' questions and 'discretionary' questions. This principle applies to the additional topic modules which include:
- Business ethics
- Supply chain traceability
- Supply chain security
- Equal opportunities
- Disciplinary practice and abuse
- Business continuity management
The standard then goes on to define each question you might ask and a description of the response you might expect. For example, if you were to ask for a registered address you might expect to provide a format comprising address line 1, 2, 3, town, state/province, country, and post/zip code.
There is nothing rocket science in here but I do like the detailed nature in which basics are broken down and presented for consumption.
At the moment you can download the standard for free via the bsi webshop http://www.bsigroup.com/Global/Headers/PAS%207000_book-marked.pdf
If you can't sleep give it a read.