Abstract
One of the most important attributes to manufacturing is product quality. It relates to the historical rejection rate during a period of time of the products delivered to the customer. Rejection is due to deviations from specifications in the raw material supplied by suppliers, process design, and the quality control of the manufacturing process. The non-conforming parts can be detected during incoming inspection or during work in process. Thus, the standardization and maintenance of process equipment are of prime importance in ensuring the quality of a process and the products that are derived. Cost is another important attribute of the product as it affects the bottom-line. Thus, the competence of the supplier of raw material to design, develop and launch products within specifications becomes imperative in a manufacturing process. In the current competitive environment, it is crucial to assess suppliers as good quality raw material are important in the development stage, as this can have an adverse effect on the customers response. Supplier flexibility involves the response time when engineering changes are needed during the process. It also considers the response time to new orders or order modifications during the development and manufacturing stages. As a result, research and development activities are used to initiate and measure the ability of the supplier to provide support during the process. It is an important attribute as most products, after launching, demand continuous improvement to remain competitive. Procurement of materials and equipment is considered the first step in supply chain management of many companies. It is also broadly known that the performance of suppliers directly influences the company’s efficiency and competitiveness. Supplier performance evaluation is a crucial process to identify strengths and weaknesses of suppliers which can help the company to manage them.
There are various supplier performance evaluation methods. In this study process quality of the existing system of producing steel shafts was first evaluated. Based on the study the machine was upgraded by engineering design and the results were evaluated subsequently. In order to develop an overall performance evaluation system, firstly: the manufacturer’s process machine was assessed for capability. These formed the metrics for the performance evaluation of the process. Subsequently, the quality of the raw material supplied by a regular supplier was evaluated together with raw material supplied by two other suppliers. These were compared. The results which mainly constituted statistical analysis showed that the most important criteria of the process metrics was machine performance, followed by supplier quality of raw materials. These formed the performance indicators for the overall process. Generally, the supplier who attained the highest weighted score was the top-performer.
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