Add a Pre-Assessment Record
Pre-Assessment records can be generated in a number of ways:
1. From the date defined in the Pre-Assessment Programme: The record will automatically generate on the date set when creating the programme. The record can be accessed from the Actions Tab.
2. From the Supply Chain Management Module: To add a record manually in the Supply Chain Management Module you can click 'Add Record’ and select 'Add Pre-Assessment'. You will then be asked to select the programme you wish to generate a record from.
3. From the Supplier in MasterData: You can navigate to the relevant supplier in Master Data, and select 'Add Record', 'Add Pre-Assessment'.
When a pre-assessment programme is setup a primary assessor is assigned. When a record opens from the programme it may be that the assigned primary assessor needs to be changed. A secondary assessor may also be assigned to the record. Click here to see how you can change the assigned primary and secondary assessor of pre-assessment record.
1. Supplier Details
In this section, the supplier can complete/update all the details about themselves e.g. contact details. They can also detail any manufacturing sites or other supplier entities. This will allow the assigned assessor to decide on whether or not the supplier entities they define should be sent a pre-assessment, full assessment, or not progress with them (decisions are made in the final stage of the record).
1. Supplier: The supplier's name will appear here. The supplier can update their name if necessary.
2. Contact Details: The supplier's phone and fax details can be added here.
3. Postal Address: The postal address for the supplier can be completed here.
4. Physical Address: If the postal address is the same as the physical address, then click 'Same as Postal Address' and it will automatically populate.
5. Main Contacts: This is the name of the supplier contacts. If there were already contacts completed in MasterData, then they will appear here. If a contact was invited to the portal to complete the record then there name and email address would already be here. The supplier can add or update the contact list.
6. Notes: Any notes or comments can be completed here.
Note: If the primary supplier adds or updates any of this data above (including setting category and type - no. 9 and 10 below), then the supplier contact details in MasterData will automatically update. If additional contacts are listed, and they will require access to the supplier portal, they will need to be invited to the portal through Settings.
7. Primary Supplier Decision Tree: The supplier will answer the questions in the decision tree by selecting Yes or No in the Answer column. The decision tree is used for determining the type of supplier you are pre-assessing e.g. agent or broker.
8. Result: The decision tree outcome or result will appear here automatically. In the example above the supplier has been determined as being an agent/broker.
9. Primary Supplier Category: The supplier can choose from a list of supplier categories e.g. packaging, or ingredient supplier. (Supplier categories can be added to MasterData. Each category can be connected to a pre-assessment template and full assessment template. In the Determination of Action stage if supplier categories are connected with templates, and a decision is made to send a pre-assessment or full assessment, then the correct pre-assessment or full assessment template will populate for the supplier category defined here.) This is a mandatory field.
10. Primary Supplier Type: The supplier can select from a list which type they are e.g. a manufacturer or agent/broker. This is a mandatory field.
11. Manufacturing Sites: If applicable, the primary supplier can detail any manufacturing sites that are producing the materials for them which will be supplied to you by the primary supplier.
12. Other Supplier Entities: The primary supplier can detail any other supplier entities here. There may be an instance where they are getting materials from an agent or broker, or there is a related storage entity etc. and they can detail that in here.
13. Save: Click Save to save your work in this section of the record (when you are completing the record on behalf of the supplier).
14. Save & Submit: Click Save & Submit when you have completed the section and want to progress to the next stage of the workflow (when you are completing the record on behalf of the supplier).
2. Data Collection
The supplier can give some brief details on materials and define if applicable who manufactures the materials and who supplies them. They can also attach any specifications for the materials listed. If you/supplier are adding materials in this section there are mandatory fields to be completed which include:
- Material Name
- Supplier Material Code
- Material Category
- Supplied By
- Specification
1. Material Name: The supplier can choose to define the name of the materials they will supply you. Materials can be added by clicking 'Add Line'.
2. Material Code: The supplier can complete the material code for each material added.
3. Material Category: The supplier can choose from a list of material categories from your MasterData list.
4. Manufacturing Site: If the supplier has included any manufacturing sites, then they will be able to choose from this drop-down which sites manufacture the materials.
5. Supplied By: If the supplier has defined any other supplier entities, then they will appear in the 'Supplied By' drop-down. If there is more than one entity supplying a material, clicking the + will give an extra line.
6. Comments/Observation: Any comments on the material can be completed here.
7. Specification: The specification for the material should be attached here.
8. Corrective Action: On reviewing the data collection stage the supplier completed, if any non-conformances require a supplier corrective action record to be created, the Assigned Assessor can tick the Corrective Action Box. These will be brought into the Non-conformance & Corrective Action stage.
9. Decision: When the assessor reviews the material section, if there is no issue with each material, you can click the field opposite in the decision column to select 'Accept' (In the pre-assessment template you can set 'Accept' to appear automatically against each field). When the assessor is reviewing the data collection stage if they see a non-conformance but don’t want to generate a corrective action record, they can simply select 'Return' in the decision column and then select Save & Return at the bottom of the stage to send it back to the supplier. Any returned fields will appear orange.
10. Delete Line: If a line is not required as materials don't need to be added, use the delete button to remove the line.
The checklist and doclist will allow the supplier/or assigned assessor completing the record on behalf of the supplier, to complete a short questionnaire and attach some initial documentation that is required as part of the pre-assessment.
1. No.: The number column displays the question or section number.
2. Requirement: What is to be done. In the case of a Doclist, this will typically require the upload of a document. In the case of a Checklist, a question would need to be answered.
3. Response: This is the response options for the questions in the checklist. The supplier will click into each response field opposite the questions to select the response.
4. Comments/Observations: The supplier will use this field to provide detailed answers to each question in the checklist and doclist if applicable.
5. File: The supplier should click 'Add file' in the doclist to attach the requested documents. Only documents attached in the doclist go automatically into a folder in the documents module created for the supplier (this will only happen when the stage is saved and submitted by the assigned assessor). Click here to refer to an article on secure file uploading in assessments.
6. Corrective Action: On reviewing the data collection stage the supplier completed, if any non-conformances require a supplier corrective action record to be created, the assigned assessor can tick the Corrective Action Box.
7. Decision: If there is no issue with each requirement, you can click the field opposite in the decision column to select 'Accept' (In the pre-assessment programme you can set 'Accept' to appear automatically against each field). When the assessor is reviewing the data collection stage if they see a non-conformance but don’t want to generate a corrective action record, they can simply select 'Return' in the decision column and then select Save & Return at the bottom of the stage to send the requirement back to the supplier.
8. Red Asterix: Mandatory fields will have a red Asterix beside the no. column. Mandatory fields are set in the checklist/doclist. In a pre-assessment record a checklist with a mandatory requirement will require the 'Response' field to be completed and in the doclist the 'Add File' field.
9. Next Review Date: This column is added for the doclist grid only. The review date for the document can be set by using the calendar feature provided. If the supplier does not set the review date for the document, the assigned assessor can set the review date. When the review date occurs, an automatic document review will open up and notify the supplier about the out-of-date document that needs to be re-uploaded (There is a built in 10 day action notice).
10. Returned Decision: Any section in a doclist or checklist which has been returned to the supplier will be highlighted in orange. Any returned field in a doclist will automatically remove any attached documents which were there before the decision to return was made.
11. Report: Either the supplier or the assigned assessor can use this field for any overall or additional comments.
12. Save & Return: When reviewing the assessment, the assessor will click Save & Return to send back one or more questions/requirements (after selecting 'Return' in the decision column) to the supplier with which they were unhappy. The supplier contact who returned the assessment previously is automatically notified they have been sent back the pre-assessment with fields to update. When the supplier contact completes any returned fields and sends the assessment back, the primary assessor and secondary assessor will both automatically be notified the supplier has returned the lines.
13. Save: Click Save to save any changes made in the stage.
14. Save & Submit: The assessor will click Save & Submit when they are happy to progress to the next stage.
Note: In the supplier portal when the supplier is happy with everything they have completed, they will be clicking a button called Save & Return. An automatic email notification will be sent to the primary assessor to notify them the supplier has completed and returned the assessment. If the pre-assessment programme was setup to include a secondary assessor, they will also receive the notification that the supplier has returned the assessment. When an assessor is reviewing what the supplier completed, if they 'Return' any lines, an email notification saying 'Your Customer has Returned Your Assessment' is sent to the supplier contact who originally completed and returned the assessment record i.e. if the primary supplier contact completed and returned the assessment, then they will receive the return notification or, if it was the secondary contact who originally returned the assessment then they will received the return notification.
Document Approval:
Documents attached in the Doclist may require individual approval from an approver or multiple approvers if this has been setup in the supplier's page in MasterData. When the Data Collection stage of the pre-assessment is Saved and Submitted by the Assigned Assessor, the documents attached in the doclist will then require approval by the approver(s). An email notification will be sent to the approver(s) for each document and an action will appear in the Documents module Actions tab for each document pending approval.
Please click HERE for more details on approving documents attached in a doclist.
3. Non-Conformance & Corrective Action
The No., Requirement and Comments/Observation fields from which the corrective action box was ticked for are automatically brought down to this stage. If no comments/observations were completed in the Data Collection stage, as the field is mandatory they must be added. The corrective action should be assigned back to the main contact from the supplier and after clicking Save & Submit the corrective action record will generate and will be linked to the top of the pre-assessment record.
1. Non-Conformance Category: The level of importance assigned to the non-conformance. When you open the folder, you will be able to choose from system non-conformance categories (minor, major, critical or recommendation) or from non-conformances coming from Master Data. When raising a supplier corrective action from within an assessment, the non-conformance category selected will be linked to the risk model in the supplier corrective action record.
2. Responsible: Assign the responsible person for the Corrective Action. When using supplier portals it should be the Main Contact from the Supplier.
3. Due Date: The due date that the Corrective Action is to be completed by. This is a mandatory field.
4. Report: Use this field for any comments.
5. Save & Submit: Only when you select Save & Submit, will the supplier corrective action record be generated and linked at the top of the pre-assessment record.
4. Determination of Action
Primary Supplier Assessment Decision
In this stage, you can make a decision on the primary supplier. If a default decision was set in the pre-assessment template, a decision may already be ticked. You can decide to stop with the supplier or send the supplier a full assessment meaning you are happy to progress with the supplier. If a decision is made to do a full assessment or pre-assessment after choosing the template and assigned assessor, a programme is created and a record will automatically generate. If you decide to Stop, the data/documents collected on the supplier will not be added to Master Data. Clicking 'Stop' will also mean it won’t be possible to proceed with the secondary suppliers and materials. If you do progress with the supplier, the supplier documents collected in the data collection stage are dropped into their folder in the Documents module. If you only want to progress with the secondary entities you do not need to select any decision for the primary supplier unless they haven't been invited to the portal to complete this pre-assessment and need access to the portal to complete assessments on behalf of the manufactures, then you will choose Portal.
1. Supplier: The name of the primary supplier you are conducting the pre-assessment on will appear here.
2. Assessor Notes: The assessor can use this field for any comments or notes.
3. Portal: If the supplier was already invited to the portal to complete the pre-assessment record, the portal box will be ticked. If they haven't been invited and you would like to invite them simply tick the box.
4. Pre-Assessment: If you would like to send an additional pre-assessment to the supplier, you can tick the box (you can click the plus symbol for additional lines). You will need to choose the pre-assessment template and the assigned assessor. If the supplier category field in the Supplier Details stage was completed, and the category has a pre-assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically. Once the Determination of Action stage is saved and submitted a programme is created and a record generates from it.
5. Full Assessment: If you would like to send the supplier a full assessment, just tick the box (click the plus symbol for additional lines). You will need to choose the full assessment template and assigned assessor. If the supplier category field in the Supplier Details stage was completed, and the category has a full assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically. Once the Determination of Action stage is saved and submitted a programme is created and a record generates from it.
6. Stop: If you do not want to progress with the supplier tick the box below. Ticking this means the secondary suppliers and material will be greyed out as you won't be able to progress with them.
7. Assessment Template: If you enable pre-assessment or full assessment, you will select the relevant template. If the supplier category field in the Supplier Details stage was completed, and the category has a pre-assessment or full assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically.
8. Assigned Assessor: This is the responsible person for assessing the record that will generate.
9. + Button: You can click the + symbol to generate additional lines when making multiple decisions on what should happen with the supplier entities however you can simply make multiple decision on one line without the need to add lines for each decision.
Secondary Supplier Assessment Decision
Any manufacturer or supplier entities added in the supplier details will be brought down to this section where a decision can be made on them. By default, the status of the entities will be 'New'. If the supplier entity is already in your MasterData you will be able to click the entity name and swap for the entity already existing.
You can choose to invite entities to the portal, send a pre-assessment, a full assessment, or just stop and not proceed with the supplier entity. When a decision to send a pre-assessment or full assessment is made, a template and assigned assessor should be selected. If you decide to stop with the secondary suppliers they will not be added to MasterData. If you decide to progress with the secondary suppliers they will be added to MasterData and connected to the primary supplier.
10. Other Supplier Entity: Any manufacturer or supplier entities added in the supplier details stage appear here. You can click on the name of the supplier to choose an existing supplier you already have in MasterData (The system will automatically search for similar supplier name when you click in but you can use the search bar to find a different entity). This is useful when you already have the entity as a MasterData contact and want to avoid duplications of the same supplier entity.
11. Status: This is the status of the supplier entities which populates as 'New' by default. If the entities are progressed on with they will be added to MasterData. If the entities are actually existing suppliers in your system (MasterData), you can click on the name of the supplier to open the search box and choose the name of the existing supplier to avoid duplications. After choosing an existing the supplier the Status changes to 'Existing'. After the stage is saved and submitted, if an entity which is new is progressed on with, they are added to MasterData, and the status will update to 'Created' here in the record.
Note: If you choose an existing supplier and progress on with the entity, the existing supplier will be connected with the primary supplier.
12. Assessor Notes: The assessor can use this field for any comments or notes.
13. Portal: If the secondary supplier will need access to a portal, the portal box should be ticked.
14. Pre-Assessment: If you would like to send a pre-assessment to each secondary entity supplier, you can tick the box. You will need to choose the pre-assessment template and the assigned assessor. If the supplier category field in the Supplier Details stage was completed for each entity, and the category has a pre-assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically. Once the Determination of Action stage is saved and submitted a programme is created and a record generates from it.
15. Full Assessment: If you would like to send each secondary supplier a full assessment, just tick the box (You can click the plus symbol for additional lines). You will need to choose the full assessment template and assigned assessor. If the supplier category field in the Supplier Details stage was completed for the secondary supplier, and the category has a full assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically. Once the Determination of Action stage is saved and submitted a programme is created and a record generates from it.
16. Stop: If you do not want to progress with the secondary suppliers tick the Stop box. They will not be added to MasterData.
17. Assessment Template: If you enable pre-assessment or full assessment, you will select the relevant template. If the supplier category field in the Supplier Details stage was completed, and the category has a pre-assessment or full assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically.
18. Assigned Assessor: This is the responsible person for assessing the record that will generate.
19. Assigned Supplier Entity: This drop-down allows you to choose which supplier entity is responsible for completing the assessment you are generating. The drop-down will allow you to choose from the entity itself or the parent of the entity i.e. the primary supplier who completed the pre-assessment. If you replace a secondary entity with an existing supplier (from your MasterData), when you are selecting the assigned supplier entity, you will also be able to see any other parent connected with the existing entity selected which you may want to send the assessment to.
Material Assessment Decision
If any materials were added in the Data Collection section, they will appear here to allow you to make a decision on them e.g., send out a material full assessment record. If a decision is made to do this then you will choose the supplier entity that will receive the assessment in their portal. If a decision is made to stop, the material will not be added to MasterData and data collected on the material will not be added to MasterData. If a decision is made to progress with the material (Full Assessment or Save to MasterData), it will be automatically connected to the primary and secondary suppliers and any specification collected in the data collection stage will be dropped into the supplier's folder in the Documents Module and connected with the material in MasterData (The document naming convention will be the Attachment File Name :: Material Name(Supplier Material Code)).
20. Material Name: The name of the material will appear here. If you already have the material in MasterData and want to avoid duplications, you can click the material name and select the existing material name, using the search bar if required. If the new material is saved to MasterData or progressed on by the generation of an assessment, the material will be connected with the primary and secondary supplier(s) as defined in the Data Collection stage Material section, where it was defined who manufacturers the material and who supplies it.
Note: If an existing material is selected in place of a new material, in order for the supplier and material relationship to be defined in MasterData you must progress with the material by generating a material full assessment If you updated the Secondary Entity section with an existing supplier the material will be connected to the existing entity and not the supplier that was defined in the Data Collection section as the entity was changed to an existing one.
21. Status: The status of the material will populate as New. New materials, if saved to MasterData or marked for a Full Assessment, will be added to MasterData and connected with the primary supplier and secondary suppliers where applicable. If you click and choose an existing material the status will change to Existing.
Note: If you choose an existing material and progress on with it, the existing material will connect with the primary/secondary suppliers i.e., a relationship will be defined.
22. Supplier Material Code: The code added for the material by the supplier in the Data Collection stage is displayed here. If required you can click and change the code.
23. Our Material Code: If you have a specific code for the new material it can be added here. If an existing material is selected the material code will auto-populate.
24. Assessors Notes: The assessor can use this field for any comments or notes.
25. Full Assessment: If you would like to send a material full assessment, just tick the box (You can click the plus symbol for additional lines). You will need to choose the full assessment template and assigned assessor. If the material category field in the material section of the Data Collection stage was completed for the materials, and the category has a full assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically.
26. Save to MasterData: Choose this option to save the material into MasterData and have it connected to the primary supplier and secondary suppliers where applicable (as defined in the Material section of the Data Collection stage).
27. Stop: Clicking stop means you do not want to progress with the material. It will not be added to MasterData and will not be connected to the primary supplier or secondary entities in MasterData.
28. Assessment Template: If you enable full assessment, you will select the relevant template. If the material category field in the material section of the Data Collection stage was completed for the materials, and the category has a full assessment template connected with it, then the template will populate automatically.
29. Assigned Assessor: This is the responsible person for assessing the full assessment record that will generate for the material.
30. Assigned Supplier Entity: Here you will be able to select which entity should be responsible for the material assessment record. For each material you will see the primary supplier, the secondary entities that the material was connected with in the material section of the Data Collection stage. If in the Secondary Supplier Decision section an existing supplier was selected and this replaces an entity in the Material section of the Data Collection stage, it will be possible to see other parent entities of that existing supplier.
31. Report: Any overall comments on the pre-assessment or on the determination of action can be added here in the Report field.
When you progress with a new material i.e., either choose 'Save to MasterData' or 'Full Assessment', the material will be added to your material list in MasterData and material details captured in the pre-assessment will populate in the material form i.e., the supplier material code, our material code, material category, the material specification is linked, and the primary supplier is connected with the material as well as any secondary supplier relationships as defined in the material section of the Data Collection stage. A primary supplier will be connected to the materials as 'Supplied By' and the manufacturers as 'Manufactures' as defined in the Material section of the Data Collection stage.
When you progress with the primary and new secondary suppliers, the system will create a folder for the primary supplier's documents under the Supplier Files folder in the Documents Module, and will drop any documents and material specifications in the folder. The system will also create document folders for the secondary entities. These will be sub-folders under the primary supplier's folder.
If the primary supplier had a document approval workflow completed in their MasterData form, this will auto-populate i.e., copy over to the MasterData form of the new secondary entities and also to new materials added to MasterData (the approval workflow doesn't updated for existing suppliers and materials).
Note: If you updated the secondary contact list with an existing entity, that existing entities document folder will stay as it is in the main Document module folder structure, but when you navigate to the Primary suppliers' MasterData form, and click on the tab Documents, you will see the existing entities folder.
How to Change the Pre-Assessment Record Assigned Assessor
When a pre-assessment is programme for a supplier is being setup, you can assign who is the primary assessor for the supplier's pre-assessment record but also if required you can set a secondary assessor who can be part of alerts that fire from the pre-assessment record so they can be kept up-to-date on what is happening or pick up the record and assess it in place of the primary assessor. However once the pre-assessment record has opened there may need to be a change to the assigned primary assessor or secondary assessor. The assessor can be changed using the Actions drop-down on the top right of the pre-assessment record.
At the top of the pre-assessment record you will be able to see who is the assigned primary assessor for the record and also who is the assigned secondary assessor for the record. To change either assessor:
1. Click the Actions drop-down.
2. Select Change Assessor.
Click into the primary assessor field and replace the employee with a different employee who should be the records primary assessor. If you want to change the secondary assessor you can also click in and change the employee.
Use the employee search bar to find the employee or open the employee folders to find the employee. Click on the name of the employee you want so the grey line is on the employee name and then click Select.
Click Save to save your changes.