Do your employees know or recognize how to formally report parts or supplies that need to be rejected back to the supplier (to get the company a refund)? Are they trained to spot problems or irregularities with purchased goods that ultimately will cause costly problems later? Review these suggestions to improve the receiving function and recognition of faulty products.
Suggestions for your receiving personnel:
- Teach your employees how to spot problems to file claims with vendors (shortages of product, broken pieces new in the box, product failures noted upon first use).
- Teach employees to document details of discovered vendor problems (standardize the training and procedures involved and then periodically test them to detect the subtle differences using good and bad parts).
- Teach the example problems to your employees which are applicable for your company. Examples may include: rejected parts, products, incorrect receipts or service failures, bad shipping supplies, deficient load of QC equipment or supplies, wrong or faulty testing supplies, shortages of welding rods, metal and other machine shop supplies, incorrect maintenance equipment, faulty cleaning agents, shortages of screws, nuts, bolts, wood, plastic partsk metal fasteners, wrong size replacement belts for equipment, out of spec components painting, finishing, packaging, incomplete outside services, missed delivery deadlines of purchased parts or supplies, wrong sized boxes, pallets or shipping containers, wrong raw materials delivered in wrong grades, sizes or types, wrong or contaminated chemicals, expired products billed as new or fresh, damage to property by contrator or vendor trucks and vehicles, etc.
- Involve and encourage all employees to spot problems and report them the same day so the vendor can be notified of the problem for a price adjustment.
- Teach your employees about asking first for warranties on company purchases or maintenance warranty periods.