WorkflowContracting, Procurement & Oilfield Services

Supplier Qualification

Supplier qualification for valves, piping and equipment vendors: each certificate read for what it covers, plant by plant, and a hold on exactly the order lines it cannot back.

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Follow one valve vendor through requalification ↓

The problem

The checklist passes, and the plant making the order is on no certificate

Requalifying a vendor usually means a checklist: quality registration on file, product license on file, quality system certificate on file, an audit, a clean screening result. Each answer is yes or no, and a vendor with every document on file passes.

The checklist never asks what each certificate covers, or which site it names. A vendor opens a second plant, moves final assembly and testing there, and quotes the order from it. The documents still say yes. Nobody reads the scope wording against the plant on the quotation until a problem turns up later.

Built forSupplier quality engineersSupplier quality managersCategory buyersVendor list administrators

The Problem Today

A checklist confirms that a vendor holds a certificate, not that it covers this product from the plant that makes it.

3,168: hours a year to read scope and check registries by hand our estimate

Checked by hand today

Certs
Licenses
Quotations
Screening

Yes or no per documentHolding a certificate counts the same as being covered
Look-alikes slip inOne letter off, the same certificate numbers

The Solution

Read for what it coversScope wording and site address in each certificate, product by plant
Checked at the registryNumber, holder and site confirmed, or could not confirm
Look-alikes foundNames, addresses and certificate numbers matched across vendors
Held on the exact linesTwo people sign, and only the order lines made at that plant stop

Built-in controls

The checker opens each item before signing
Agents never hold, approve or call a fake
A proposer cannot countersign

What You Get

Orders release on vendors whose certificates cover the product at the plant that makes it, and holds stop only what is not covered.

Coverage by product and plantEach cell lit, dark or renewing, with its evidence
Holds that free other workLines from covered plants keep moving
Every listing has two namesProposer and countersigner on the vendor list

One requalification

Supplier qualification: a valve vendor passes the checklist with two holes

A valve vendor approved for years is up for requalification just as a new order arrives for a turnaround's valve replacement list. The order is to be built at the vendor's newest plant.

demoSample data only: the vendor, its plants, the order, people and prices.

0109:16
Of 9 offered cells, 6 are covered, 1 is renewing and 2 have no cover
Supplier quality engineer
The scope lattice sets what the vendor sells against where it is made: gate, globe, check and small-bore valves and parts, across three plants. Each cell is lit by evidence or left dark. The agents read 12 documents, 5 of them certificates and licenses, and only counted a cell as covered when a current certificate's own words cover that product at that plant.
0209:17
As a supplier qualification checklist, the same vendor passes
Supplier quality engineer
One switch turns the lattice into the checklist the team used to run: quality registration yes, product license yes, quality system certificate yes, source audit on file, screening clear, insurance current. Every row passes. The open order, 168 valves for $834,600, would be released on that answer.
0309:18
Gate valves at Plant 2: offered, and no registration or license names it
Scope reader
The dark cell opens its reasons, each cited to a page. Under the sample evidence rules, the plant that assembles, tests and marks cast gate valves needs the quality registration and the product license. Plant 2 is on neither; only the quality system certificate lists it, which is why the checklist passed. The order's test plan applies the marking at Plant 2.
0409:18
The quotation itself puts final assembly, test and marking at Plant 2
Supplier quality engineer
She opens the vendor's own quotation, page 4. Castings are machined at Plant 1; final assembly, test and marking happen at Plant 2. This is the vendor's own document, and it is the page the hold will rest on if it comes to that.
0509:19
Tarrowik, one letter off, applied with the same certificate numbers
Look-alike finder
A new application from a vendor whose name and street are each one letter off carries the same registration and license numbers as the approved vendor. The registry lists those numbers for the approved vendor only. The agent could not confirm the certificates belong to the applicant and says so; it does not say fake. That call goes to people.
0609:20
She proposes stopping the application and sending it to compliance
Supplier quality engineer
The decision panel offers stop and send to compliance as a possible copied certificate, with a reason code. She proposes it. A second person must open the comparison and the registry result before countersigning, and the trade compliance team decides what follows in its own tool.
0709:22
One plain question goes to the vendor about Plant 2
Supplier quality engineer
The scope reader drafted the request; she edits and sends it through the supplier portal. Send one of these by the due date: Plant 2's registration and license, or a revised quotation that makes and tests the order at Plant 1 with witness points kept. The question accuses nobody and names exactly what would close the hole.
0809:30
The manager opens each item himself, then puts two Plant 2 cells on hold
Supplier quality manager
She proposes holding gate and check valves from Plant 2 only. The manager's countersign stays locked until he has opened both cells and the quotation page. He opens them and countersigns. The lattice now shows both dark cells on hold, while Plant 1 and Plant 3 listings, and parts from Plant 2, stay approved.
0909:32
Release is blocked: $834,600 held until Plant 2 is covered
Category buyer
The buyer's orders screen shows the purchase order release blocked by the hold, with who proposed and who countersigned. All nine lines are made at Plant 2, so all 168 valves stop, $834,600. What frees them is on the screen: Plant 2's registration and license, or a revised quotation that builds at Plant 1.

What the vendor sells, where it is made, and what each cell rests on

The lattice for this vendor, in words, under the sample evidence rules.

Product	Plant 1	Plant 2	Plant 3
Cast steel gate valves	Covered	No cover: offered, not on the registration or license	Not offered
Cast steel globe valves	Covered	Not offered	Not offered
Cast steel swing check valves	Covered	No cover: offered, not on the registration	Not offered
Forged small-bore valves	Not offered	Not offered	Renewing: license renewal audit booked
Valve parts	Covered	Covered by the quality system certificate	Covered

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Around the vendor list

Supplier qualification across the review queue, vendor list and renewals

The rest of the requalification desk, on the same sample.

Vendors in requalification with lattice result against checklist result, holes, could not confirm and with compliance — **Vendors in review**24 in review: 8 with holes in their lattice, 6 of which pass a tick-box checklist; 3 could not be confirmed, 3 with compliance, 10 covered in every cell.

Approved vendor list by product, plant and site, with each listing's state and the countersigned decision that set it — **Approved vendor list**Every listing of the vendors in review by product, plant and site, with the countersigned decision behind it. Agents never change a listing.

New vendor applications with the agents' result for each: every cell covered, could not confirm, or waiting — **New applications**Five applications read as they arrive through the supplier portal, each with its result: covered, could not confirm, or waiting for a declaration.

Source audit findings and corrective action responses for vendors in review, with due dates and state — **Audits and open findings**Source audit findings for vendors in review, each corrective action response read against its finding. A finding stays open until the response closes it.

Certificate renewals by week over 90 days, renewed and waiting, and lapses that leave a hole in coverage — **Renewals ahead of expiry**2,968 certificates end in the next 90 days, week by week, with renewed copies in and requests waiting. A lapse that leaves a hole gets a drafted hold.

Audit trail of a supplier requalification: hold applied, countersigned, request sent, and agent checks — **Audit trail**Every action by people and agents, newest first: the hold applied to the vendor list, the countersignature, the request sent.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

The agents

Application reader to renewal keeper: what each must leave to people

They read, check, compare and draft.

Application reader

Splits and types each document in a vendor file or application.

Never treats a missing page as present

Scope reader

Reads each certificate's scope wording and site, product by plant.

Never lights a cell on a certificate that does not cover it

Registry checker

Confirms number, holder and site at the registry where the customer has access.

Says could not confirm, never fake

Look-alike finder

Matches names, addresses and certificate numbers across vendors.

Never stops an application by itself

Audit reader

Reads corrective action responses against each finding.

Never closes a finding

Renewal keeper

Requests renewals ahead of expiry and drafts holds for lapses that leave a hole.

Never applies a hold

Calls on a vendor listing that only people make

The agents find holes and look-alikes. People decide what happens to a listing.

Holding or approving a listingThe engineer proposes; the manager opens each item and countersigns.

Calling a certificate fakeThe agents say could not confirm. Trade compliance decides on a possible copy.

Screening resultsRecorded from compliance's own tool, with time and team, never produced here.

Changing the evidence rulesThe vendor list administrator proposes; the manager approves.

What supplier quality teams ask about supplier qualification

What is supplier qualification?

Supplier qualification is checking that a vendor can supply what you buy to your requirements before you order from it. This supplier qualification solution reads each certificate's scope and site, product by plant, checks the registry, finds look-alike applicants and holds only the order lines a certificate cannot back.

Why is the lattice stricter than a supplier qualification checklist?

A checklist asks whether each document exists. The lattice asks what each one covers: which product, at which plant. A vendor can pass every checklist row and still have a dark cell.

Does it update our approved vendor list?

A listing changes only by a countersigned decision, and the vendor list shows who proposed and who countersigned. Agents never change a listing.

Can it handle vendor prequalification for new applicants?

Yes. New applications are read as they arrive, checked at the registry and compared with existing vendors for look-alike names, addresses and certificate numbers.

What about manufacturer approval for parts made by sub-suppliers?

The evidence rules are set by commodity in settings. They are sample policy here and are replaced with your own rules, each change proposed and then approved.

Does a hold stop all orders from the vendor?

No. It stops only the order lines made at the plant without cover. Lines from covered plants keep moving, and the buyer sees what would free the rest.

Contracting, Procurement & Oilfield Services