Supplier evaluation as a component for the highest quality standard in the aviation IT and automotive industry
The standards of quality assurance in the aviation industry are exceptionally high. This is reflected, among other things, in the fact that EN 9100 even has its own certification standard based on ISO 9001. On the purchasing side, one of the most important building blocks for this high quality standard is a central supplier management with methodical supplier evaluation.
ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH in Fürstenfeldbruck has been developing, integrating and operating complex, safety-relevant electronic and IT systems for the military, public authorities and companies for fifty years. With its logistics solutions, it ensures high availability and cost-effectiveness of these systems in use. Your cyber and IT services make an important contribution to cyber security. Its customers include companies in the aviation industry, but also the automotive and defense industries.
One of the concrete objectives of ESG purchasing is to use the results of supplier assessments to minimize the risks involved in supplier selection and to methodically improve the performance of selected suppliers. To this end, the services provided by suppliers must be systematically, regularly and continuously assessed taking into account the complex project business of ESG.
With Simmeth System GmbH, one of Germany's leading providers of strategic purchasing solutions, ESG implemented a trend-setting project in just a few months to meet these demanding quality standards. In addition to the optimization of the central supplier management, the perfect implementation of the requirements of the EN9100 was in the foreground.
Simmeth System's modular software solution Simmeth System was implemented in the second half of 2017. With the SC-Evaluator, the module for supplier evaluation, ESG launched the first evaluations at the end of the year and achieved immediate, visible success.
"Particularly in the complex project business for the aviation industry, the automated and clear workflows of supplier assessments are indispensable for us as the responsible purchasing department. Only in this way can we guarantee and control the continuous, regular survey of the responsible evaluators. And with minimal manual effort! ", Says Anton Rauscher, buyer in central purchasing and project manager at ESG. "The acceptance of the surveys, which is crucial for the sustainable quality of the reviews, is also supported by the user-friendly, web-based questionnaires and the clear and comprehensible questionnaires", adds Frances Antoniette Mendoza, Purchaser and Deputy Project Manager at ESG.
So far, ESG's approximately 200 suppliers and all suppliers to the aviation sector have been regularly evaluated. The evaluation is carried out in surveys of the responsible project managers, cost center managers and purchasers. Already in the first surveys over 500 questionnaires from over 100 cost centers and projects were answered. On the one hand, this quantity structure ensures the statistical quality of the survey results and, on the other hand, it also shows how important the automated workflows of Simmeth solutions are for a smooth implementation.
The questionnaires are automatically sent by the supplier evaluation tool SC-Evaluator via stored logics via email to the responsible evaluators, who open them by clicking on a link and answering them via a common internet browser. The assessments are immediately incorporated into the central database and are immediately available for evaluation.
"The results already serve as a transparent basis for discussion for our annual supplier talks, in which not only purchasing but also representatives of the quality department and responsible project managers take part," explains Thomas Schardt, Head of Central Purchasing at ESG. "Our recent purchase of the EN9100 also convinced our purchasing department thanks to Simmeth System's supplier rating."
The measures resulting from the discussions are stored in the supplier management tool and tracked for the methodical supplier development. At this point, one of the next project steps will be of particular advantage: the direct connection of suppliers via the supplier portal. "The modularity of the Simmeth System SC-Manager software solution allows us to gradually expand our supplier management with additional components such as a supplier portal and automated reporting after the successful introduction of supplier evaluation," explains Anton Rauscher the next possible steps.