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为什么要供应商自评What’s value adding for Supplier Self-Assessment?

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在供应商前期的选择过程中主导者通常是采购,如果要细分的话会是物料寻源(SOURCING),因为他们负责前期选择,采购负责按计划或需求购买,一些公司称为采购(PURCHASING),也有公司称为获取(PROCUREMENT),笔者也见过公司称为买手(MERCHANDISING)就像人力资源管理里把整个过程称为AQUISITION,但是物色人选(HUNTING)和雇佣(EMPLOYMENT)是属于不同的工作板块一样。

More often than not, the dominator of supplier selection process at early stage is purchaser. To further segment it, the dominator will be sourcing, as they are responsible for the preliminary selection. purchasers buy according to plans or demand. Some company call it purchasing, others call it procurement. Moreover, I have also seen companies calling it merchandising. This is similar to human resource management: although the whole process is called as acquisition, but hunting and employment actually belong to different working area

在规范的外资企业里伴随前期供应商选择的其中一个初始环节就是供应商自评,在国内的企业中不太流行这个做法。这与中西方文化差异也有一定的关系。国内企业供应商的选择以关系导向为基础,基本上都是始于熟人之间的生意,或者经由熟人介绍的生意。国外企业规则导向的成分更多一些,尽管在实际操作中熟人往往更能增加彼此的感情和信任。国内企业选择供应商很少需要去展会的,有部电话就可以了,国外企业更多的依赖各种国内国际参展以及网络资源和专业推荐来拓展供应商资源。

One of the primary steps accompanied with supplier selection at early stage in a well-managed foreign enterprise is supplier self-assessment, despite that it is not popular among domestic enterprises. This is somehow related to the cultural differences between China and western countries. Chinese enterprises select suppliers based on relationship since the business originates from or comes via acquaintances. In contrast, foreign enterprises are more rule-oriented, though acquaintances tend to enhance mutual relationships and trust in practice. Chinese enterprise seldom resort to exhibitions for suppliers, as one telephone is enough; whereas foreign enterprises rely more on various domestic or international exhibitions, network resources and professional recommendations to explore supplier resources.

供应商自评有点像求职者的简历,国内不流行推荐信,但是猎头的推荐其实也是另外形式的推荐信。推荐信有点像供应商请第三方审核认证过后颁发的各种认证证书,比如ISO9001,ISO14001,等等。推荐信可以被看做是一种背书(ENDORSEMENT),推荐人的资历深浅,行业领导地位高低很大程度影响着求职者在招聘者心中的印象,从而也决定他/她的报价(期望薪酬)和潜在价值。供应商所提供的ISO9001等各类证书同样起到类似的作用,尽管都是所认可的认证机构颁发的证书,但是不同的认证机构的影响力显然是不一样的,他们当初认证时的费用也是不一样的,这个决定了他们颁发的证书的可信性(CREDIBILITY)的差异。

Supplier self-assessment is a little bit similar to job hunter’s resumes. Recommendation letter is not prevalent in China, but the recommendations from headhunters are also recommendation letters in another form. Recommendation letters is somewhat similar to various certificates which are awarded after the audit and certification of the third party requested by the suppliers, such as ISO9001, ISO14001, etc. Recommendation letter can be seen as a kind of endorsement, as qualifications, status in the field will affect the impression of job hunters in recruiters to a large degree, which will determines his or her “quotation”(expected salary) and potential value. Various certificates like ISO9001 provided by suppliers play similar roles. Although the certificates are all awarded by accepted certification authority, different certification authorities exert different influence obviously, and the fees for certifying vary accordingly, which determines differences in credibility of certificates awarded.

供应商自评的方式有多样的,有的公司是传真给供应商,填回再传真回采购方,有的公司是电子邮件发给对方,然后供应商填在对应的WORD或者其他格式的文档里再回传给采购发出方或者指定的收件人。随着网络的普及,越来越多的大公司有设立供应商端口(SUPPLIER PORTAL),其中一些就是可以供(潜在)供应商直接在上面填完就提交,以便系统快速收集,整理,分析。笔者曾经服务过的一家公司为了统计全球约1万家供应商及自身约50家全世界的制造厂的碳排放量及分布,在自评表上增加地理位置经度纬度一栏,供应商提交后系统就可以自动按所提交的供应链上的数据结合制造基地的产品类别,交易量,工艺流程等来统计和估算全球的碳排放量并直观的以图表的形式体现。

Ways for supplier self-assessment are diverse. Some company fax it to suppliers who will later fill it out and fax it back to purchasers, while some companies send e-mail to suppliers who will fill it in the corresponding WORD or documents of other forms, and then send it back to purchasers or specified receivers. With the prevalence of internet, more and more companies set supplier portal, some of which are available for suppliers to fill out and submit so that the system will collect, sort and analyze these documents in no time. One of the companies that I once served adds geographical location, including longitude and latitude, on its self-assessment form in order to count carbon emission and distribution of manufacturers of about 10000 suppliers worldwide and about 50 manufacturing sites of their own group. After the suppliers submit it, the system will automatically count and estimate the carbon emission amount worldwide and present it in graphs visually based on the data submitted to the supply chain, combined with the product category of the manufacturing base, the transaction volume and the processes, etc.

供应商自评的内容看公司的需求来拟定,有的公司多达10多页,分为多种语言,内容详细到有多少机器,检测仪器,什么型号,什么品牌,有没有购买产品或其他保险,保障金额多少等等。有的会在内部提前设置自评的各项回答打分和累计最终打分,如果供应商实事求是回答,就有可能因为自评分数过低从自评表的环节就被画问号了。

The content of supplier self-assessment is determined by requirements of companies. In some companies, the assessment can be 10 pages long, with multiple languages and detailed information about the number of machines, the number of inspection machines, type and brand of machines, whether the product or other insurances are purchased or not, the amount of coverage, etc. Some companies will set the scores of each question and the total final scores internally in self-assessment in advance. If suppliers answer with honest, they are likely to be questioned early at this stage due to the too low marks.

供应商自评的意义通常有如下The significance of supplier self-assessment includes the following:

1.体现供应商的初始合作意愿及能力Indication of initial willingness and ability for cooperation of suppliers

它是建立业务关系的基础,如果一个供应商连自评表里的内容都填不好,很有可能在今后采购方再给出其他一些基本要求时它也无法满足。这并非稀有,在实践中笔者发现大量的国内供应商不知道填什么,这是在栏目已经给出的前提下。等同于求职但是不会写简历,填个人基本资料,你会想象招聘回来的是什么水平的人员。

It is the foundation of stabling business relations. If the supplier is not able to fill out the self-assessment forms, it will probably fail to satisfy other basic requirements later from suppliers. This is by no means rare. In practice, I found that a large number of Chinese suppliers do not know how to fill, even if the field has already been provided. It is somehow equal to someone who is seeking for a job but cannot write his resume or personal profile. You can imagine the level of the staff.

从能力和意愿的配置图来看,自评体现的更多是供应商对业务的兴趣和重视,即动机(MOTIVATION)。

According to the diagram of the deployment of ability and willingness, self-assessment presents interest of suppliers and the importance they attached on business, which is known as motivation.

2.一种承诺证明A kind of certification of commitment

笔者建议充分利用好供应商自评,可以要求供应商加盖公司公章和公司代表签字。如果不是出于让系统自动汇总自评表中的内容,自评表可以在发给供应商时采用不可修改的PDF格式,要求供应商打印出来手写再找公司代表签名并加盖公司公章。目的在于尽量确保自评的内容真实可信。

I suggest that the supplier self-assessment should be fully utilized, and the suppliers can be required to stamp official seal of the company and signature from company representatives on the form. Self-assessment form should be kept in PDF form to avoid revising, and the suppliers are asked to print it out and add signatures as well as official seal. The purpose is to keep the content of self-assessment as realistic and reliable as possible.

在行业内常常会有客户要求证明所使用的供应商没有雇佣童工和未成年工,材料是无毒无害的环保材料等等,这时一方面通过现场的审核来确认实施的有效性和体系的完整性,但是毕竟审核是抽查,况且审核的结论是来自于采购方自身或者是第三方。作为一种强有力的法律意义上的证明,供应商确认合规合乎要求后的自评更能起到所希望的效果。对于贸易公司类型的供应商而言,就需要提前商议清楚自评表该由哪个层级的供应商来完成了。

Within the industry, customers will frequently ask companies to prove that suppliers they used do not employ child labor and young workers, or the material they used are environmental friendly without poison or harm. At this time, the effectiveness of implementation and the integrity of the system can be ensured via on-site audit. However, the audit belongs to spot check, and the conclusion comes from the purchaser itself or the third party. The expected outcome of self-assessment, a potent certification in a legal sense, can be more likely to generate if suppliers verify that the assessment meets the requirement. If the suppliers are trading companies with manufacturing partners, then the purchasing organization should state clearly in advance which tier of manufacturer to complete the self-assessment.

既然作为一种法律文书,首先在内容的设置和文字的斟酌上就得提前做好功夫,其次供应商传回的信息就得妥善存档了。

Since the assessment form acts as a legal instrument, the content and characters should be considered carefully in advance. Then the document returned back by suppliers should be kept with caution,

3.了解供应商基本信息Understanding basic information about suppliers

采购方想了解的可以透露的基本信息都可以从这里获取-只要你设置了这些栏目。就如同提供给政府的各类申报表,格式已经在那里了,只需要按“格”办事。这些信息可以用于接下来供应商现场审核的准备参考:工厂规模如何,采用什么工艺,安排什么样的审核员比较合适,工厂有没有其他的产品在出售,需要其他的人员在审核当日同时前往吗,有哪些分支机构,什么工艺是外包的,哪些产品和工艺在自评表中的地址生产等等。所以这些信息通常是要求在现场审核之前需要提供,否则就有可能出现现场审核时审核员到达现场后发现来错了地方的困局。

The basic information that can be disclosed and purchasers want to know can be acquired here—if only you have set these fields. Just like various declaration form that offered to government, the form has already been provided, and you only need to complete it accordingly. These information can be used as reference provided to supplier on-site audit: what is the scale of the factory; what technique is utilized; what kind of auditor should be placed; is there any other products from the factory being sold; is there any other staffs needed on the audit day; what branches does it have? Which techniques are outsourced; which products or techniques are produced at the address on the self-assessment form, etc. Thus, these information should be provided before on-site audit. Otherwise, it will be embarrassed that auditors do not realize that they go to the wrong place until they arrive at the scene during on-site audit will take place.

其次作为后续的供应商商务谈判,供应商自评提供了一些有力的凭证。曾经有供应商在谈判后降价,降价总得给个说法和原因吧,他们提到新增了多少自动机器等等来改善生产效率,实际打开早前的自评表,发现最早期供应商就已经有那些机器了,自相矛等不攻而破。这也是为什么很多采购方要求供应商定期更新自评表的其中一个原因。

Next, self-assessment provides some strong proof for the next business negotiation. Once some suppliers decrease their price after negotiation—however, there should be reasons for reduction. To explain, they mentioned that they have newly added many automatic machines to improve production efficiency. Nevertheless, when you opened their self-assessment form completed earlier, you find that the suppliers have already possessed such machines at the beginning, and the paradox is solved spontaneously. This is why many purchasers ask suppliers to update self-assessment document regularly.

对于新上任的采购方质量领导人而言,利用供应商的自评可以整体了解供应商群的水平,能力和概况,比如整体的ISO9001证书 的获得比例,员工规模,质量和工程人员的比例等等,并以此结合实际的调研和供应商的交付等表现来规划供应商管理的思路及步骤。

As for the new leader for the quality of purchasing organization, self-assessment is helpful to understand the level, ability and general situation of the suppliers base as a whole, for instance, the proportion of suppliers acquiring ISO9001, the scale of staffs, the ration of quality and engineering staff, etc. then use these information plus on-site research, as well as actual delivery performance to deploy supplier management roadmap and steps.

4.了解客户的关注点和需求Understanding customers’ focus and need

对于供应商而言,可以很好的利用供应商自评表来了解客户到底有些什么基本需求和期望,否则客户没必要劳费心思设计这么一个环节。想象一下如果一个求职者都看不懂招聘简章上列出的工作职责和能力要求,十有八九求职者也不是最理想的人选。很多时候是秘书或者行政人员在从各方收集资料,填写后交由业务转交给采购方,很有可能业务也没有仔细阅读,更不用说公司负责人。虽然说填不填供应商自评表工厂的信息并没有变化,但是毕竟每个客户的要求及关注重点还是有不同之处,所以如果让供应商加盖公司公章和负责人签名也可以间接确保客户的需求有传达到正确的人。

For suppliers, they can fully make use of supplier self-assessment forms to understand the basic demand and expectation of customers. Otherwise, the customers do not need to design this step painstakingly. Imagine that if one job seeker fails to understand responsibilities and competences required on the recruitment post, this person may not be the ideal candidate in most cases. Most of the time, it is the secretary or administrative staffs that collects data everywhere and hand it to the purchasers through sales after filling it out. It is likely that sales staffs do not read it carefully, let alone the head of the company. Though the information of company will not change whether the supplier self-assessment form is filled in or not, the requirements and focuses varies from customers to customers. Thus, adding the official seal and signature will indirectly make sure that the demand of customers has been delivered to the correct person.

如果充分了解了客户的需求,也可依此开始开展改善工作迎接客户下一步的环节,比如审核。通常审核的内容和自评的内容一定有某种关联,审核就是一种验证(VERIFICATION),这也是为什么很多的公司认为如果供应商有获得知名的认证公司颁发的认证,就可以免除现场的再次审核的原因,因为其体系已经被验证过了。

If you understand customers’ demand fully, you can then set out to improve the work to meet the next step of customers, say, audit. Usually the content for audit has something to do with that of self-assessment. Audit is a kind of verification, and this is why many companies hold that if the suppliers possess certificates given by famous certification companies, the further on-site audit can be exempted, as the system has already been examined.

有关自评表的相关模板和范例可以在网站内进行搜索。

The relevant templates and examples are available in the website by search function.

 

Great Acknowledgement Given to Ms. ZiZhu Wang (Akiko) from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies for Translation. 

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