Overview
A purchase is only as good as the supplier behind it. Vendor assessment, sometimes called supplier validation or vendor rating, is an independent check of a manufacturer’s ability to deliver what you need, consistently and on time. Rather than looking at a single consignment, the assessor looks at the plant, the test room, the people and the quality system that produce every consignment.
The outcome gives your purchase or quality team an objective basis to approve a new supplier, rank existing suppliers, decide where to place a large order or flag a supplier for closer control.
Aaditech’s assessors bring regulatory and audit experience. Our CEO, Mr B.K. Jain, is a former Director of the Bureau of Indian Standards and a trained auditor for ISO 9001, IS 15700 and ISO 50001.
Note: Vendor assessment is an advisory service. Our NABCB accreditation (ISO/IEC 17020, IB 024) covers inspection of electrical equipment; product inspections we carry out alongside an assessment are reported within that scope where applicable.
What we assess
| Area | What we look at |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Ownership, key personnel, technical staff and their competence |
| Manufacturing facilities | Plant and machinery, capacity, process flow and maintenance |
| Raw materials and bought-out parts | Incoming inspection, approved sources, traceability |
| In-process control | Stage checks, process parameters, records |
| Testing capability | In-house test equipment, calibration status, ability to perform routine and acceptance tests |
| Quality management | Documented procedures, internal audits, handling of non-conformities and complaints |
| Certifications and approvals | BIS licences, ISO certificates and other approvals, verified against the issuing body where possible |
| Past performance | Supply records, customer references and evidence of previous orders |
Each assessment is tailored to the product. A cable manufacturer is assessed on extrusion and conductor control; a meter manufacturer on calibration and software controls.
Who it’s for
- Purchase and quality teams approving new suppliers or re-qualifying existing ones.
- Utilities, PSUs and large buyers that maintain approved vendor lists.
- Manufacturers preparing for a customer audit or vendor registration and wanting an independent view of their gaps.
- Importers who need confidence in an overseas factory before committing to it.
Our process
- Define criteria. We agree with you the product, the standards and the scoring criteria, and adapt our checklist to your vendor registration requirements.
- Document review. We ask the supplier for organisation details, equipment and test facility lists, certificates and sample records before the visit.
- Site assessment. Our assessor visits the works, observes manufacturing and testing, interviews staff and samples records.
- Verification. Where relevant, we witness tests on products from regular production and check the calibration of key instruments.
- Scoring and report. We rate the supplier against the agreed criteria and set out observations and non-conformities with supporting evidence.
- Close-out. If you want, we review the supplier’s corrective actions and update the rating.
Standards & references
- ISO 9001 principles for quality management systems, used as a reference for evaluating a supplier’s quality controls.
- The product standards (IS or IEC) and your technical specification, which define the tests and controls the supplier must be capable of.
- Your own vendor registration or rating policy, which we follow where one exists.
Why Aaditech
- Audit-trained leadership. Our team includes trained ISO 9001 auditors, and our Chief Advisor, Mr Anupam Kaul, has served on ISO working groups for ISO 9001 and ISO 9004.
- Testing knowledge. We know what a functioning test room looks like, because our senior people have run one, including the BIS electrical laboratory.
- Independence. We do not represent suppliers in sales, so our ratings are not influenced by who wins the order.
- Joined-up follow-through. After approval, we can carry out stage-wise and pre-dispatch inspection of the same supplier’s products.
