Downloaded demo file program includes tutorial, practice files, and a detailed manual to assist your evaluation.

$249.95 + S&H (price will increase February 1, 2009)

Vendor Watch Main Screen

Stores your approved supplier list by category (or type) of supplier, including details of approval (as required by ISO 9000 and other quality standards).

Define your own problem types so vendor problems entered in the Vendor Monitoring Data screen can be categorized

When there is a problem with a receipt from a vendor, enter the problem and details, choosing the most appropriate self-defined problem type

Let Vendor Watch analyze the problem data (vendor monitoring data) for you so you can decide whether corrective action is needed.  (Often, with ISO-9000, a corrective action is NOT issued for EVERY problem received from a vendor, but only when there is an adverse TREND in performance that has become apparent)

Analyze your data by graphing the frequency of occurrence of each problem type. Then, if there is an adverse trend (in your opinion), just highlight the appropriate section of the graph to instantly create a corrective action (containing the problem details) and vendor response sections, memo, and graph printout to send to your vendor. Create your own template corrective action forms and memos (if desired) to speed the process even more.

Additionally, you can set alarms and let Vendor Watch alert you when a vendor has fallen outside an acceptable performance level.  For example, you may set the following type of alarm:  if the problem type of 'rusted material' occurs more than 3 times in 6 months, then turn the alarm on.  Once an alarm sounds (or turns on), just click a button to instantly create a corrective action (containing the problem details) and vendor response sections and memo to send to your vendor.   Create your own template corrective action forms and memos (if desired) to speed the process even more.

Pareto analysis of problems by type can be created in the reports screen for each vendor.  Also in the reports screen, print the approved suppliers list or problem history for any given vendor.

Critical Product/Service Categories Screen

Define vendor categories.  For example:  raw plastic, raw steel, calibration services, lab services, tooling manufacture, tooling repair, SPC training, etc.

Vendors will be added and each will be approved to provide one or more of the categories you defined.

Add the vendor and other information as desired (only blue fields are required)

At the bottom, add the critical product/service categories that the vendor is approved to supply (As required by ISO-9000, approval details are required by Vendor Watch  when adding each category - see next image).

Details of Vendor Approval

When adding a category to a vendor, the user must enter a basis of approval (to prove that the vendor has met the appropriate quality criteria), the name of approving authority, and the approval date.  These records are required by ISO-9000.

Add your own problem types - as many as you want - as often as you want.  These will be used to categorize vendor problem data.  

Example problem types are:  Packaging, Labeling, Paperwork, Rusted, Warped, Scraped, Dinged, Out-of-Round, Dimensional, Width out-of-spec, Late Delivery, or anything else you can imagine

Optionally set an alarm for each problem type.  In this example an alarm sounds (or turns on) if a vendor has more than 5 packaging or labeling problems within a 90 day span.

When a problem is received from a vendor, a new record should be added in this screen (Note: if you have a computer in the receiving area that is networked to your system, this data can be input by receiving, and analyzed by purchasing in the purchasing office)

Just select the vendor, enter the date and the P.O. # or unique receipt ID, and then select the problem type.  The quantity and employee are also required (Blue fields are required).  A long description may also be entered.  If this problem is included in a corrective action, most of this detail will automatically appear on the printed corrective action form.

In addition to using graphs or alarms, a corrective action can also be generated by simply clicking 'Mark for C/A' on the problem detail record.  Just click this on each record that should be included on the corrective action and click 'Issue C/A' to create a corrective action and/or memo.

Just click 'Graphical Analysis' and choose a vendor to plot performance over time.  In this example, the number of occurrences of each of 3 problem types are shown for each month for the last 15 months (for the 15 months before 7/30/2000).  It is clear that the number of packaging and labeling problems each month has been increasing for this vendor.  You may decide this trend is severe enough to issue the vendor a corrective action.

To issue a corrective action that includes all the problem details of each problem record, just highlight the appropriate line, setting beginning and ending boundaries, and click a button.

A 'corrective action package' can be instantly generated consisting of a memo, the detailed corrective action request, and the graph itself

Regardless of the method used to create a corrective action, this screen appears, allowing you to set a corrective action number, due date, and to select and use a template for the memo and the corrective action

Memos and corrective actions can be modified and large portions of each can be saved to a named template to speed the process even more in the future.  Create as many templates as you like.

Choose whether to generate just a corrective action, or whether to generate a memo and chart (if applicable) as well.

Problems details typed in the Vendor Monitoring Data screen are automatically listed on this form.  

This example includes many different P.O.'s or receipt records in order to demonstrate to the vendor the increasing trend in packaging & labeling problems

The form includes sections which are labeled 'completed by vendor'.  This includes Root Cause, Action Taken, and Verification of Implementation

Any text on this form can be modified, and large portions can be saved to a named template for later use.

Any text in this memo can be modified, and most of it can be saved to a named template for later use.

Reports Screen

Print the approved supplier list by category or by vendor

Generate a pareto analysis of problems by type for any or all vendors between selected dates

Print a complete problem history for a given vendor