Quality criteria for supplier selection

In supply chain management, supplier selection is one of the most important components of production and logistics management for many companies. Selecting the right suppliers based on high quality and reliability will significantly reduce purchasing costs and other costs related to purchasing indirectly. Consequently, the selection of a wrong supplier could be enough to upset the companies functional and operational position. Quality is the ongoing process of producing and sustaining relationship by assessing, anticipating and fulfilling stated and implied needs. The methods for assessing the quality of products for suppliers can be divided to qualitative methods such as continuous improvement programs, certifications, technical and design level, and quality for customer and quantitative methods such as yield rate, process capability indices, reliability and rate of rejects.