Evaluating Suppliers Using the Group-Based Process

 

You use the group-based supplier evaluation to compare peer suppliers within their purchasing category. For this purpose, as a purchaser responsible with the Category Manager role, you create evaluation templates for certain purchasing categories. To the templates, you assign the appropriate questionnaires and appraisers, as well as the supplier peer groups of the respective purchasing categories.

From the templates, you can start evaluations manually at any given point in time by sending evaluation requests to the appraisers. You can perform evaluations repeatedly to monitor how the performance of your supplier peer group develops over time.

Process

The evaluation of suppliers proceeds as follows:

Creating an Evaluation Template

The following figure depicts the steps to be performed before purchasers can repeatedly start comparable group-based evaluations:

  1. Questionnaire Managers create questions and sections: The procurement line of business determines questions based on evaluation criteria with which to rate supplier performance. These questions can be designed specifically for certain purchasing categories – such as IT services, IT hardware, or chemicals – or they can be of a general nature. Questionnaire Managers store questions and questionnaire sections in the question library in Supplier Evaluation. Sections, such as “Quality”, are grouping elements to be used in questionnaires (step 2). Questions can include answer options and related scores.

  2. Questionnaire Managers create questionnaires

  3. Questionnaire Managers assign questions and sections to questionnaires: Questions and sections can be weighted according to their importance for the evaluation.

  4. Questionnaire Managers release questionnaires: Once questionnaires are released, they can be used in evaluation templates.

  5. Category Managers create evaluation templates: Evaluation templates are intended to periodically generate evaluation request from them, thus to repeatedly start comparable evaluations, using the same appraisers, suppliers, and questionnaires.

  6. Category Managers add appraisers, suppliers, and questionnaires: To the evaluation templates, Category Managers assign peer groups of suppliers. A supplier peer group of a purchasing category is assessed in one evaluation. Furthermore, Category Managers assign appraisers and questionnaires to the evaluation templates.

  7. Category Managers release evaluation templates: Once templates are released, evaluations can be started from them.

Evaluating Suppliers Repeatedly

The following figure depicts the actual evaluation process:

  1. Category Managers start evaluations: Evaluations, each covering a specific period, can be started from evaluation templates. Category Managers can add validity criteria to the evaluation requests and adapt the assignment of appraisers and suppliers inherited from the related evaluation template. When a Category Manager starts an evaluation, e-mails with links to the questionnaires and to the worklist are sent to Appraisers.

  2. Appraisers receive e-mails about the evaluation: Appraisers are informed by e-mail about the questionnaires they are asked to complete. They can access the questionnaires in the Evaluate Suppliers app.

  3. Appraisers fill out the questionnaires and send back the responses. Alternatively, Category Managers can fill out the questionnaires on behalf of one or more appraisers.

  4. Category Managers monitor responses: Category Managers monitor the evaluation process by watching the incoming responses. The system can be configured to send out automatic reminders to appraisers with pending responses.

  5. Category Managers complete evaluations: Category Managers complete the evaluation once all responses are available, or whenever they want to end the evaluation.

  6. Category Managers analyze evaluation scorecards: Category Managers can analyze the evaluation results. The evaluation scorecard for each individual supplier is updated automatically with the scores deducted from the appraisers' responses. If evaluations are based on validity criteria, these criteria are displayed in the related evaluation scorecards. Within evaluation scorecards, Category Managers can drill down to individual answers. Graphics in the evaluation templates show trends and peer group comparisons.

More Information

You can find an example for a group-based supplier evaluation process under Example: Group-Based Evaluation of IT Suppliers.

Required Roles

Depending on the tasks you must perform, you have been assigned the following roles: