Simplify the Supplier Deviation Request Process with BPA Apps
It’s very surprising to discover that a lot of companies publish their Supplier Deviation Request (SDR) form on the web for their suppliers to download it. These forms are visible to everyone.
In this context, the entire SDR process is cumbersome, it requires a lot of manual work and the risk of error is high. Completed forms are emailed back to the client for internal approval. From the received email, a manual approval process starts at the client (email or paper-based). Once a decision is taken, it’s most likely communicated to the supplier per email, including attachments.
Make it easy and automated with BPA Apps and Office 365!
In this simple scenario, a Microsoft Forms is used to build a digital SDR form. The form can be embedded in your extranet portal, or the link to the form can be shared with suppliers.
Example of a SDR Form built with MS Forms.
Once the form is sent, an automated Power Automate workflow starts and links the request with the right supplier in the BPA app. A PDF version of the SDR form is automatically created and emailed back to the supplier as a confirmation.
Your internal team is alerted (in Teams or per email) and an approval workflow starts. Selected team members are notified to review the request and complete it with engineering disposition and special instructions. In the last step, approval notifications are sent to the specified users and decisions are tracked in the BPA app.
SDR internal review and approval process in the BPA app.
Optionally, the SDR process could automatically start a supplier nonconformity process in the BPA app.
Another scenario would be to include the supplier as a guest in a shared Teams and work jointly in an automated cross-organizational SDR/nonconformity process.
The benefits of automating the SDR process are obvious:
- Reduce the lifecycle time for the whole process
- Reduce manual work by automating alerts and reminders
- Reduce risk of errors
- Develop a modern image
Contact us if you’re interested to implement this scenario for your organization.
