Role & responsibilities
Develop and maintain robust relationships with suppliers to ensure consistent quality and timely delivery.
Monitor supplier performance through KPIs such as quality (PPM), delivery adherence, cost, and responsiveness.
Drive supplier quality improvement initiatives through audits, process reviews, and capability assessments.
Coordinate with suppliers for root cause analysis (RCA) and ensure effective closure of issues via SCAR, 8D, CAPA.
Ensure compliance with quality standards like IATF 16949, ISO, and customer-specific requirements.
Lead supplier audits (process, product, and system audits) and ensure closure of audit findings.
Collaborate with SQA, Procurement, and Manufacturing teams for supplier selection, evaluation, and development.
Manage current supplier onboarding including PPAP approval, sample validation, and process capability verification.
Drive cost optimization initiatives through value engineering (VA/VE), negotiation inputs, and process improvements.
Ensure timely resolution of supplier-related defects to avoid line stoppages and customer complaints.
Monitor and reduce supplier rejection rates (GRN rejects) and improve incoming quality levels.
Support Recent Product Development (NPD) by aligning supplier capabilities with product requirements and timelines.
Implement standardization and horizontal deployment of best practices across suppliers.
Coordinate containment actions (sorting, rework, replacement) during quality issues and crisis situations.
Use data analytics (Excel/Power BI dashboards) to track supplier trends and enable data-driven decision-making.