SUPPLIER GUIDELINES
1) PO Number Must Be Issued: All orders placed with your company must include a Butler Automatic purchase order (PO). A hard copy will be e-mailed to you as confirmation. All shipping documents and invoices must reference the PO number to avoid processing delays.
2) Confirmations: All purchase orders must be confirmed within 2 business days of receiving a PO from Butler Automatic. Confirmations should be done by email and must include expected shipment date and pricing.
3) Delivery Due Dates: The Due Date is the requested in-house date at Butler Automatic. If the date referenced is not acceptable, please advise of your date on the PO confirmation.
4) PO Quantity: The quantity referenced on the PO is the quantity required. Overages require prior approval from Butler Automatic Purchasing. Unauthorized overages will be shipped back at your expense. Invoices will be paid for the quantity being referenced on the PO.
5) Subcontract operations: Butler Automatic considers any item that is fabricated from Butler supplied material to be a subcontract operation. Our purchasing team will make every effort to supply the correct amount of material, please reach out to the purchasing group if there are questions or concerns.
6) Shipping: When goods are ready to be shipped to Butler Automatic, care should be taken to ensure the parts are packaged to avoid damage during shipping. Deliver goods to Butler using the referenced carrier and service level noted on PO. When possible, set-up an automatic email notification of the tracking number to purchasing@butlerautomatic.com.
7) Amendments / Changes: Any requests to amend, change, or otherwise alter an existing purchase order need to be authorized by Butler purchasing before proceeding. This would also include any notification to “stop” a project. Communication concerning existing orders need to be formalized with an acknowledgment from purchasing.
SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE
Butler Automatic calculates supplier performance on the basis of quality, on time delivery, and communication. A Supplier Score is assigned based on your ability to meet these measures.
Supplier Scorecards will be distributed on average twice a year unless performance becomes an issue.
- Quality - Butler Automatic will monitor the quality of parts and material received. Parts and material should be received within specification, and accompanied by the associated paperwork. A non-conformance will be entered into Butler’s ERP system when a part is found to be defective, out of spec, damaged or otherwise unacceptable and the supplier will be notified. Every effort should be made to address nonconformances in a timely manner.
A determination on the path forward will be made between purchasing, operations, engineering and the supplier depending on the part in question and can include any of the following:
In house rework/repair – parts will be reworked/repaired at Butler
Supplier rework/repair – parts will be returned to the supplier for rework/repair
Supplier replacement – parts will be replaced by the supplier
Supplier evaluation – If root cause of the nonconformance is unknown or fault needs to be determined, parts should be evaluated by the supplier. Once root cause and fault are determined, a path forward can commence: rework, repair or replace. Shipping and rework/repair charges should be decided before any work is completed.
Supplier Corrective Action
Depending on the severity and degree of unacceptability, a Supplier Corrective Action (SCAR) may be issued. The SCAR will need to be reviewed by the supplier, and returned to Butler Automatic within 2 weeks of issuance. Butler will need the supplier to address the cause of the discrepancy, what actions have been taken to correct the discrepancy, and what procedures have been put in place to ensure the problem is not repeated. Any concerns can be addressed with Butler to ensure we are dialing in on the root cause and appropriate corrective actions.
- Delivery - Butler Automatic will accept shipments 5 days early and 0-days late. The measure date is set from the confirmation and the on-time delivery score is based on your ability to meet that date. A delivery before or equal to the date is considered on time. Deliveries after the measure date will be considered as late.
- Communication. - This will be monitored directly from purchasing. Communication is of the utmost importance in our supply chain. Butler should be notified in the event of any issues that may affect delivery, quality, or pricing. Some examples include due dates looking to be compromised, part fall-out being outside the normal range, material issues, short Butler supplied material, machines down, capacity constraints, etc.
Your cooperation in this program is appreciated. With these standardized process/guidelines in place, a more consistent method of part integrity, order confirmation, and invoice payments can be made.