The most significant challenge to boosting chemical raw materials quality is that suppliers change ingredients or processes without telling their customers, say respondents to PURCHASING's White Paper survey on buying trends in the CPI. Consequences include higher costs and increased cycle times. Solutions can be slowed when suppliers lack the quality data to figure out problems and to prevent similar lapses. As a result, over half of survey respondents report tightening specifications for chemical raw materials in the past two years.

Usually lower quality can be traced to a change in supplier materials or in its production process, says Frank Salek, purchasing manager at Sun Chemical, Northlake, Ill., which revised its chemical raw material specifications two years ago when the central purchasing group became ISO 9001 certified. For instance, a larger vessel used to generate greater batch sizes slows the heating of materials, while new ingredients or substitutions also can alter a material's performance.

The costs associated with suppliers' changes can be significant. One purchasing manager says some finished goods and intermediates have to be adjusted when chemical raw materials quality falls on the edge of his company's specified range. This adjustment process stretches cycle time and raises costs when the company's products have to be sent to its labs for additional evaluation. As a result, the PM says his company now tracks trends in supplier product performance "so that problems with inconsistent raw materials are discovered before they begin to affect finished goods."

With so many production costs at stake, a number of surveyed PMs also provide training to ensure sources see the effect of the entire supply chain on the customer's product. For example, Thom Downer, purchasing manager, Cruisers Yachts, Oconto, Wis., trains Tier Two suppliers. In the recreational boat industry, more complex resins and electronics are increasing the number of subcontractors used by primary suppliers. Downer directs suppliers to record all changes in production processes even if an adjustment falls within the span of the customer's specifications.

Because materials performance can vary, a number of survey respondents say testing is still a primary method of detecting quality problems. PMs say testing doesn't tell the whole story and can only reveal problems that are already in the customer's hands. Even if a supplier replaces defective materials, PMs say the source must improve long-term quality management practices. Testing raises a flag if it shows a supplier often delivers batches that are on the edge of acceptable performance, says Salek. Sun's purchasing and technical staff check whether the supplier is sending batches with a wide range of production dates or lot numbers. Salek notes that if "a process is out of control" at the supplier's location, then it's likely the supplier is "cherrypicking" material to send to the customer. As a result, the customer pays a higher price for inconsistent quality products even if the customer doesn't receive the lower quality materials.

One difficulty in checking supplier production information is that sources often have multiple customers so the length of time between production dates or lot numbers can be attributed to chemical raw materials being sent elsewhere. At Sun, purchasing and engineering will visit a supplier's location to check processes and look for practices that are weakening the material's quality.

Knowing a supplier's operations is important, yet sometimes the initial challenge to ensuring quality chemical raw materials is gathering data within a PM's own company, say survey respondents. Of the 45% of surveyed buyers who have formal supplier quality programs, a number have backgrounds in automotive or electronics and are applying quality measurement practices in new industries. These PMs say measuring quality has been common within their current companies, but in the past, they have known little about how chemical suppliers track raw material performance.

For instance, Elizabeth Emmett, purchasing director at DelStar Technologies, Middletown, Del., which makes roll goods for industries such as automotive and food and beverage, talks with existing and prospective suppliers about how measuring quality can help them gain more business. Her knowledge of supplier performance comes from monthly data on supplier materials quality. With information on how resins perform in the extrusion process and whether suppliers have delivered zero-defect materials, her purchasing operation compiles quarterly report cards for suppliers. As a result, she and suppliers can identify whether ISO 9001 certification, QS 9000, or another program, will best enable the source to boost quality.

Overall, PMs say they don't use a one-size-fits-all approach in managing supplier quality. For some suppliers, survey respondents say requiring IS0 9001 or QS 9000 measurements is important. With suppliers who have not measured quality in the past, one purchasing manager says he's starting with reachable goals, such as requiring sources record when batches are produced to improve lot traceability.

Though PMs don't report a shortage of chemical raw materials suppliers, they do say some sources won't measure quality due to high costs or management resistance. As a result, Salek says auditing has "shifted some primary suppliers" within his base of materials sources. He says site visits can show if suppliers have outdated equipment or don't have enough personnel to guarantee high quality products.