Today I would like to discuss free pass suppliers, about when it is advantageous to become one and when it isn’t. At the beginning of December last year I wrote that it isn’t rare to find producers who, even where they have created pieces that are sub-standard, rather than redoing them, they deliver them anyway, omitting any accompanying documentation that could prove non-conformity and, in fact, hoping that the customer doesn’t notice the issue. In light of this situation, I ask you:
Are acceptance controls in fact useless?
Meanwhile, it should be noted that quality control, as you know, is a cost and therefore should be avoided if it is not necessary. The reasoning according to which “if you trust your supplier, then acceptance controls are not needed” is not that wrong and follows its own quite precise logic. If one of my suppliers tells me that the pieces they have made are good because they have checked them and documents this fact to me, why would I need to check them again? Why shouldn’t I be trustful? But the lack of trust is costly and then it is worth eliminating the suppliers you do not trust, instead relying completely on others.
This argument makes sense but generally things aren’t so simple.
As is known, the so-called “free pass” is a very precise supply method that involves the complete absence of control of incoming goods and their consequent direct introduction into the production line. It is a precise procedure, supported by written agreements and which, nevertheless, requires complete trust in the supplier.
Why however on the other side, in other words from the perspective of the supplier, is the free pass sometimes not accepted or in any case not always approved? For a very precise reason.
When a supplier not under the “free pass” system delivers goods, in case of non-compliance of one or several pieces, they will only be responsible for those ones and for their value. Instead, when a supplier accepts the free pass system and thus accepts the fact that their goods are no longer checked upon entry, in the event that one or several items of their supply are defective and therefore responsible for a shutdown of the production line, this supplier will no longer be liable solely for the non-conforming part delivered but also for the stationary line.
It may seem a trivial matter but it isn’t. The free pass is sometimes seen as a sort of prize to the supplier which brings countless benefits on all fronts.
Many companies are not aware that becoming a free pass supplier also means accepting a range of responsibilities that are often not particularly clear at the outset.
But then when should you become a free pass supplier?
First of all, the responsibilities that should be assumed in case of accepting this method must be established and written in advance with the customer, followed by an evaluation. Already by making this specific and anything but mundane request to the customer, there is already a position of not proceeding unwarily and therefore it will be much easier for both parties to reach a reasonable agreement.
Sometimes, by refusing the free pass system, there is the fear of being seen as a disreputable supplier who already knows in advance that they will deliver non-compliant parts. In reality this is not the case at all. Despite having at our company a quality control department that works, and despite having established a priori a control grid in line with the type of product that is going to be created, infallibility is a quality that no-one can boast of. Therefore it is very important to think about the value of the pieces that are going to be delivered in relation to the value of the production line for which these pieces are intended. If, for example, the pieces in question have a value that is much lower than the line, it goes without saying that the objective risk that we are going to assume is not commensurate and therefore in this case it would be better not to agree to become a free pass supplier. It is clear, however, that even this matter cannot be generalized and that every situation should be evaluated by paying attention to all the factors (for example the value of the request at the commercial level, or the confidence we have with the creation of the specific product).
