How to track supplier performance on repeat orders

Set up a record that survives the next order

Use a shared spreadsheet with an entry for each order and separate entries for split deliveries. Record the factory, product, specification revision, batch, ordered quantity, original milestones, actual dates and links to supporting records. Name the buyer who maintains it and the factory contact who confirms updates.

Agree what counts as on time, a defective unit and a useful response before comparing results. Anchor acceptance to your written specification. Keep original commitments visible beside approved amendments, including who requested the change and why. Missing evidence should appear as unknown, rather than a pass.

Measure delivery without moving the baseline

Track factory readiness, inspection release, collection and arrival separately. For each milestone, compare the actual date with the original agreed date and show any approved revised date alongside it. Record whether the full agreed quantity was ready; an early partial delivery can hide a late balance.

Record the immediate cause and supporting evidence separately from responsibility. Buyer approvals, factory production and freight disruption need different actions. Retain both the buyer's overall delivery result and the factory's contribution. Use the factory-delay guide for recovery options once a milestone slips.

Compare defects on a consistent basis

Group defects by type, severity, product and batch. Record inspected units and defective units separately from the number of faults found, because a unit can have several faults. Compare defective units against inspected units using the same definitions. Keep pre-shipment findings, goods-in failures and customer returns as separate series.

Record the inspection method and sample coverage beside each result. A changed inspection scope can make a trend look better or worse without a production change. Use the inspection guide for batch checks. Record rework and reinspection without overwriting the original failure, and link later returns back to their production batch.

Track useful responses and verified corrections

Measure elapsed time from a logged request to a substantive answer, using agreed working hours and time zones. Keep acknowledgement separate from resolution. A useful answer identifies the issue, owner, next action, evidence and promised completion date. Record missed update commitments and issues that need repeated chasing.

Maintain an action log alongside the scorecard. Ask for containment of affected goods, the cause, the process change and evidence from subsequent production. A replacement shipment resolves an immediate shortage but does not demonstrate that the cause has been removed. Close an action only after the agreed verification succeeds.

Agree escalation before performance deteriorates

Set triggers around your stock exposure, product risk and customer commitments. Triggers can include recurring missed milestones, worsening comparable defect results, ineffective corrective actions or missed substantive-response commitments. Agree the escalation contact, evidence required and buyer decision: tighter checks, a recovery review or a pause on new orders. Keep delivery, quality and responsiveness visible separately so an overall score cannot conceal a serious failure.

Treat a suspected safety problem as an immediate escalation, irrespective of the supplier's overall record. Segregate affected stock while it is assessed. UK businesses must notify the relevant authority about products posing health and safety risks or found to be noncompliant. Use the recall guide for that separate response.

Review the scorecard after each delivery and before the next commitment. Give the supplier the evidence and record any disputed explanation. If recovery remains unverified, consider qualifying an alternative through the second-supplier guide. Agree how Cambridge China Bridge's staff in China will collect factory updates and check correction evidence; retain a named buyer for order-release decisions.