Supplier Assessments

The pressure of continuously improving cost performance has been increasing over the past decade. Domestic and international competition, especially from low labor cost countries, has dramatically affected the way companies do business.

Nearly every company is constantly striving to reduce cost, in order to maintain competitive advantage. While at times reductions could be achieved by strengthening relationships with incumbent suppliers, in other instances it is necessary to resort to new, lower-cost vendors, either located domestically or abroad.

The challenge is to ensure that the switching cost will not offset the savings; it is common that “slam dunk” cost savings projects will actually result in a total cost increase due to quality issues, delivery delays, or even supplier bankruptcy. Northern Star Consulting works hand in hand with its clients to ensure the correct sourcing decisions are made, by utilizing a thorough, proven supplier assessment process.

According to our clients’ needs, our professional staff have provided turnkey services by performing on-site audits and total cost analyses, as well as developed customized processes and trained client’s supplier quality personnel to enable future sustainability.