Supplier Quality

The Supplier Quality team partners with Procurement, R&D Engineering, Design Quality, Ops Quality, and other functions to qualify suppliers and ensure they are capable of delivering purchased parts that comply with West’s specifications and quality system requirements.
Once the supplier is selected, the Supplier Quality team works with R&D Engineering and Design Quality to understand critical elements of purchased parts in order to drive the right level of validation at the supplier.
In general, higher risk parts require higher levels of validation to ensure proper controls are in place, enabling the supplier to deliver parts that meet West’s specifications.
If nonconformances are detected in purchased parts, the Supplier Quality team works to ensure the supplier performs thorough root cause analysis and implements effective corrective actions. The Supplier Quality team also performs periodic audits of suppliers to ensure high quality purchased parts continue to be supplied.