Use case · Supplier compliance review
Supplier compliance review, with the evidence attached
- Built for
- Supplier Quality Engineers and Supplier Assurance Coordinators, reporting to the Quality or Technical Manager who signs the approval.
- When it runs
- A customer or certification body asks for the approval file on a named supplier, or a supplier is up for periodic re-approval.
The template
Four starting requirements, in a reviewer’s words
- Req. 1
Does the supplier hold the certifications we require?
Evidence it looks for
certificate · schedule of registration · accreditation record
- Req. 2
Are the supplier’s policies current?
Evidence it looks for
policy document · issue or revision record
- Req. 3
Have corrective actions been completed and closed?
Evidence it looks for
corrective action record · closure evidence · CAPA log
- Req. 4
Are the required documents on file at all?
Evidence it looks for
supply agreement · quality agreement · questionnaire return
What a finding shows
On file, not on file, and only related
For each requirement the reviewer sees what is on file, opens it at its source, and gets a gap they can send to the supplier.
Key to findings
- …certificate valid until 2 March 2028…
- Evidence located
- A passage DataStruct could support against the requirement, shown with its file, page and section, or its sheet and rows.
- …annual review completed…
- Cited, not confirmed
- A source the answer relied on that DataStruct could not confirm as support. Listed first, so the reviewer opens it first.
- Related material
- Returned by the search and not used as evidence. Kept apart so it never reads as proof.
- [ no supporting passage ]
- No supporting evidence located
- Nothing in the set supports the requirement. The finding says so and names what is missing.
Only a named person can confirm, reject or mark a finding for follow-up. The decision is attributed and logged. Green is theirs alone: no system state is ever shown in green.
Designed around
Three tests the review is built to pass
- The reviewer can see, per requirement, what is on file and what is not.
- Every located passage can be opened and checked at its source.
- The gap list is short enough to send to the supplier without editing.
When evidence is missing, the next step is the reviewer’s: request the artefact from the supplier, or record why it is not held.
Questions
Supplier review questions
Does DataStruct approve suppliers?
No. It locates and prepares the evidence and states what it could not find. The approval decision, and every decision about a finding, belongs to your reviewer.
Can we add our own requirements?
Yes. The template is a starting point. Write requirements in your own words; they persist between runs, and editing the wording applies to future runs while earlier findings keep the wording they were judged against.
Does it check whether a certificate is still valid?
It shows the passages it found, including any dates they state, and the reviewer decides. It does not yet pick the current version of a superseded record: where an old and a new version are both on file, both can be returned.
What happens at the next re-approval?
Rerun the programme. Each run has its own identity and date; earlier findings and reviewer decisions stay on record, and decisions never carry over to the new run.