Supplier Non-Conformance Agent
Detects incoming material quality issues at receiving, documents non-conformances, and manages supplier corrective action requests through resolution.
Incoming material defects are often caught late in production rather than at receiving inspection, by which time the defective material has already consumed downstream labor and machine time
When non-conformances are identified, documentation is inconsistent and supplier corrective action requests (SCARs) are slow to issue, giving suppliers little urgency to fix root causes
Tracking supplier quality performance over time is typically manual and fragmented across email threads, making it hard to hold suppliers accountable in contract negotiations or sourcing decisions
This agent automates non-conformance detection and documentation at receiving, generates and tracks SCARs to resolution, and continuously scores supplier quality performance, giving procurement and quality teams leverage and visibility they didn't have before
The agent is triggered by receiving inspection results, whether from automated measurement equipment, incoming QC sampling, or a rejection flagged during production. It uses OCR and an LLM to extract and structure defect details from inspector notes and photos, matches the issue against the purchase order and supplier quality agreement, and automatically generates a formal non-conformance report and, where warranted, a supplier corrective action request (SCAR) with root-cause and containment requirements. It tracks SCAR response deadlines, sends automated follow-ups, and calculates a rolling supplier quality score based on defect rate, SCAR responsiveness, and corrective action effectiveness.
Detect and Document Non-Conformance
- Ingest receiving inspection results and defect flags
- Extract defect details from inspector notes/photos via OCR/LLM
- Match against PO and supplier quality agreement terms
- Generate structured non-conformance report
Issue Supplier Corrective Action Request
- Determine SCAR threshold based on defect severity/recurrence
- Auto-generate SCAR with root-cause and containment requirements
- Transmit SCAR to supplier via portal or email
- Set response deadline per quality agreement terms
Track Resolution and Follow Up
- Monitor SCAR response status against deadline
- Send automated follow-up reminders as deadlines approach
- Review supplier's root-cause and corrective action submission
- Verify corrective action effectiveness on subsequent receipts
Score and Report Supplier Quality
- Calculate rolling defect rate and SCAR responsiveness by supplier
- Track corrective action effectiveness over time
- Flag suppliers below quality threshold for sourcing review
- Publish quarterly supplier quality scorecard