How to Track Supplier Performance in AskBiz
AskBiz's supplier performance module tracks delivery reliability, quality, and cost trends across your supplier base. Learn how to use it.
Key Takeaways
- Access supplier performance under Inventory & Supply Chain > Supplier Performance
- AskBiz tracks on-time delivery rate, quality defect rate, lead time accuracy, and price stability
- Set performance targets for each supplier and receive alerts when they are missed
- Use the supplier comparison view to rank suppliers on any metric
What AskBiz tracks for each supplier
AskBiz's supplier performance module tracks four core metrics for each supplier in your connected inventory system. On-time delivery rate: the percentage of purchase orders delivered on or before the promised date. Quality defect rate: the percentage of received units that failed inspection or were returned as defective. Lead time accuracy: how closely actual lead times match the supplier's quoted lead time. Price stability: how much prices have varied across orders over time.
Connecting your supplier data
Supplier performance data flows into AskBiz from your connected inventory management system (e.g. Cin7, Dear Inventory, Linnworks) or can be entered manually for suppliers not covered by your inventory system. Go to Settings > Integrations to ensure your inventory system is connected and that purchase order data is being synced. You can also manually log delivery events and quality incidents in the Supplier Performance module.
Setting performance targets
For each supplier, you can set performance targets that reflect your expectations. Go to Inventory & Supply Chain > Supplier Performance, select a supplier, and click Set Targets. Common targets: on-time delivery rate above 90%, quality defect rate below 2%, lead time within 5 days of quoted. When a supplier's actual performance falls below a target for two consecutive months, AskBiz will alert you by email and flag the supplier in the dashboard.
Using the supplier comparison view
The Supplier Comparison view (accessible from the Supplier Performance dashboard) displays all your suppliers in a table sorted by any metric you choose. Sort by on-time delivery to identify your most and least reliable suppliers. Sort by price stability to identify suppliers whose pricing is most volatile. Sort by defect rate to identify quality risk. Use this view to inform your supplier strategy — which suppliers to consolidate, which to develop, and which to exit.
Using supplier data in negotiations
AskBiz's supplier performance data is valuable evidence for supplier negotiations. Before a price negotiation, export the supplier's performance history — their on-time delivery rate, lead time accuracy, and quality record over the past 12 months. If performance has been below target, this gives you a legitimate basis to negotiate better commercial terms in exchange for continued business. If performance has been excellent, it gives you grounds to request preferential allocation or pricing in return for a longer-term commitment.