Why score suppliers?
An NGO often buys from the same suppliers again and again. Without a record, the decision to use them again rests on memory: “they were fine last time”. Staff change, and memory fades. A scorecard keeps the evidence in one place, so the next buyer sees the same history as the last.
It also helps with fairness. When you pass over a supplier, a scorecard gives a documented reason that is based on delivery and quality, not on who knows whom.
What should a scorecard measure?
Choose criteria you can check from your own files. These six work for most organizations:
| Criterion | Evidence | Where the data comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery on time | Promised date against actual date | Purchase order and goods received note |
| Quantity correct | Ordered against accepted | Goods received note |
| Quality | Items rejected or returned | Goods received note and complaints |
| Price accuracy | Invoice against agreed price | Order and invoice |
| Paperwork | Invoices correct and complete | Finance file |
| Responsiveness | Time to answer queries and fix problems | Buyer’s notes |
Fewer criteria are better than many. If scoring takes too long, nobody does it.
How do you score and weight?
- Pick a scale. A 1 to 5 scale is easy to apply.
- Define each score. For delivery, for example, 5 means on time, 3 means up to three days late, 1 means more than a week late. Define the bands in writing so two officers score the same way.
- Weight the criteria. Give more weight to what matters most. For medicines or food, quality may count most. For a time-bound campaign, delivery may count most.
- Calculate a total. Multiply each score by its weight and add them up.
- Set thresholds. For example: above a high mark, preferred; middle, acceptable; low, needs improvement.
Keep the formula simple enough that the supplier can understand it.
When should you score?
Score at two points:
- After each delivery, using the goods received note. This takes minutes, because the facts are already recorded.
- Every quarter or half-year, to review the pattern and decide what to do. One late delivery is an event. Five is a trend.
Good receiving records make this possible. See our article on the goods received note for what to capture.
How do you use the results?
A score is useful only if it changes something:
- Share it with the supplier and ask for a plan if it is low.
- Use it in tender evaluation, as one input next to price and technical fit.
- Keep a list of approved suppliers, and review it against scores.
- Record the reasons when you drop or add a supplier.
Remember what a scorecard cannot do. It looks back at performance, and it does not check whether a new supplier is legitimate. For that, read how to check suppliers before you buy.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Scoring from impressions, not records.
- Changing the criteria each year, so scores cannot be compared.
- Keeping scores private, so suppliers never get a chance to improve.
- Letting one person score their favourite suppliers. Have someone independent check a sample.
- Treating the score as the only reason to select a supplier, which can conflict with donor rules on competition.
A short example. A fuel supplier delivers eight times in a quarter. Six deliveries arrive on the promised date, two arrive three days late. Quantities were correct every time. One invoice carried a wrong unit price. The scorecard, using the 1 to 5 bands above, gives delivery a 4, quantity a 5, price accuracy a 4 and paperwork a 4. Weighted, the supplier lands in the preferred group, with a note to fix the price error. The buyer sends the supplier the score and a request to check pricing before invoicing.
How do you keep the scores fair? Use the same bands for every supplier in a category. Let the receiving officer record delivery facts, and the finance officer record invoice facts. The buyer, who has the closest relationship, should not be the only scorer.
Can small local suppliers be scored the same way? Yes, but keep the form short. A small supplier will not have a long paper trail, so score on the facts you can see. Use the results to help them improve, and not only to remove them.
How do you start small? Pick three suppliers you use most, and score only delivery, quantity and price accuracy for the next quarter. These three come straight from records you already hold. After a quarter, review what you learned and add one more criterion if it helps. A small scorecard that is used each time is worth more than a detailed one that is filled in once and then abandoned.
Where EMPOBase fits
In EMPOBase, Vendors holds your supplier records, and purchase orders go to an eligible vendor. Vendor Scorecard keeps supplier performance on the record, so the history is visible to the next buyer. The criteria, weights and thresholds are decisions your team makes, based on your own policy. Check in a walk-through how the scorecard fits your approach. See the procure-to-pay workflow for where vendors enter the chain.