Carter’s 10 Cs of supplier evaluation or selection is named after ray Carter who originally devised 7 Cs of effective supplier evaluation. This has since been extended to 10 and they offer a very clear focus for anyone who is involved in either selecting or evaluating suppliers.

The 10 Cs:

1. Competency – this is fundamental to being a good supplier and competency needs to have evidence to back it up, there is no point in simply making assumptions; hard evidence is to be provided.

2. Capacity – the supplier needs to have sufficient capacity to enable it to operate flexibly. The more flexible the supplier is, the more it can meet fluctuations in demand.

3. Commitment – the supplier needs to demonstrate what level their commitment is to quality. They also need to provide hard evidence of the quality systems that they use; what is their framework to ensure quality?

4. Control – control is important because it is control of the processes and internal procedures that needs to be looked at, so that a full profile can be established of the supplier and how much control the supplier has. Control can take various forms, for example, how much control does the supplier have in terms of its suppliers warning it when goods become scarce or even stop being produced. So there are lots of different aspects to control.

5. Cash – this is the financial standing of the supplier. Are they in a robust position or are they teetering on the edge of financial meltdown? Obviously the more robust that a supplier is, the better they will be place to withstand any economic storms.

6. Cost – obviously this is the cost of the supplies but it is looked at in terms of the full cost of the products on offer. It is interesting to note that cost is not listed as the No. 1 issue to be considered, because it is very much just one factor to be considered, the other factors are of significant importance too!

7. Consistency – can the supplier ensure that it delivers you the same product, up to the same standard in every order? Realistically it is highly unlikely that this can be achieved, since perfection is practically unheard of within the supply chain! However, it is included because the supplier should have a consistent approach and be able to demonstrate this.

The items above were the first & Cs as proposed by Carter, but these were later expanded to incorporate a further 3 issues:

8. Culture – this is an interesting point. Carter felt that the supplier should be one that has the same values and ways of operating as the customer. In a sense this is almost about compatibility, but it makes sense for the supplier and the customer to have some shared values and practices, otherwise the relationship could be strained in the future, simply doe to the clash in different cultures.

9. Clean – clean is a reflection of increased environmental awareness. Clean is about ensuring that the company complies with all statutory requirements and in particular environmental issues. So in a sense, suppliers are asked to demonstrate their ‘green credentials’.

10. Communication – although it may seem obvious, suppliers need to be asked how they will communicate with you. Will it be by fax, email or telephone? Communication also covers the ICT software and applications that the supplier has. If they only have very basic ICT facilities, they will be unable to communicate effectively.
These 10 Cs offer e very comprehensive means of ensuring that a rigorous approach is adopted with regard to supplier evaluation and that it is fair to all potential suppliers!

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Comments

One Response to “Carter’s 10 Cs OF Supplier Evaluation”

  1. Emmanuel Wangwe on November 13th, 2010 10:27 am

    As a scholar,i have been impressed on how carter’s 10 cs have been clearly explained.

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