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How to Effectively Qualify a New Supplier When You Can’t Be Onsite

July 15, 2021

Managing various suppliers can be challenging and complicated for many companies. Quality, consistent suppliers are crucial for ensuring end product delivery is exactly what your customers want. Additionally, companies that must comply with regulations have an added responsibility when it comes to qualifying a new supplier. Remote visual assistance technology offers companies a way to simplify how they qualify a new supplier, making the process fast, efficient, and effective.

Qualify a New Supplier Using Remote Visual Assistance 

Companies needing to supply consistent quality of materials, components and services require extensive review and audits to mitigate risk. Help Lightning’s remote visual assistance technology enables companies to evaluate suppliers and vendors that align with quality requirements. Help Lightning supports the work of procurement specialists, supply officers, quality supervisors, supply quality engineers, and supply chain supervisors. It helps them make consistent audits easier, ensuring standards of quality are being maintained.

A merged video stream and augmented reality view for Help Lightning users allows people on both sides of the screen to virtually reach into the other person’s view. This allows for a ‘hands-on’ collaboration that is as effective as in-person. 

What Qualifying a New Supplier Looks Like Using Help Lightning

Remote visual assistance technology allows users to engage in a merged reality where both sides see the same view on their desktop or mobile device. This translates to more easily meeting with suppliers and vendors. It also allows them to go through all the stages of qualifying a supplier that would be done in person.

All personnel have the ability to reach into the screen, make annotations and drawings overlaid onto the shared view. They can even include tools and parts in the view. 

An Example of Remote Visual Assistance Used to Qualify a Supplier

  1. A company that sells agricultural equipment wants to qualify a supplier of large scale sprayers of water, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer. They need to make this happen quickly. This is because their previous supplier has let them know they are unable to fulfill orders for several months.
  2. The equipment company is located in California and the sprayer supplier is located in Illinois. They decide on a time for a Help Lightning call so that the equipment company can learn about the supplier’s operation and quality procedures.
  3. During the call, both sides of the screen can engage with the supplier’s environment. The supplier can show their quality procedures, how they authorize shut down, and their change management processes. They can also walk through the materials and machines used.
  4. The equipment company is able to reach into the screen and manually compare components from their previous suppliers. They can reach into the screen point to parts, components, tools and machines that they’d like to see in operation.
  5. The supplier shows the equipment company exactly how everything works. This helps the supplier feel confident in their sprayers as well as the overall quality of the supplier.
  6. The equipment company directly experiences the sprayer supplier’s quality, and decides to partner with them.
  7. The agreements are signed, and delivery of sprayers can occur quickly, with both companies knowing this is a well positioned partnership.

With Help Lightning, the crucial and often time complex process of qualifying a supplier can happen more easily. This helps you avoid managing complex schedules to get everyone at the same location. 

Suppliers are an Extension of Your Company

The ability to merge video screens and collaborate remotely allows companies to review supplier manufacturing, production, technological capabilities and all other standards in real time. It also makes it easier to measure this against your company’s requirements so that you can easily monitor for regulatory compliance.

Remote visual assistance technology supports several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for companies needing to qualify a new supplier:

The KPIs Help Lightning Customers Experience Using Remote Visual Assistance to Qualify Suppliers Include: 

  • Increased regulatory compliance
  • Consistent production schedules
  • Efficient validation and documentation 

Interested in learning about more use cases and how other companies are using remote visual assistance? Review our full list of 20 remote assistance use cases. You can also download a shareable guide.

Contact Help Lightning to Learn What Remote Visual Assistance Can Do for Your Company

Help Lightning helps medical, manufacturing, construction & engineering, and food & beverage companies effectively qualify new suppliers remotely. Help Lightning makes it easier to audit suppliers. This allows you to consistently ensure that the end product is exactly what your customers want.

Contact us for a free, no obligation demo of Help Lightning. 

Our team is waiting to show you exactly how Help Lightning’s remote visual assistance software can help your company’s specific business needs.

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