BUSINESS EFFICIENCY
VENDOR SELECTION & MANAGEMENT

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Selection Criteria:
Stern Industries conducts a rigorous qualification process in the selection of vendors, keeping cost, quality and timeliness in mind to find the right source for your needs.

1. We continually conduct extensive searches using the web, business directories, phone listings and word of mouth. Sources that may possibly fill our needs, and/or the needs of our customers are singled out for further investigation.
   
2. We contact all potential providers and determine whether they may fit our needs based on a variety of factors, such as: location, base services, customers served, products produced, and specializations. ISO and QS certification are determined, but not a mandatory requirement for doing business.
   
3. Upon receipt of quotations and information regarding quality, we ask a potential supplier to submit a sample order.
• Qualities that we look for in prospective suppliers are: pricing, confidence in their ability to do a good job, and their ability to meet or beat a given target date for the sample delivery.
  
4. Sample products produced for other customers are requested for inspection.
• Not all customers are equal. Some look for product based solely on price, others seek quality, and yet others seek both quality and price incentives. Products are ordered from given suppliers based on customer needs.
  
5. Finally, personal tours are made of the selected supplier's facilities. This also creates an opportunity to tour factories of additional suppliers. In cases where we have not toured supplier facilities, we have had meetings with factory representatives.
   
• We have toured in excess of 200 production facilities in Taiwan, Korea, China, Canada, and the US.
• Future plans include establishing contact and visiting production facilities in Mexico, India, and Viet Nam.

Our intent is to continuously improve quality, delivery, and price by always searching for the best suppliers.

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