Receiving & Inspection is a dedicated process for monitoring and reporting the intake of all parts, components, and sub-assemblies.

As part of this process, an expert inspection may be required. 

The Stockroom holds material for Product Resources until it is needed for assembly or shipment.  The stockroom receives material from 3rd parties (e.g., suppliers), and assemblies from our own production. 

When components for a product are ordered on a Purchase Order, they are delivered to Product Resources by any of several shipping companies (e.g., UPS) to our receiving dock.  Once off the truck, they are placed in quarantine until processed, starting with Initial Inspection. 

All material received gets some degree of initial inspection.  The path the product takes is detailed by the ERP system – sending some material through a detailed Incoming Inspection and some to stock. 

The minimum amount, usually for COTS components, is for the receiving personnel to match the Manufacturer and Manufacturer’s Part Number to the information on the Purchase Order which references the Item Records.  If the Part Number matches our PO records, the inspection is passed. 

For more complicated and custom items, the product is moved to Incoming Inspection where a QA technician makes detailed inspections and measurements and determines the status of the component.   

After the inspections, the component is sent to one of two places. 

1. If the material passes the Incoming Inspection, the material is logged into inventory on our ERP system, the material is moved either to a stock location, or a cell location depending on the material.  The ERP system determines where to store the material.
2. If the material does not pass the Incoming Inspection, the material is logged into Purchased Rejects in our ERP system and moved to Purchase Rejection quarantine for return to the supplier.  This action triggers our QMS system to track the issues noted and drive the disposition and correction of the material. 

The above description oversimplifies the process a bit.  All our suppliers go through a vetting process where we gain experience with the supplier so we can trust their processes for manufacturing and shipping material to Product Resources.  When a supplier is new, they are probationary, and we have a tighter inspection process for both COTS and custom material.  As the supplier hits delivery and quality targets, they can be promoted to “Approved”.  As the new parts are introduced or part designs change, even Approved suppliers have material inspected closer until we are convinced they have the process under control.  We work closely with our suppliers, some of whom we have been working with for 3 decades, and we consider them a valuable part of the Product Resources team and one of the secrets to our success.