Clause 8.4 Control of External Providers 

How to control externally provided processes, products and services?

ISO 9001:2015 Clause 8.4 is titled Control of externally provided processes, poducts and services. “Control of externally providers” translates to control of your suppliers. This includes purchasing and receiving activities; communicating the necessary information on your purchase order and verifying the products or services received match up with what was purchased (i.e. incoming inspection). The extent of control includes whatever is necessary to ensure the products or services provided conform to requirements.

Examples of controls to place on suppliers:

• Incoming inspection
• Supplier audits
• First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs)
• Supplier performance metrics (scorecard)
• Site visits

Your organization must also evaluate supplier performance and define the criteria for selecting suppliers. This information needs to be documented as well as any activities resulting from your evaluations. For example, if 99% on-time-delivery is a criteria for supplier selection and one of your suppliers is performing at 80% then you would need to take action to address this such as selecting a new supplier or issuing a supplier corrective action to improve on-time-delivery. Other criteria for supplier selection can include requirements for price, ISO certification, or results of a supplier audit.

Our “Controlling of External Providers” procedure included with our All in One Certification Package contains all the forms needed to meet these requirements. This procedure can also be purchased as part of our Procedures Package or individually.