# Grades, Escalation and Use of the Scorecard

## Grade -> action

| Grade | Score | Status | Actions |
|-------|-------|--------|---------|
| A | >= 90 | Preferred | Eligible for new business; reduced incoming inspection / skip-lot |
| B | 80-89 | Approved | Normal monitoring; address any KPI below target |
| C | 70-79 | Conditional | Improvement plan within 30 days; monthly review; normal or tightened inspection |
| D | < 70 | Probation | SCAR, supplier development plan, tightened or 100% inspection, new-business hold, escalation meeting |

## Escalation ladder (automotive practice)

1. SCAR and 8D for each significant incident.
2. Executive escalation meeting with the supplier's management.
3. Controlled shipping level 1 (supplier sorts at its site with its own people).
4. Controlled shipping level 2 (third-party sorting at the supplier, paid by the supplier).
5. New-business hold and notification to the certification body (IATF suppliers).
6. Resourcing / phase-out.

## Running the scorecard

- Publish monthly or quarterly; send each supplier its own card with definitions and the raw data.
- Review the bottom 10% and the biggest decliners at the supplier quality meeting.
- Link grades to inspection levels (incoming-inspection-plan-writer), development plans and sourcing decisions.
- Re-evaluate suppliers at least yearly using scorecard history (ISO 9001 8.4.1).

## Avoiding distortion

- Score the supplier on supplier-caused issues only; record your own errors (wrong drawing sent) separately.
- Do not let a clean quarter hide a safety incident: severity overrides the score.
- Audit the data: rejected quantities without NCRs, or deliveries without dates, bias the card.