When on holiday recently I spent time with a friend of mine who has his own business consisting of 2 people. He was completing supplier assessment forms into the evening, covering quality systems, training and Health and Safety.
I appreciate that it is important to learn whether your new supplier is suitable but in my experience the forms are not used for this purpose rather they are used to show that something has been done to initially assess suppliers. I often find that companies get their suppliers to complete a one size fits all form and then they do nothing with the information supplied except file it away.
I do think that Supplier Assessment forms can be compiled to provide companies with vital useful information but the type of organisation and size should have a bearing on what you need to know. For instance does my friend’s company have to have a training policy asking questions about development of personnel/appraisals when him and his colleague are being employed for their expertise and knowledge alone?
Consider the size of the organisation that the questions are being asked of and the type of work being performed then make the questions pertinent rather than one size fits all.