Supply Chain Co-Op

Supply Chain Internship Project Charter

Monday June 1 through Friday July 31 (9 Weeks)

Objectives:

1) Primary Design pilot and implement a vendor scorecard system and process to evaluate supplier performance and support strategic sourcing decisions.

2) Secondary Develop Supplier Code of Conduct outlining expectations of suppliers engaging in business with Richards Industrials.

3) Tertiary Optimize the casting warehouse to reduce time transportation and touches needed as well as reduce square footage footprint. To be worked in conjunction with primary and secondary objectives. Portions are due every 2 weeks.

Schedule:

Week 1:
Welcome and orientation to Richards Industrials and our supply chain team. Meet key team members in procurement quality engineering and operations. Conduct secondary research on vendor scorecard best practices focusing on valve industry. Review how leading manufacturers evaluate suppliers for quality delivery cost compliance and technical capability. Draft a Future State Skeleton for the vendor scorecard outlining sections relevant to valve suppliers (e.g. material certifications on time delivery defect rates responsiveness regulatory compliance and innovation). Review the draft with your Sponsor for alignment and confirm any topics to exclude.

Week 2:
Assess the current state of supplier evaluation at Richards Industrials. Collect and review existing supplier data audit reports NCRs (Non Conformance Reports) delivery records and performance data. Compare these materials against your Future State Skeleton to identify gaps and improvement opportunities especially those unique to valve manufacturing (such as traceability documentation and regulatory compliance). Summarize findings and share with your Sponsor. Conduct interviews with your Sponsor and designated management personnel (procurement quality engineering and operations) to gather input on supplier evaluation criteria and performance metrics. Ask about critical supplier attributes for valves such as lead times technical support ability to meet custom specifications and responsiveness to corrective actions. Document feedback and prioritize metrics.

Create a Casting Master List including all casting Part #s Weight and 12 month usage. Identify Slow Moving (defined as castings with no usage in the last 12 consecutive months). Identify Slow Moving items that can be consolidated for square footage recovery.

Week 3:
Review your gap analysis and improvement opportunities with your Sponsor and stakeholders. Prioritize metrics most relevant to Richards Industrials business goals and customer requirements. Begin drafting the vendor scorecard template ensuring it captures key performance indicators for valve suppliers.

Recommended Vendor Scorecard Metrics:

• On Time Delivery (%)
• Quality Performance (PPM Parts Per Million Defective)
• Non Conformance Reports (NCRs) issued
• Responsiveness to Corrective Actions (average days to resolve)
• Material Certification Compliance
• Regulatory Compliance (ISO 9001 PED etc.)
• Cost Competitiveness
• Lead Time (average days from order to delivery)
• Innovation (new product introductions process improvements)
• Documentation Accuracy (packing slips certificates invoices)

Share the draft scorecard with your Sponsor management and if applicable external consultants or key supplier contacts for input. Revise the scorecard based on feedback ensuring it aligns with Richards Industrials operational needs and industry standards.

Week 4:
Finalize the vendor scorecard incorporating all feedback. Conduct a final review with your Sponsor and stakeholders. Define and document the process for updating supplier scorecards. Pilot the scorecard with critical valve suppliers using real performance data.

Design a new warehouse layout for castings optimization including visual management of casting family based on weight and velocity to reduce time transportation and touches. Utilize weight based zoning for items over 50 lbs. to be at floor level and top 40 usage/frequency items to be closest to machine lines.

Week 5:
Conduct interviews with internal stakeholdersincluding the Project Sponsor Quality Planning and Procurement teamsto gather expectations for supplier behavior and performance. Research industry best practices and benchmark standards to refine the scope and objectives of the Supplier Code of Conduct. Prepare a gap analysis comparing current practices to desired standards and ensure the recommendations align with the companys goals and values.

Week 6:
Draft a comprehensive document that defines overall expectations for all suppliers as well as detailed requirements and specifications tailored to each supplier type (e.g. service providers raw material suppliers etc.). Review the draft with key stakeholders and incorporate their feedback.

Coordinate and oversee movement of castings to new designation layout.

Week 7:
Pilot the Supplier Code of Conduct with critical suppliers and gather their feedback. Review the results with stakeholders and incorporate necessary revisions to produce the final version. Prepare a presentation for the Senior Leadership Team summarizing the scorecard and code of conduct describing changes made and highlighting any remaining open topics or recommendations for future improvement.

Week 8:
Deliver your final presentation to the Senior Leadership Team including recommendations for rollout of Supplier Scorecards and Code of Conduct to all supplier partners. Begin creating communication materials for rollout such as FAQs user guides and training resources for internal teams and suppliers.

Label warehouse aisles and slots for visual management and transition a Casting Storage Logic standard procedure to the Material Handling team.

Week 9:
Finalize the vendor scorecard and Code of Conduct and all communication materials. Hand over all project deliverables to your Sponsor for successful project close out. Provide a summary of lessons learned and recommendations for ongoing supplier evaluation improvements.

Sponsor: The Summer Intern will report directly to Sarah Durisseau Supply Chain Manager at Richards Industrials. Regular check ins will ensure progress aligns with project objectives.

Key Stakeholders: Jordan Bast (Company CEO) John Samoya (Company CFO) Matt Thomas (VP Operations) Cheryl Neiheisel (VP Human Resources) and more.

Learning/Development Opportunities:

Strategic Scorecard Development:

Gain hands on experience designing and implementing a supplier evaluation tool.

Learn to standardize metrics across multiple locations and supplier types.

Change Management and Communication:

Navigate the process of introducing new evaluation criteria and tools.

Develop clear and effective communication strategies for rollout.

Process improvement and optimization:

Identifying opportunities to improve existing supply chain processes

Supporting projects for continuous improvement such as reducing lead times or improving delivery accuracy

Assisting with documentation of best practices and standard operating procedures

Data Analysis and Compliance:

Understand how to align scorecards with company standards and compliance requirements.

Learn to identify risks and propose solutions.

Stakeholder Collaboration:

Work closely with supply chain procurement and operations teams to gather input and refine the scorecard.

Build communication strategies that ensure clarity and trust during rollout.

Project Management Skills:

Plan and execute a complex multi phase project with timelines.

Practice presenting findings and recommendations to leadership.

Through reporting outs midway and at the end of the semester the management team will be able to measure the success of the student and provide feedback to make the program successful for the student and the organization.

Richards Industrials firmly supports the principle and philosophy of equal opportunity for all individuals. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity age national origin disability or status as a protected veteran.