Supplier Qualification and Engagement: Exploring Current Practices, Challenges, and Opportunities

The supplier qualification process systematically evaluates and selects competent suppliers to meet project goals and objectives, minimize risks, enhance collaboration, and create an innovative environment among project stakeholders. RT-413 and a research team from the University of Colorado Boulder studied the current supplier qualification process in the capital project industry, focusing on major materials and equipment by collecting data from academic literature, RT-413 discussions, a survey, a three-round Delphi process, and a focus group to characterize the state of the practice of supplier qualification in the capital projects industry, define the industry’s desired future state for supplier qualification and engagement by identifying factors, practices, and future perspectives, and understand factors related to risk, innovation, and collaboration. The study provides insight into how the capital projects industry currently performs supplier qualification and seeks to enhance supply chain performance by creating strategic relationships between companies and their suppliers. This study identified possible future research directions, such as determining the association between supplier qualification and engagement practices and the necessity of developing a playbook for supplier qualification and engagement.