Free Supplier Corrective Action Request Template

Step 1 — Identify the supplier, part, lot, and order clearly

Start with the supplier name, supplier site, contact, part number, revision, PO, shipment reference, supplier lot, batch, serial, heat, or date code.

If the request does not identify the part, revision, PO, shipment, and supplier lot, the supplier cannot reliably isolate the affected material or check the extent of condition.

Step 2 — State the requirement not met and the actual condition found

Record the requirement first. Then record what was actually found.

Use drawing numbers, specification revisions, inspection plans, certificates, PO requirements, measurements, counts, photos, samples, or inspection results where possible.

This gives the supplier a factual problem statement tied to the requirement, actual condition, and available evidence.

Step 3 — Record affected and suspect quantity

Separate the quantity found defective from the quantity that might be affected.

Useful fields include:

• quantity received;
• quantity inspected;
• quantity affected;
• quantity suspect;
• quantity rejected;
• quantity returned;
• quantity replaced or credited;
• clean point or last known good lot.

If receiving inspection found 27 damaged brackets in a shipment of 240, record 27 as affected and 240 as suspect until the sort and extent-of-condition review are complete. Ask the supplier to check supplier stock, WIP, in-transit material, previous shipments, and similar rack use.

Step 4 — Request containment before waiting for full cause analysis

Containment controls risk now. It is not the same as corrective action.

Ask the supplier to confirm what they stopped, quarantined, sorted, inspected, or protected. Record replacement, rework, return, scrap, or release separately as correction or disposition.

The containment response should include affected locations, suspect product, in-transit product, supplier stock, product already shipped, quantities checked, clean point, owner, date, and evidence.

Step 5 — Ask for occurrence cause and escape or detection weakness

A supplier response should usually answer two different questions:

1. 1.Why did the nonconformance happen?
2. 2.Why was it not detected before shipment or use?

Those are not always the same cause.

For this example, EVD-118-04 packaging/rack photos and EVD-118-05 supplier response supported the occurrence cause: Northline Coatings used a temporary rack spacer that was not covered by PKG-NC-14 Rev A, allowing BRK-2214 brackets to rub during shipment. EVD-118-05 supported the escape weakness: the supplier final packing check did not include inspection under the temporary spacer contact points.

Step 6 — Require corrective actions with owners, dates, and evidence

Corrective actions should address the evidence-supported occurrence cause, escape weakness, or both—not just the affected shipment.

Each action should include:

• action ID;
• corrective action;
• whether it addresses occurrence, escape, or both;
• owner;
• due date;
• status;
• evidence required;
• completion date;
• evidence reference.

Step 7 — Review supplier evidence before accepting the response

Do not close a SCAR because the supplier says the action is complete.

Review objective evidence such as:

• inspection results;
• photos;
• retained samples;
• supplier response with referenced records or attachments;
• setup records;
• revised work instructions;
• revised checklists;
• control plan updates;
• training records;
• audit results;
• calibration records;
• first-off inspection records;
• next-shipment inspection results.

Step 8 — Check effectiveness before final closure

Verification checks that the action was completed. Effectiveness checks whether the action worked.

Verification may include first-shipment inspection. Effectiveness should use a risk-based review window, such as multiple subsequent receipts, a defined production quantity, receiving-inspection trend review, supplier-audit follow-up, or customer-return monitoring.

Action completed is not the same as action effective.