Welcome to our guide to implementing customer requirements management with AmpliFlow as part of your ISO certification project.
This guide aims to help you get started with the use of our customer requirements management module and to ensure that the process is run smoothly and efficiently.
Basic understanding
Start by establishing an understanding of the area by reading this article:
What is customer requirements management?
What do we need to do?
Much of the work has already been prepared, thanks to the fact that we have provided you with examples of customer requirements relevant to the standards you are going to certify against.
What you need to do now is:
- Assign permissions to those who will work with the customer requirements register.
- Include relevant customer industries so that you can link them to generic requirements.
- Review the list and update the respective customer requirements so that the information in the different columns matches your business.
- Add customer requirements that you are missing.
- Update the information page in AmpliFlow describing how you work with customer requirements management and who is responsible and involved.
- Go through and check off the checkpoints (last step) in the checklist.
- If you are working with a consultant from AmpliFlow, let them know that the work is ready for review.
Tips for successful implementation
- Make sure everyone involved in customer requirements management understands what it means and why the work is being done.
- Keep in mind that the customer requirements listed are specific to your business and the industries in which you operate.
- Review contract appendices and terms from your largest customers. Skip pure commercial terms such as payment periods, but look for requirements for certifications, reporting, information security, environment, work environment, traceability or approvals that you need to show you manage.
- If the work is divided, be clear about the division of responsibilities.
- Set a clear schedule and book any check-in meetings now.
- Communicate the results to relevant internal teams and stakeholders.
Column descriptions
- Customer requirements: Describe the specific requirement that the customer places on your organization, e.g. ISO 45001 certification. If your customers have generic industry requirements for your products or services, you can also add them. More specific product and service requirements are often found in a product or service specification, or agreed in contracts and associated terms and conditions. If the customer requirement is also a statutory requirement, include it in the compliance matrix.
- Industries: Specify the industries for which the requirement is relevant, such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals or grocery trade. This makes it easier for salespeople to prepare for a meeting with a new customer in a specific industry and be able to answer questions about how you meet these industry requirements.
- Specific customers that require this: Name the customers who have this specific requirement. If the requirement is general for all customers, this can be left blank.
- Subject area: Select the area to which the requirement applies, such as quality, environment, occupational health and safety or information security. This facilitates categorization and prioritization of requirements.
- Geographically related: Indicate whether the requirement is specific to a particular geographical location, such as a region, country or union of countries, e.g. the EU. This is important if you operate in multiple markets with different expectations and customer requirements.
- Comments: Use this field to clarify or comment on the requirement if necessary. Here you can add additional information that may be relevant to understanding the requirement.
- Applicable to our organization?: Indicate whether the requirement is relevant to your business or not. Customers sometimes place requirements that are important to them on all suppliers, even when some suppliers cannot meet them. For example, salespeople benefit from knowing why you cannot meet the requirement so they can explain it to the customer.
- Summary of the requirement and/or motivation why it is not relevant to us: Summarize the requirement or explain why it is not relevant to your organization. This provides clarity and documentation on why you cannot meet certain requirements and makes it easy for, for example, a salesperson to explain to the customer why it is not relevant.
- Reference link: Add a link to additional information about the requirement, such as to a website or Wikipedia page with in-depth information or guidance on how to meet the requirements.
- Involved teams: Select the teams or departments that are or will be involved in fulfilling the requirement. This ensures that the right people are aware of and working towards meeting the requirements.
- Responsible: Indicate the person who is primarily responsible for the requirement. This clarifies the division of responsibilities and simplifies follow-up.
- Relevant to subprocesses: Indicate whether the requirement relates to specific sub-processes within your business. This helps identify where in the business the requirement needs to be addressed.
- Do we meet the requirement?: Mark whether you meet the requirement today or how far you have progressed toward meeting the requirement. This provides a quick overview of your current status in relation to customer requirements and can help, for example, a customer manager explain where you are in the process.
- Summary of how we meet the requirement: Describe how you handle or meet this customer requirement. This may include processes, procedures, or actions that you have implemented.
- Link to in-depth information: Add any links to additional documentation or internal resources that provide more detailed information on how to handle the requirement.
- Our Knowledge Guru: Indicate the contact person or expert within the organization who knows the most about this requirement. This helps in case of questions or need for in-depth knowledge.
By following this guide, we hope you will have a smooth and efficient experience with customer requirements management in AmpliFlow. If you have any questions or need further support, please do not hesitate to contact our support.
Contact:
- Website: www.ampliflow.com/support
- E-mail: support@ampliflow.se
