Customer Related Processes - Part II

Second instalment.  Here is the cut and paste (it is long, so persevere);

7.2.2 Review of requirements related to the product.  The Company will review the requirements related to the product.  This review is conducted prior to commitment to supply a product to the customer (eg. submission of tenders, acceptance of contracts or orders, acceptance of changes to contracts or orders) and ensures that a) product requirements are defined, b) contract or order requirements differing from those previously expressed are resolved, and c) the Company has the ability to meet the defined requirements.

Records of the results of the review and actions arising from the review shall be maintained.  Where the customer provides no documented statement of requirement, the customer requirements shall be confirmed by the Company before acceptance.  Where product requirements are changed, the Company shall ensure that relevant documents are amended and that relevant personnel are made aware of the changed requirements.

7.2.3 Customer communication.  The Company has determined and will implement effective arrangements for communicating with customers in relation to a) product information, b) enquiries, contracts or order handling, including amendments, and c) customer feedback, including customer complaints.

And on reflection the above is very prescriptive and self-evident.  A nice simple procedure should suffice addressing each of the above elements.  You don’t need a documented procedure but I would rather have one, especially around authority limits for go / no go tenders, quotes and proposals, and very much in particular concerning communications, escalations, feedback and complaints.  If you intend not to use a procedure, just make sure there are ample records to demonstrate your processes are robust and of course meet the requirements of the clauses above.