What is a supplier scorecard and what metrics are common?

• A. Only on-time delivery is measured.
• B. Only price and quality.
• C. Only responsiveness.
• D. Metrics include on-time delivery, quality, price, responsiveness, and supplier flexibility.

Answer: (D)

A supplier scorecard is a management tool that aggregates multiple performance metrics for each supplier so you can assess reliability, cost, and responsiveness over time and drive improvement. The most common metrics cover on-time delivery (whether goods arrive when promised), quality (defect rates and conformance to specs), price (cost competitiveness and total cost of ownership), responsiveness (how quickly the supplier replies, processes changes, and resolves problems), and supplier flexibility (ability to scale volumes, handle changes in requirements, or offer alternative configurations). Together these give a holistic view of a supplier's performance and potential. The scorecard typically assigns targets, weights, and scores to each metric, producing an overall rating that supports decisions like supplier selection, performance reviews, and development plans. While some measures focus on just one area, relying on only one metric would miss important aspects of performance, and others may include metrics beyond the five listed, such as innovation, risk, sustainability, or lead-time variability, depending on organizational priorities.