Many user departments continue to fail procurement by submitting poorly written specifications. Without properly defined specifications, even the best procurement strategies can lose direction.
The degree to which product specifications are open and unrestrictive will directly have an impact on the extent of the competition from participating bidders. The precision of stipulated expectations plays a pivotal role in giving suppliers guidance on what is required. The composition of the specification can influence, intended or otherwise, the outcome of the competitive bidding process. They will ensure all parties involved in the business transactions have a shared understanding of deliverables, timelines and quality benchmarks. But specifications should not be in any way restrictive or swayed towards a specific commodity or vendor.
Specifications should ideally give ready answers to what “the product is expected to accomplish how it is going to accomplish it and how success will be measured.” There is need to stick to clear and concise language to make it easier for vendors to understand what is required.
Specifications are relied upon to provide essential information about a product’s physical and technical aspects, such as its size, weight, materials used, colour, performance standards, safety requirements, model and other pertinent details that may be necessary to define its characteristics. They should overly focus on prioritising features based on their importance and impact to the organisation. Specifications required should be categorised as must haves or as should haves or as nice to have product features. Specifications should ordinarily provide a detailed description of the product, including its composition, dimensions, raw materials utilised, processes employed and quality standards to be maintained. Product specifications can also include information about warranty and support services.
This will ensure consumers have a clear understanding of what to expect in terms of after sales support.
Specifications will give your business the opportunity to highlight distinctive features, helping the organisation’s product to stand out in a highly competitive business environment. Product descriptions should not leave suppliers wrestling with ambiguity and uncertainty. They should specify the quality and legal standards that must be achieved and the service levels that should be maintained throughout the supply chain process. Specifications should be able to provide clarity to participating bidders about what is expected of them, thereby directly impacting the quality and suitability of received bid proposals. This will provide the necessary safety belt to maintain that required balance in the competitive bidding processes. Clearly defined specifications will therefore provide concise and consistent reference point for all supply chain partners, promoting a shared understanding of the product’s requirements.
As the product goes through its evolutionary process, there are product changes and formulations that may occur. There is need for proper specification management that will assist in ensuring changes, if any, are well documented, communicated and reviewed, preventing unintended consequences and maintaining product consistency.
With the reliance on clearly spelt out specifications, organisations will avoid unnecessary iterations and rework in the production system. Specifications will therefore crucially assist in streamlining the development process, allowing organisations to introduce unique products to market much faster, keeping the wheels in motion. In addition to that they will assist in the identification of cost effective alternatives for raw materials and ingredients without necessarily compromising the quality of the product. There is need to design specifications that will give guidance to the design team in creating a visually appealing and user friendly product, eliminating unnecessary features and frills.
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Specifications are also highly critical for those organisations that operate in highly technical industry verticals such as pharmaceuticals and consumer goods industries where they are obligated to adhere to numerous regulations and standards imposed by authorities and industry bodies. The production of carefully engineered technical products in such industries as the medical sector will require zero margins for errors. Organisations will therefore rely on specifications to ensure they are compliant to regulations. Specifications will stand as a pivotal factor in ensuring the sustenance of unparalleled quality, product or process consistency and safety across diverse product offerings.
The meticulous documentation of requirements will serve as a blueprint for achieving product uniformity and safeguarding quality integrity throughout the manufacturing process. It will assist in defining what success looks like.
It has been proven over the years quality cannot be inspected into a product. It is generally agreed quality at source is central to the final product that will eventually hit the market. It is often said, garbage in, garbage out. This adage is so much of a reality when it comes to the impact of specifications when planning for the production of goods. Supplier specifications are a crucial aspect of quality assurance and risk management. Specifications can be useful by quality control teams when they conduct tests and inspections to verify that the product meets the required standards as specified on the data sheet.
The maintenance and preservation of quality standards will require production teams to carry out significant legwork in advance of production to ensure things are right from the onset. Product specifications will be a reference point for quality assessment. Consistency in product quality is driven by the need to adhere to well defined and well managed specifications, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. They will assist in defining the consistency required in product quality, protecting consumers from potentially hazardous products. They will ensure products comply with stringent standards of safety, quality, and composition. By adhering to strict specifications, organisations will be in a position to minimise customer complaints and product recalls.
Specifications are also known for facilitating communication between supply chain professionals and other departments. Specifications are generally used as a common language and reference point for all teams to foster collaboration and effective communication among diverse teams. They will assist organisations in the creation of a single source of truth. Creating specifications can assist in keeping all supply chain partners aligned towards a common goal. The clarity provided by well-defined specifications will lead to better communication, resulting in a high quality product. The ability to create and sustain fruitful collaboration gives companies a significant competitive leg up in an ultra-connected and competitive trading landscape.
Specifications also play a vital role in risk assessment and management. They will assist in the identification of potential hazards, allowing organisations to implement appropriate risk mitigation strategies. Failing to do so would result in the organisation bearing the burden of these risks. They will therefore mitigate the risks of receiving subpar or unsuitable products.
As organisations operate in a crowded marketplace, having unique product specifications can help business leaders set up product offerings that stand apart from competitors. This will ensure product offerings go above and beyond the reach of competitors. Well-spelt out specifications will allow the organisation to highlight distinct features and benefits of their product offerings. Product specifications provide critical information that will help consumers to make product comparison and choose those that are appealing to their specific requirements. It will allow consumers to make informed decisions prior to purchase. Product specifications stand as a cornerstone of operational excellence, thereby promoting consumer trust and loyalty.
Specifications have often been used in post-production processes to resolve problems that could have occurred during the manufacturing process. Without the use of clearly defined specifications, you could be in for a world of hurt.
Charles Lovemore Nyika is a Supply Chain Practitioner based in Harare, Zimbabwe. For views and comments, he can be contacted at [email protected]
