Regardless of the supplier selection that a principal Investigator may make in the context of a project for which he/she is responsible, and which is explained in previous sections of this procedure, VHIO establishes a supplier evaluation system on an annual basis.

The criteria adopted by VHIO for the acceptance of a supplier are:

• Degree of compliance with delivery deadlines.
• Acceptance of VHIO’s conditions for receiving orders.
• Adaptation of the supplier’s product catalogue to the VHIO standard.
• Having made at least one purchase from the supplier in a period not exceeding one year. If this requirement is not met, the IQAS system removes the supplier from the database.
• Not having detected any quality deficiencies in the products/services purchased from the supplier, nor any applicable legal non-compliance.
• Initial review of satisfactory products/services at the time of delivery.

With regard to the quality criteria required of suppliers, these can be:

• Quality of the products: degree of adequacy of the characteristics and technical specifications to the requirements provided by VHIO.
• Warranty periods.
• User training, if appropriate.
• Existence and level of after-sales service.
• Existence and level of customer service.
• Legal/regulatory quality compliance: possessing applicable accreditations, certifications, CE marking, etc.

When selecting a supplier, the most important point is the quality of the items ordered. For this purpose, if necessary, the supplier’s proposal will be subjected to a detailed comparative study of the technical characteristics, sample analysis, etc.

This will be the priority criterion when what is most important is a minimum level of quality required, from the researcher’s point of view (compliance with certain technical characteristics).

In the event that more than one supplier is available that meets the quality requirements, the most economical option will be chosen, provided that the researcher has no explicit preference for one of them as best suiting his/her needs.

In certain circumstances, the selection of a supplier may be based on quality criteria not closely related to the product, such as, for example, after-sales service, warranty periods, image of the product/supplier in the market, existence of customer services, etc.

Whenever possible, we try to ensure that orders for the same product are spread across more than one supplier. The reasons for this are:

• Firstly, to accommodate the preferences of different researchers.
• Secondly, to guarantee the supply in the event of failure by any of the suppliers, guaranteeing that the VHIO is not left without the supply, with the consequent economic and scientific damage that this could cause in the development of the research. The disadvantage of this strategy is that, by dividing the quantity needed among several suppliers, the wholesale discount is lower.

When preparing the Annual Quality Report, the VHIO quality manager collects information from the IQAS system on suppliers and the Excel of non-conformities in order to analyze the suitability of VHIO suppliers.