/vendor-assessment

name: vendor-assessment
description: >
  Classifies, scores, and evaluates vendors. Activate for: vendor assessment,
  classify vendor, vendor classification, Kraljic matrix, vendor tier,
  bottleneck vendor, strategic vendor, vendor review, supplier assessment,
  vendor onboarding, new vendor approval, vendor audit, annual vendor review,
  vendor scorecard, supplier evaluation, vendor qualification, approve vendor,
  vendor due diligence, vendor health check, vendor performance review,
  bottleneck supplier, vendor exit, risk profile of a vendor.
  USE THIS when the task is to CLASSIFY a vendor into a category (Strategic /
  Tactical / Commodity / Bottleneck), SCORE them across dimensions, or EVALUATE
  a vendor for onboarding/approval/exit.
  NOT for: ongoing risk signal monitoring or risk alerts (use supplier-risk),
  invoice reconciliation (use invoice-reconciliation), carrier performance
  review (use logistics-brief), spend category analysis (use spend-analysis).
license: Apache-2.0
metadata:
  author: Panaversity
  version: "1.0"
  plugin-commands: "/vendor-assess"
  mcp-integrations: "ERP, Web Search, Companies House, Creditsafe, QMS"

UNIVERSAL RULES (apply to every vendor task)

• NEVER classify a sole-source supplier as low risk based on spend alone --

always assess operational dependency separately from spend volume

• NEVER accept a vendor risk assessment that contains fabricated financial

data -- label all estimates and flag where primary data is unavailable

• NEVER recommend a vendor exit without a qualified alternative identified

or an explicit "no alternative -- managed risk" decision documented

• ALWAYS include specific recommended actions with deadlines in every output --

observations without actions are not acceptable

MANDATORY OUTPUT HEADER

Every output must begin with:

TASK:          [e.g. Vendor Assessment -- Acme Corp]
VENDOR TIER:   [Strategic / Tactical / Commodity / Bottleneck / Unclassified]
CONFIGURATION: [Loaded: supply-chain.local.md / Not configured]
DATA SOURCES:  [ERP / Web / Manual input]

ASSESSMENT WORKFLOW

Phase 1: Vendor Classification (Kraljic Matrix)

Before any assessment, classify the vendor:

| Question | Strategic | Tactical | Commodity | Bottleneck | | --------------------------- | ------------- | ----------- | ------------- | ------------- | | Are alternatives available? | No / very few | Yes -- 2-3 | Many | No / very few | | Annual spend? | High | Medium | Any | Low-Medium | | Impact if vendor fails? | Critical | Significant | Manageable | Critical | | Relationship depth? | Deep / long | Established | Transactional | Variable |

STRATEGIC (Tier 1): High spend AND high dependency. Single-source or near-sole-source. Review: quarterly + event-triggered. TACTICAL (Tier 2): Significant spend. Multiple alternatives available. Review: bi-annual + event-triggered. COMMODITY (Tier 3): Standard goods/services. Easy to switch. Review: annual. BOTTLENECK (Tier 4): LOW spend but HIGH dependency. MOST DANGEROUS -- most often neglected. Review: quarterly despite low spend.

CLASSIFICATION RULE: When assessing a vendor with low spend but sole-source dependency, ALWAYS classify as BOTTLENECK and flag as high-risk regardless of spend volume.

CLASSIFICATION DETERMINES:

• Assessment depth (number of dimensions assessed)
• Review frequency
• Risk threshold stringency
• Escalation level

Phase 2: Six-Dimension Assessment

DIMENSION 1: COMMERCIAL Contract status:

• Active contract: Yes/No; expiry date; auto-renewal clause?
• Notice period for non-renewal: documented?
• Pricing model: fixed / index-linked / open book / variable
• Payment terms: standard for sector/market?
• Volume commitments: minimum order quantities; penalty clauses?
• IP ownership: critical for manufactured-to-spec components

Flags: RED: No contract for spend > configured threshold RED: Auto-renewal without documented notice window reminder AMBER: Fixed price contract on commodity category (index exposure) AMBER: Volume commitment with penalty below minimum forecast volume

DIMENSION 2: OPERATIONAL Metrics from ERP (last 12 months):

• On-time delivery rate (OTD): calculate from GR dates vs. PO delivery dates
• Average lead time and variance (consistency matters as much as average)
• Quality rejection rate (from QMS or goods inward records)
• Capacity: can they scale with our growth? (ask directly)
• Business continuity: single site or multiple?

Flags: RED: OTD < configured threshold for tier (e.g. <90% for Strategic) RED: Quality rejection > configured threshold (e.g. >2% for direct materials) AMBER: OTD declining trend (even if above threshold -- trajectory matters) AMBER: Single production site with no documented BCP

DIMENSION 3: FINANCIAL For publicly listed vendors:

• Revenue trend (last 3 years): growing / stable / declining
• Profitability trend: EBIT margin trajectory
• Debt to equity ratio: deteriorating?
• Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): lengthening = cash pressure
• Analyst commentary (if listed): any concerns raised?

For private vendors:

• Companies House / SECP / equivalent filings (annual accounts)
• Credit rating from Creditsafe / D&B / Experian
• Request audited accounts for Strategic and Bottleneck vendors annually
• Trade references from other customers (for new vendors)

Flags: RED: Restructuring, administration, or insolvency proceedings RED: Zero financial visibility on Strategic or Bottleneck vendor AMBER: Revenue decline >15% year-on-year AMBER: Credit rating downgrade AMBER: EBIT margin below 3% (marginal viability risk)

DIMENSION 4: COMPLIANCE Certifications required (configure by category in local settings):

• Quality: ISO 9001 / sector-specific (IATF 16949 for automotive, etc.)
• Environmental: ISO 14001 (if required by your policy)
• Data: GDPR compliance + DPA for any data-sharing arrangement
• Moder