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Supplier Risk Assessment Questionnaire

Supplier risk is rarely one big event; it is a combination of single sourcing, weak finances, quality drift and geography. This questionnaire scores ten dimensions quickly so buyers and supplier quality teams can decide which suppliers need mitigation first.

0 of 10 answered0%

1. How many qualified sources do you have for the item or commodity?

Qualified means approved and able to ship within your normal lead time.

2. How much of the supplier's revenue do you represent?

3. What is the supplier's financial health?

Use a credit report, financial statements or payment behavior as evidence.

4. How has quality performed over the last 12 months?

5. How reliable is delivery?

6. How exposed is the supplier's location to disruption?

Consider natural hazards, political risk, port or border dependence and single-site production.

7. How concentrated is the supplier's own supply of critical raw material or components?

8. Does the supplier have a tested business continuity plan?

9. How easily could you move the work to another source?

Consider tooling ownership, approvals, qualification time and drawings.

10. How would you rate compliance exposure (sanctions, export controls, ESG, regulations)?

How to use the questionnaire

Answer for one supplier and one commodity at a time, since a supplier can be low risk for catalog items and high risk for a single-sourced custom part. Base answers on evidence such as delivery data, audit reports and credit checks, not impressions. Run it across your top suppliers by spend and by criticality, then rank the results to build a mitigation list.

The method behind the score

Each question scores 0 to 3 and the total is converted to a percentage of the maximum, then mapped to a band. Higher scores mean lower risk. The ten dimensions cover supply base, financial health, quality, delivery, location, sub-tier exposure, continuity, switching cost and compliance. This is a screening tool, not a full enterprise risk model: it ranks attention, it does not predict failures.

Impact: how bad would a disruption be for you
Likelihood: how probable is a disruption
Detectability: how early would you notice a problem
Recoverability: how quickly could you switch source

Reading the result and common mistakes

Look at individual low answers as well as the band. A supplier with an overall moderate score but a zero on single source and a zero on switching time is still a serious exposure. Do not equate a small supplier with high risk or a large one with low risk. Also avoid one-off exercises: set a refresh schedule and update the assessment after incidents, acquisitions or capacity changes.

Using ERP data

Much of the evidence already exists in your ERP: on-time delivery from receipts, rejects from inspection, spend share and number of approved sources per item. Pull those numbers instead of guessing. In SAP, Oracle, SyteLine, Epicor or Dynamics, a simple report of items with only one active vendor is a good first risk list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a supplier risk assessment?

It is a structured review of how likely a supplier is to disrupt your operations and how severe the impact would be. It typically covers financial, operational, quality, geographic, compliance and sourcing risks, ending with a rating and a mitigation plan.

How often should I reassess supplier risk?

Critical suppliers are often reassessed at least annually and after major events like acquisitions, plant moves, financial warnings or serious quality escapes. Lower risk suppliers can be reviewed every two years or by exception.

What is the biggest supplier risk in manufacturing?

Single sourcing of a critical item with high switching cost is usually the largest exposure, because any disruption has no quick alternative. Combine it with financial weakness or a single site and the risk compounds.

Is this a replacement for a full supply chain risk program?

No. It is a quick screening tool that ranks suppliers for attention. A full program adds continuous monitoring, sub-tier mapping, scenario planning and formal governance, often with commercial risk data services.

If you want single-source items, delivery trends and reject rates pulled from your ERP into a standing risk view, Netray can build that on your own data.

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