The 90-Day Check-In: Finding Out How a Programme Is Actually Going

The Problem: Feedback Arrives as a Complaint, Two Seasons Later

Suppliers hear about problems in the form of a claim, a cancelled order or silence. By then the cause is months old, the people involved may have changed, and the fix is reactive. The alternative is not a satisfaction survey; it is a short scheduled conversation, held at a moment when things can still be adjusted: about three months after the first delivery, and then once a year. The cost is one page and thirty minutes.

Products in this guide: INS Style Red Rim Dessert Plate · Ceramic Butter Dish with Cover and Knife Slot

Where This Fits in the Sourcing Chain

A check-in exists to feed the specification. Whatever it uncovers should end up as a change to a tolerance, a packing decision, a lead time or a claim — not as a note in someone's inbox. The spec freeze guide explains how artwork and packing files are locked between orders. Where the feedback concerns delivery or packing, it belongs to the logistics and packaging specification. The packaging guide explains how retail-ready and protective layers are specified together. The full chain follows the standard sourcing map. See the full ceramic sourcing process map.

What the 90-Day Check-In Asks

Four subjects, in this order, and each answer is a fact rather than an opinion.

Did it arrive as promised? On-time delivery against the agreed date, quantity accuracy, and condition on arrival. This is where a hidden packing problem surfaces before it repeats.

How is the product performing? Sell-through or usage, return or breakage rate, and any complaint the buyer's team has heard. Buyer-side observations are the only reliable source for this, which is why the question has to be asked rather than assumed.

How was the process? Sample timing, artwork approval, documentation, response speed. This is the section a supplier can act on immediately, and the one buyers find easiest to answer honestly.

What is coming next season? Volumes, dates, changes to the range. Early notice of a shift is worth more than any discount.

What to Measure, Consistently

Five figures, tracked the same way each time so that a trend is visible: on-time delivery, quantity accuracy, defect rate or claims, response time on enquiries, and reorder behaviour — whether the customer comes back for the same specification, which is the single best indicator of programme health.

The Annual Review

The annual conversation is longer and has four parts. Performance against the five measures, stated plainly. Open issues, with the actions agreed rather than the history recounted. The specification for the coming year, including any change and its consequences for price or lead time. And the volume conversation — a forecast or an annual commitment, which is where a buyer's own numbers earn better terms.

How to Ask So You Get Real Answers

Three practical rules. Keep it to one page — a long questionnaire produces short answers. Ask about facts, not satisfaction: "how many arrived damaged" is answerable; "are you happy" is not. Publish the actions in writing within a week, because a review that produces no visible change teaches the buyer that the conversation is theatre.

What It Turns Into

Four outcomes, all of them commercial. Specification updates based on real use. Packing changes discovered before the second shipment rather than after the third claim. A reorder forecast that makes production planning easier. And early warning — the customer who tells you in month three that a competitor has been sampling is a customer you can still retain, which is not true in month nine.

The Habit That Ties It Together

The habit is to schedule the conversation rather than wait for the complaint. Programs that do this fix problems while they are small — and keep the accounts that others lose without ever learning why.