What a vendor scorecard should actually score

On-time-in-full is only as good as the clock you chose. Promised week, dock slot, and “left the supplier yard” are three different arguments. Pick the clock the warehouse already uses in the 7 a.m. huddle, then write the SLA version beside it if they differ. A single blended percentage makes the supplier meeting theatrical.

Quality rejects need a reason code and, where possible, a photo. Crushed in your yard is not a supplier fail. A short-ship that accounts payable never saw is not a quality fail. Credit notes help; they are not the whole story if the warehouse writes off quietly.

Invoice accuracy belongs to AP: duplicate invoices, wrong VAT, quantities that never matched the GRN. Category managers often skip this because it lives in a different system. The supplier still feels it as delayed payment and ill will.

Complaint logs are only usable if someone files them. If the log is empty, the card should say “not recorded”, not “excellent”. Empty cells keep the next quarter honest.

Score six to twelve names, not fifty. A card nobody reads in the meeting is decoration. Rehearse with the category owner so a contested reject is marked contested before the supplier sits down.