New: 8D report in the supplier portal
Until now a supplier complaint went like this: you create the 8D report, email the supplier, get Word files and photos back and type everything in yourself. Since 10 September the supplier works on the report directly in IMS-Audit Cloud – through the supplier portal, using the same restricted portal accounts you already use for actions.
The supplier works on the same report
The portal user entered as responsible sees their complaints as tiles on the portal dashboard and in the list “My complaints”. The detail page shows steps D1 to D7 as tabs: team, problem description, containment actions, root cause analysis with 5-Why, corrective and preventive actions, and documents. The supplier completes the released steps, uploads evidence and submits the report.
Header data, costs, D8, status, effectiveness and closure stay internal. Both sides work on the same report – there is no copy you would have to merge later. The finished 8D report is available to the supplier as a PDF.
You decide what the supplier may edit
Under Settings → “Portal: 8D report” you define which steps the supplier may maintain – as a company default and, where needed, overridden per site. Default: D1, D3 to D7 and documents released, D2 (problem description) locked, because it is written from your point of view.
Submit, review, return for rework
Once the supplier has submitted, the report is read-only for them. Internally the complaint shows the badge “From portal” (with a quick filter in the list), and the tracker receives a notification. If something is not right, you return the report for rework with a reason – the supplier sees the reason in the portal and submits again. Internally the complaint remains editable at all times.
The field “Statement by” on the complaint is now called “Tracker” and is available when creating a complaint. The roles are therefore the same as for actions: the responsible person works, the tracker monitors.
A dedicated address for portal users
Portal users of all companies now sign in at portal.ims-audit.de. The sign-in page there is titled “Supplier portal”, and welcome and password emails to portal users link directly to it. A regular application account is not signed in there but redirected with a note pointing to its company’s sign-in address.
Also for actions: more permissions for responsible persons
In parallel we extended the portal permissions for actions. Under Settings → “Portal: permissions for responsible persons” you decide whether the responsible person may maintain the planned end, priority, start date and title themselves – as a company default, per site or per finding type. Individual text fields can be hidden in the portal. For postponements there are two rules: a mandatory reason (recorded in the action’s history) and a limit in days from the date set by the auditor. Closing, discarding and effectiveness remain reserved for the auditor as before.
The 8D report in the portal is enabled per company on request – just get in touch. All further changes are listed in the change log, or see the portal live in an appointment.