When buying materials and other items from outside sources, the best practice is to:

When buying materials and other items from outside sources, the best practice is to:

• A. Reduce the number of sources for a given item consistent with the law, quality, and scheduling production.
• B. Always choose the cheapest supplier
• C. Purchase as many as possible from new suppliers
• D. Buy only from a single vendor regardless of law/quality

Answer: (A)

The best practice is to maintain a focused, qualified supplier base by selecting a limited number of sources that meet legal requirements, quality standards, and production schedules. Keeping the supplier pool tight helps ensure materials consistently meet specifications, speeds up qualification and monitoring, and reduces variability and administrative burden. With a smaller, reliable set of suppliers, you can build stronger relationships, enforce performance metrics, and respond more predictably to supply needs, audits, and changes in demand. Choosing the cheapest supplier can sacrifice quality or compliance, and sourcing from many new suppliers increases the risk of inconsistent quality and longer lead times. Relying on a single vendor regardless of quality or law creates a single point of failure and can undermine regulatory and quality controls.

The best practice is to maintain a focused, qualified supplier base by selecting a limited number of sources that meet legal requirements, quality standards, and production schedules. Keeping the supplier pool tight helps ensure materials consistently meet specifications, speeds up qualification and monitoring, and reduces variability and administrative burden. With a smaller, reliable set of suppliers, you can build stronger relationships, enforce performance metrics, and respond more predictably to supply needs, audits, and changes in demand.

Choosing the cheapest supplier can sacrifice quality or compliance, and sourcing from many new suppliers increases the risk of inconsistent quality and longer lead times. Relying on a single vendor regardless of quality or law creates a single point of failure and can undermine regulatory and quality controls.