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Supplier corrective action request (SCAR) form

A supplier corrective action request (SCAR) is a formal request from a customer to a supplier to contain a problem with the parts or material the supplier delivered, find its root cause and fix it so it does not come back. In quality, a SCAR is the supplier version of a corrective action request (CAR): your quality team writes the problem and checks the answer, and the supplier does the investigation and the fix in its own process. This free SCAR template is a 4-page PDF. Page 1 is filled in by the customer: the supplier and part, where the problem was found, the problem against the requirement with evidence, the containment asked for, and the date each part of the response is due. Pages 2 and 3 are the supplier's answer in 8D-style sections, from the team and containment to the root cause of why it was made and why it was not caught, the corrective actions, proof they work and closure, followed by the customer's verification and sign-off. Page 4 is the same form filled in for zinc plating that came in too thin. For a problem in your own plant, use the corrective action request form instead.

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Page 1 of the supplier corrective action request formFields for the SCAR number, supplier, part and quantities, tick boxes for where it was found and repeat problems, a large box for the problem description, the containment requested, and a table of response due dates.
Supplier and part detailsProblem with evidenceContainment requestedResponse due datesD1 to D8 supplier responseOccurrence and escape root causeCustomer verification and closureFilled-in example
Filled-in Supplier corrective action request (SCAR) form: zinc plating too thin on a steel bracket
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 4 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a SCAR

  • When parts from a supplier fail a requirement at receiving, in your process or at your customer, and you need the cause found, not only the parts replaced.
  • For a repeat problem from the same supplier, or one serious enough to need a formal root cause: safety, fit and function, or a large share of a lot.
  • When you need the supplier to sort stock at their site, in transit and at yours by a set date.
  • To keep a record of supplier problems and response times for supplier reviews and the supplier scorecard.
  • Not for every reject: a one-off with an obvious cause can go back with a note on the return. Keep SCARs for problems that need the supplier to change something.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Describe the problem with evidence

    The requirement with its drawing, revision and limit, what was found against it, how many out of how many checked, and how it was found. Attach the readings, photos, sample parts and your NCR number.
  2. 2

    Ask for containment by a date

    Tick what you need: sorting at their site, in transit or at yours, replacement parts, and the next shipments marked as checked. Ask which lot is the first known good one.
  3. 3

    Set the response dates

    A date for containment, one for the root cause and planned actions, and one for actions done and verified. Use the dates in your supplier quality manual or purchase terms.
  4. 4

    The supplier investigates

    Team, problem in their words, containment with quantities sorted and found bad, and the root cause of both the occurrence and the escape, each confirmed with data.
  5. 5

    The supplier fixes and proves it

    One corrective action for each confirmed cause, with an owner and a date, evidence that it works, and the PFMEA, control plan, instructions and similar lines updated.
  6. 6

    Verify and close

    Check the next lots at receiving or audit the supplier, accept the response or send it back, and close only when the problem has not come back.

The SCAR process

The SCAR process and its response clock

Each stage has its own due date, so a late root cause shows up at day 10 instead of at the end. The days shown are the ones in the worked example below and are illustrative: your supplier quality manual or purchase terms set the real ones.

  1. Day 0Issue the SCARProblem against the requirement, evidence, containment asked for, and a due date for each stage.
  2. By day 2ContainmentEvery suspect lot sorted, at the supplier, in transit and at your site. The first good lot named.
  3. By day 10Root cause and planWhy it was made and why it was not caught, each confirmed with data, and an action for each.
  4. By day 30Actions doneEvidence each action works. PFMEA, control plan, instructions and similar lines updated.
  5. Next lotsVerify and closeCheck the next lots at receiving. Close when the problem has not come back, or send it back.

SCAR vs CAR vs 8D

SCAR vs CAR vs 8D vs CAPA: which document does which job

These five get mixed up because they share steps. The difference is who owns the cause and what the document is for. A serious NCR on bought-in parts opens a SCAR; the supplier often answers it as an 8D; and the SCAR is tracked in your CAPA log with your own corrective actions.

  • SCAR

    What it is
    A corrective action request sent to a supplier about parts, material or a service they provided. The customer writes the problem and the due dates and verifies the answer.
    Who does the work
    The supplier finds and fixes the cause in its process. Your supplier quality engineer verifies and closes it.
    Use it when
    Bought-in parts fail a requirement and the cause is at the supplier.
  • CAR

    What it is
    A corrective action request raised inside your own company, after an NCR, an audit finding or a customer complaint.
    Who does the work
    The department that owns the process, such as a line, the paint shop or maintenance.
    Use it when
    The cause is in your own plant.
  • 8D report

    What it is
    A problem-solving method and report in eight disciplines, from the team (D1) to closure (D8), first published by Ford in 1987. Not a request: a way to answer one.
    Who does the work
    A cross-functional team where the cause is: the supplier for a SCAR, your plant for a customer complaint.
    Use it when
    A customer asks for one, or the problem is serious, repeating or crosses departments.
  • CAPA

    What it is
    The corrective and preventive action system that holds every CAR and SCAR, its actions and the check that they worked. ISO 9001:2015 covers corrective action in clause 10.2.
    Who does the work
    Quality runs the system and the log; action owners do the work.
    Use it when
    You need one list of every open corrective action, its age and status.
  • NCR

    What it is
    The record that a part or material did not meet its requirement, and what was done with it: scrap, rework, use as is or return.
    Who does the work
    Whoever finds it, then quality or the review board decides what happens to the parts.
    Use it when
    Every nonconforming lot. A serious or repeat NCR on supplier parts leads to a SCAR.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

A SCAR for zinc plating on a steel bracket, the same one filled in on page 4 of the PDF (illustrative). Day 0 is the day the SCAR was issued; the dates asked for were containment by day 2, root cause and plan by day 10, actions done by day 30.

The example lot against the drawing

  1. Lot 0931: thinnest readings5 to 6 µmbelow 8 to 12
  2. Lots 0934 to 0938: lowest reading9.2 µmin 8 to 12
  • Below 8 µm: 30 brackets measured at receiving, lot 0931
  • In specification: 20 brackets measured at receiving, lot 0931
  • Below 8 µm: 2600 brackets sorted in the suspect lots 0931 to 0933
  • In specification: 1900 brackets sorted in the suspect lots 0931 to 0933

Zinc plating required 8 to 12 microns. 30 of 50 brackets from lot 0931 measured 5 to 6 microns. Sorting the suspect lots 0931 to 0933 found 2,600 of 4,500 below 8 microns. After the fix, the lowest of 250 readings on lots 0934 to 0938 was 9.2 microns.

The receiving sample said 60% bad; sorting the three suspect lots found 57.8%. The supplier's answer names both causes: a wrong meter shunt on the tank 3 rectifier (occurrence) and a thickness check that never sampled tank 3 (escape).
  • Problem: drawing 2217 rev B asks for zinc plating 8 to 12 microns. At receiving, 30 of 50 brackets measured from lot 0931 (60%) read 5 to 6 microns. The lot of 2,000 was quarantined and an NCR raised; readings, photos and 5 sample parts went with the SCAR.
  • Containment, confirmed on day 1: 4,500 brackets in the three suspect lots sorted with a coating thickness gauge, 2,600 below 8 microns (57.8%): 1,150 of 2,000 at our receiving, 840 of 1,500 in transit and 610 of 1,000 at the supplier. Lot 0930, plated before the repair, was the comparison: 400 checked, none below.
  • Occurrence cause: after a repair, the tank 3 rectifier was fitted with a meter shunt of the wrong rating, so its display showed about twice the real current and the brackets were plated at about half current. Confirmed: a reference meter read 280 A against 540 A on the display, and test panels came out at 5.4 microns as found and 10.3 microns after the right shunt was fitted.
  • Escape cause: the once-a-shift thickness check took its part from tank 2, so nothing plated in tank 3 was measured. System cause: the repair procedure had no output check before plating restarted.
  • Actions, all done by day 23: the right shunt fitted on day 3 (lot 0934 is the first good lot), 5 parts from every load in every tank measured from day 8, tanks 1 and 2 checked on day 11 (both within 2%), a reference meter check added to the repair procedure on day 15, and the PFMEA, control plan and training done on day 23. The supplier's evidence: 20 loads, 100 readings, all 9.0 to 11.4 microns.

Verification: lots 0934 to 0938 were measured at receiving, 50 brackets each, 250 readings with none below 8 microns (9.2 to 11.6). The SCAR closed on day 49. The supplier's scorecard shows the root cause and plan in 9 days against 10 asked and the actions done in 23 days against 30.

Common mistakes

  • No evidence

    A SCAR without the requirement, the readings and photos invites an argument instead of an investigation.

  • No dates

    Set a date for containment and for each part of the response, and chase them.

  • Only one cause

    Ask why it was made and why the supplier's checks missed it. A response that fixes the occurrence but not the escape lets the next problem through the same gap.

  • No clean point

    Ask which lot is the first known good one and how it is marked, so receiving knows when to stop sorting.

  • Accepting "operator error"

    Send back a response that blames a person without saying why the process let it happen and why it was not caught.

  • Closing on the paperwork

    Close only after the next lots show the problem has gone, not on the day the supplier says the actions are done.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite, when an inspector flags a defect the batch is quarantined and a SCAR with photos goes to Quality and Procurement, and the SCAR's lifecycle, including the days the supplier took to respond, feeds the supplier's scorecard.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Supplier corrective action request (SCAR) form: common questions

  1. SCAR stands for supplier corrective action request (some companies say supplier corrective action report). It is the formal request a customer's quality team sends when a supplier's parts or material fail a requirement, asking the supplier to contain the problem, find the root cause, fix it and send evidence that the fix works.

  2. A CAR is raised inside your own company because the cause is in your process. A SCAR goes to a supplier because the cause is in theirs: they investigate and fix it, and you verify their answer before you close it. Both go in the same CAPA log.

  3. When a supplier's parts fail a requirement and you need the cause removed, not only the parts replaced: a repeat problem, a problem that reached your line or your customer, a safety or fit and function problem, or a large share of a lot bad. A one-off with an obvious cause can usually go back with a note on the return.

  4. There is no standard time; your supplier quality manual or purchase terms set it. The example on this page asks for containment in 2 days, the root cause and planned actions in 10 days and the actions done in 30, and closes after five good lots. Agree your dates with suppliers before a problem happens.

  5. No. The SCAR is the request and the record of the problem; an 8D is one method the supplier can use to answer it. Many customers ask for the answer in 8D form, which is why pages 2 and 3 of this template follow the D1 to D8 sections.

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