Supply Chain Co-Op

RICHARDS INDUSTRIALS • Cincinnati, OH

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Supply Chain Internship Project Charter Monday June 1 through Friday July 31 (9 Weeks) Objectives: 1) Primary – Design, pilot, and implement a vendor scorecard system and process to evaluate supplier performance and support strategic sourcing decisions. 2) Secondary – Develop Supplier Code of Conduct outlining expectations of suppliers engaging in business with Richards Industrials. 3) Tertiary – Optimize the casting warehouse to reduce time, transportation and touches needed as well as reduce square footage footprint. To be worked in conjunction with primary and secondary objectives. Portions are due every 2 weeks. Schedule: Week 1: Welcome and orientation to Richards Industrials and our supply chain team. Meet key team members in procurement, quality, engineering, and operations. Conduct secondary research on vendor scorecard best practices, focusing on valve industry. Review how leading manufacturers evaluate suppliers for quality, delivery, cost, compliance, and technical capability. Draft a “Future State Skeleton” for the vendor scorecard, outlining sections relevant to valve suppliers (e.g., material certifications, on time delivery, defect rates, responsiveness, regulatory compliance, and innovation). Review the draft with your Sponsor for alignment and confirm any topics to exclude. Week 2: Assess the current state of supplier evaluation at Richards Industrials. Collect and review existing supplier data, audit reports, NCRs (Non Conformance Reports), delivery records, and performance data. Compare these materials against your Future State Skeleton to identify gaps and improvement opportunities, especially those unique to valve manufacturing (such as traceability, documentation, and regulatory compliance). Summarize findings and share with your Sponsor. Conduct interviews with your Sponsor and designated management personnel (procurement, quality, engineering, and operations) to gather input on supplier evaluation criteria and performance metrics. Ask about critical supplier attributes for valves, such as lead times, technical support, ability to meet custom specifications, and responsiveness to corrective actions. Document feedback and prioritize metrics. Create a "Casting Master List" including all casting Part #’s, Weight, and 12 month usage. Identify "Slow Moving" (defined as castings with no usage in the last 12 consecutive months). Identify “Slow Moving” items that can be consolidated for square footage recovery. Week 3: Review your gap analysis and improvement opportunities with your Sponsor and stakeholders. Prioritize metrics most relevant to Richards Industrials’ business goals and customer requirements. Begin drafting the vendor scorecard template, ensuring it captures key performance indicators for valve suppliers. Recommended Vendor Scorecard Metrics: On Time Delivery (%) Quality Performance (PPM – Parts Per Million Defective) Non Conformance Reports (NCRs) issued Responsiveness to Corrective Actions (average days to resolve) Material Certification Compliance Regulatory Compliance (ISO 9001, PED, etc.) Cost Competitiveness Lead Time (average days from order to delivery) Innovation (new product introductions, process improvements) Documentation Accuracy (packing slips, certificates, invoices) Share the draft scorecard with your Sponsor, management, and if applicable external consultants or key supplier contacts for input. Revise the scorecard based on feedback, ensuring it aligns with Richards Industrials’ operational needs and industry standards. Week 4: Finalize the vendor scorecard, incorporating all feedback. Conduct a final review with your Sponsor and stakeholders. Define and document the process for updating supplier scorecards. Pilot the scorecard with critical valve suppliers, using real performance data. Design a new warehouse layout for castings optimization including visual management of casting family based on weight and velocity to reduce time, transportation and touches. Utilize weight based zoning for items over 50 lbs. to be at floor level and top 40 usage/frequency items to be closest to machine lines. Week 5: Conduct interviews with internal stakeholders—including the Project Sponsor, Quality, Planning, and Procurement teams—to gather expectations for supplier behavior and performance. Research industry best practices and benchmark standards to refine the scope and objectives of the Supplier Code of Conduct. Prepare a gap analysis comparing current practices to desired standards and ensure the recommendations align with the company’s goals and values. Week 6: Draft a comprehensive document that defines overall expectations for all suppliers, as well as detailed requirements and specifications tailored to each supplier type (e.g., service providers, raw material suppliers, etc.). Review the draft with key stakeholders and incorporate their feedback. Coordinate and oversee movement of castings to new designation layout. Week 7: Pilot the Supplier Code of Conduct with critical suppliers and gather their feedback. Review the results with stakeholders and incorporate necessary revisions to produce the final version. Prepare a presentation for the Senior Leadership Team summarizing the scorecard and code of conduct, describing changes made, and highlighting any remaining open topics or recommendations for future improvement. Week 8: Deliver your final presentation to the Senior Leadership Team, including recommendations for rollout of Supplier Scorecards and Code of Conduct to all supplier partners. Begin creating communication materials for rollout, such as FAQs, user guides, and training resources for internal teams and suppliers. Label warehouse aisles and slots for visual management and transition a “Casting Storage Logic” standard procedure to the Material Handling team. Week 9: Finalize the vendor scorecard and Code of Conduct and all communication materials. Hand over all project deliverables to your Sponsor for successful project close out. Provide a summary of lessons learned and recommendations for ongoing supplier evaluation improvements.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees