Problem with Certifications Which Aren't Specific

A. Richard,

I'm occasionally driven batty by customers that want a certificate of analysis, compliance, or whatever, but then aren't happy with what I send them, yet have trouble expressing what they do want me to put on there.

It's certainly good customer service to create whatever documentation the customer asks for, as long as the request is clear on what they need it to say.

One customer did tell me they just needed the "Certificate of Conformance" to state the order meets their purchase order, which as you said, seems little more than a glorified packing list. (In fact that's exactly what I sent them, the packing list with "Certificate of Conformance" added at the top and my signature added at the bottom.) Don't ask me why some people think that one more piece of paper, that doesn't state anything new, makes any kind of difference.

Of course, many customers are happy with anything that says "Certificate" as the top so long as they have something to put in the file drawer.

A. Hello Richard,
In my experience, CoC is standard and readily accepted provided pn, po#, rev level are listed. Additional certifications are extraordinary or unusual. In case you need more than a very brief CoC, there are two options. You can make your own documents, even something like a checklist with multiple line items and initials required, and provide the document to the vendor whilst requiring the vendor to complete and return. Another option would be to write a short specification describing the documents sought, and refer to the new specification on po's and drawings. Once the vendor knows what is required in terms of docs, after a short learning period, you may have smooth sailing.