Company Profile And Quality System

This content is divided into the following sections:

• Cole-Parmer Quality Policy
• Cole-Parmer Company Profile
• Cole-Parmer Operational Process and System
• Customer Satisfaction Measurement

If you have additional questions that are not addressed in this profile, you may send
them to me directly.

Michael Whitaker
Regulatory Compliance & Quality, Manager
847-327-5501
mwhitake@coleparmer.com

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COLE-PARMER PROFILE AND QUALITY SYSTEM

Cole-Parmer is committed to providing quality products and services and quality performance to every customer, every time. We pledge to provide our customers with the following:

• High-quality products and services
• Accurate and clear advertisements
• The highest level of customer service before, during & after the sale
• Timely delivery of all customer orders

Shipping Address:                                       Remittance Address:
625 E. Bunker Ct.                                       13927 Collections Center Drive
Vernon Hills, IL. 60061-1844                      Chicago  IL  60693

Bank Reference                                          EDI Parameters
Bank of America NA                                    We support up to ANSI X.12 4010
1401 Elm Street                                         Value Added Network (VAN): GEIS
Dallas  TX  75202                                       Software: Inovis EDI/400
Contact: Lorine Benton                              Version 2  Release 11
404-607-5014  TEL                        Transaction sets 810, 850, 855, 860, 997
404-532-3336  FAX                       More info: contact our EDI Coordinator

Products and Services: Cole-Parmer is a distributor of scientific instruments for the worldwide research, industrial, and technical communities. We also provide calibration services traceable to NIST for several groups of instruments.

Cole-Parmer OPERATIONAL PROCESS AND SYSTEM

I. Management Responsibility / Document & Data Control

1. The Regulatory Compliance & Safety Manager oversees our Quality programs.
2. The Regulatory Compliance Manager reports to the Vice-President of Human Resources.
3. We have a group of key measurements called Key Business Metrics (KBM).
4. Senior management reviews the KBM’s monthly.
5. KBM’s are posted internally for all employees to monitor.
6. Departments control their own procedures, work instructions and records
   and are held accountable to the success of their respective KBM’s.

II. Contract Review

1. We review all orders to be sure we can meet customer requirements.
2. We contact the customer to advise if we cannot meet any requirements.
3. For orders that cannot ship at once, we assign a promise date.
4. If we cannot ship by this date we contact the customer with a new promise date.
5. We can change an order, depending on the status of it in our system but only do so upon direct request of the customer.

III. Purchasing

1. When taking on a new vendor, we verify they will be able to support the product.
2. We evaluate our vendors monthly regarding nonconforming products and it is reported via the KBM -Supplier Performance Rating.
3. We issue purchase orders that include product description and specifications.

IV. Product ID & Traceability / Inspection & Test / Inspection & Test Status

1. We identify items we sell with discrete identification numbers.
2. We determine which items require traceability & require that of the manufacturer.
3. We check all new items for identification, quantity and visible damage.
4. We inspect stock if we believe the problem may be repeated.
5. We identify and segregate items that are being inspected so they will not mistakenly be shipped.

V. Handling, Storage, Packaging, Preservation & Delivery

1. We have methods of handling items that prevent damage.
2. We have methods of storing items that prevent damage and deterioration.
3. We have methods of packaging items that prevent damage and deterioration.
4. We control perishable items to assure that they will not deteriorate.
5. We maintain a “first in, first out” system of stock for those items requiring this management.

VI. Control of Customer Supplied Product / Servicing - InnoCal

1. We receive customer-supplied products for repair or calibration.
2. We have procedures to protect as well as service these customer-supplied products.

VII. Control of Inspection, Measuring & Test Equipment - InnoCal

1. Our calibration service conforms to the requirements in ISO 9002 section 4.11.
2. Our repair department conforms to the requirements in ISO 9002 section 4.11.
3. Our quality control conforms to the requirements in ISO 9002 section 4.11.
4. The American Association For Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) accredits our calibration service, InnoCal™, a Division of Cole-Parmer®, to ISO/IEC 17025:2005; A2LA Certificate Number 1746.01. See: http://www.a2la.org/ for a current certificate.

VIII. Control of Nonconforming Product / Corrective & Preventive Action

1. Incoming nonconforming items are segregated within our facility referred to as the Problem Receipts Area.
2. We determine the disposition of items in the Problem Receipts Area.
3. A Product CAR (corrective action response) checks items in stock that might be nonconforming.
4. Anyone at Cole-Parmer may initiate a Product CAR.
5. Inventory Control and the QA Department checks product CARS.
6. QA and Purchasing determine the disposition of nonconforming items from stock.
7. The Regulatory Compliance QA Manager determines whether a CAR should be sent to a Supplier.
8. QA can flag future incoming items for QA inspection to assure conformance.
9. QA can flag incoming items for QA inspection to verify supplier corrective action.

IX. Control of Quality Records / Training / Continuous Improvement

1. We have a company retention period for our records.
2. We have a standardized process for hiring new associates.
3. Our hiring process includes determination of training needs for each position.
4. Each department maintains training records for department associates.
5. We have a set of core values:

• Integrity
• Intensity
• Innovation
• Involvement

These values are predominately displaced within our facility, and are clearly communicated by our managers in both discussion and actions.



IX. Control of Quality Records / Training / Continuous Improvement (continued)

1. Cole-Parmer employs a continuous improvement program called Practical Process Improvement (PPI), developed by Edward Zunich. 


2. PPI is how we go about our daily business at Cole-Parmer. By transforming our work culture into a PPI environment – one in which we are continuously and proactively improving our processes, with our eye always on the customer and on costs – we ensure that our interaction with our customers is the best it can be.


3. Working in teams and using the 8-step methodology, employees are empowered to find and implement solutions themselves, thus eliminating organizational red tape and speeding up the improvement process. And, because we are using the common PPI methodology company-wide, we can more easily tap into best practices and the expertise that has been developed around similar processes at other sites.


4. PPI is both logical and simple. Using this hands-on methodology, teams learn proven tools and then immediately apply them to a real business problems aimed at improving the customer’s experience.


5. Measurable results are key to process improvement. Our teams learn to collect data, analyze it to find a solution and then test the results using metrics. Once the solution has been proven effective, they implement it to achieve measurable improvements. Thereafter, the teams monitor the solution to ensure that the results are sustained.


6. The PPI 8-Step Methodology:

X. Design Control / Process Control / Statistical Techniques

• We are not a manufacturer.
• We have a procedure in place to alert customers who have requested notification of raw material or production changes, referred to a Critical Product Program.
• Each department determines which statistical techniques to employ.
• Our KBM (see Section I) measures performance in all operational areas.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT

We measure customer satisfaction monthly and refer to this measurement as our Customer Allegiance Score (CAS).

This program consists of the following:

• Allegiance Response Team (ART), made up of members of key departments and they meet quarterly to:
• Review data and responses
• React to customer feedback and complaints
• Recommends action to reduce impact of issues
• Submits problems without solutions to PPI Steering Committee