A Quality Release Authorization (QRA) is a document certifying the parts you are supplying comply with your customer’s quality requirements. QRAs are created by designated Product Release Verification (PRV) personnel at your company or at your customer.
NOTE: A QRA is only required if the purchase order line is flagged by your customer’s source system as requiring one.
A QRA can go through up to three approval steps, depending on how your customer has configured SupplyLine:
1. PRV personnel approval: The PRV personnel who creates the QRA approves it on save.
2. Sub-tier supplier sign-off: When the QRA requires sub-tier supplier sign-off, the sub-tier supplier’s PRV personnel must sign off before the QRA can be used.
3. Customer Quality Agent review: When your customer has enabled the QRA inspection work flow and the PO line requires inspection, your customer’s Quality Agent must review the QRA before it can be used.
QRA Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Awaiting Sign-off | The QRA has been created by the supplier and is awaiting sign-off by the sub-tier supplier PRV personnel |
| Awaiting Assignment | The QRA has been created and signed off, and is awaiting assignment to a shipment |
| Assigned | The QRA has been assigned to a shipment |
| Cancelled | The QRA has been cancelled by the PRV personnel |
| Pending Review | The QRA was created against a PO line that requires inspection and is waiting for the customer’s Quality Agent to approve or reject it. It cannot be used on an ASN until it is reviewed |
| Rejected | The full quantity of the QRA was rejected during the review |
QRA Maintenance
The Quality Release Authorization Maintenance window is accessed from the Part view screen. From the Advanced Shipment Notifications (ASNs) section, click QRA Maintenance.
NOTE: If this button is disabled, no purchase order lines for this part require a QRA.
Within the window, the search field filters the list by QRA number or shipment number, and the QRA Status drop-down filters by status.
The search field in the Quality Release Authorization Maintenance window allows you to filter the list of QRAs by QRA number or ASN number. The QRA Status dropdown filters the list of QRAs by status (All, Assigned, Awaiting assignment, Awaiting sign-off, Canceled, Pending Review, Rejected).
In addition to the part-level view above, you can open the QRA View screen from the menu to see your own QRAs across all of your parts in a single, read-only list.
View QRA Across Parts
Select View QRAs from the main navigation bar to open the Quality Release Authorizations window. This is a read-only list of your own QRAs across all of your parts in a single view, rather than one part at a time.
- The list shows your QRAs in all statuses, with their current status.
- Use the search field to filter by QRA number or ASN number, and the QRA Status
dropdown to filter by status. - This view is read-only — to create, cancel, or reprint a QRA, use the Quality Release Authorization Maintenance window from the Part view screen as described above.
Create QRA
Only PRV personnel can create a QRA where user entitlements are enabled by your customer. The QRA is automatically approved by the PRV personnel who created it, or, when sub-tier sign-off is required, once the sub-tier supplier signs off), unless the customer has enabled the QRA inspection workflow and the PO line requires inspection. In that case the QRA is created in Pending Review status and must be reviewed by the customer’s Quality Agent before it can be used on an ASN.
To create a QRA:
1. From the Advanced Shipment Notifications (ASNs) section (labeled Shipments when the Shipments feature is enabled), the PRV personnel clicks QRA Maintenance to open the Quality Release Authorization Maintenance window. If this button is disabled, no purchasing order lines for this part require a QRA.
2. Click Add to open the view used to create a new QRA.
3. Select the PO Line that the QRA applies to.
In the case where a sub-tier supplier is required to sign off on the QRA, do the following:
1. Check the Requires sub-tier supplier sign-off checkbox.
2. Provide the sub-tier supplier code in the Sub-tier supplier code field.
3. If the part requires raw material traceability identifiers, the PRV personnel must enter them in the Raw Material table. The raw material Item Code may be required for each identifier, depending on configuration.
4. If the part has attestable statements registered in SupplyLine, the PRV personnel must read and attest to the statements in the Attestation table.
Add Attachments
You can also attach supporting files to the QRA — for example a certificate of conformance, inspection documents, or photos — while you are still filling in the form. To add supporting files:
1. Click the Attachments link on the form to open the attachments window.
NOTE: The link shows how many files you have attached so far, so you can see at a glance without opening it.
2. In the attachments window, click Add to choose a file, or drag and drop files into the window.
3. To remove a file you have added, select it in the Files list and click Delete.
NOTE: You can add a file again after removing it, including one with the same file name.
4. Click Done to return to the form.
NOTE: Files you have already added are kept, and the window can be reopened as many times as you need.
5. Click Save.
NOTE: If you cancel the form instead, the files you added are discarded and are not attached to anything.
Any files you attach, along with the remarks you enter, are shown read-only to the reviewing Quality Agent and their file names are listed on the QRA PDF. After filling in the remaining data required for the QRA, click Save. If your customer has turned off automatic QRA printing on save, no document is produced at this point; the QRA is still created and can be printed later from the QRA Maintenance window. Depending on whether your customer has enabled digital QRAs, one of the following will happen:
- Digital QRAs Disabled: This will generate a QRA document. You should include the QRA documentwith the physical goods that you are shipping.
- Digital QRAs Enabled: This will generate a QRA traveler tag that you can use to identify the parts that you are shipping. You should not include the QRA traveler tag with the physical goods that you are shipping.
The quantity entered in Quantity authorized to ship must match the quantity that will be shipped on the ASN. If SupplyLine is configured to register or validate traceability identifiers (serial numbers or lot numbers), a request will be made to the configured quality management system to register or validate them before the QRA is created.
Cancel QRA
Only PRV personnel can cancel a QRA. To cancel a QRA:
1. Open QRA Maintenance from the Part view screen.
2. Select the QRA you wish to cancel.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the confirmation dialog, click Yes.
Reprint QRA
Reprinting is available from the QRA Maintenance window. Where digital QRAs are disabled, this reprints the QRA document. Where digital QRAs are enabled, this reprints the QRA traveler tag.
Sign-off Subtier QRA
To sign-off on a sub-tier QRA:
1. Select the QRA in the table.
2. Click the thumbs up icon in the bottom right corner of the table.
3. Verify that the QRA Document Number shown in the confirmation dialog matches the QRA you intend to sign off.
4. Read the legal statement in the confirmation dialog.
5. When you are ready, click Sign Off QRA.