LOWE’S ENTERPRISE QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)€¦ · QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) DOMESTIC PRIVATE BRAND PROGRAM 1 USHI . CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL USE ONLY RESPONSIBLE SOURCING (RS) PROGRAM

CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL USE ONLY

LOWE’S ENTERPRISE QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) DOMESTIC PRIVATE BRAND PROGRAM

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USHI


RESPONSIBLE SOURCING (RS) PROGRAM

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RESPONSIBLE SOURCING (RS) PROGRAM SCOPE

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Vendor Type Importer of Record Scope

Import VendorLowe’s

(LGS, RONA-Canada)All Products

Domestic Import VendorVendor for USHI

(Lowe’s USA)

Lowe’s Private Branded products that are manufactured outside the U.S. and Canada sourced

& Imported by vendors

NOTE: Factory is out of Scope for RS program if Lowe’s Private Brand items imported by vendors and sold in Lowe’s Canada

RS ASSESSMENTS & CERTIFICATION OPTIONS

Options Assessments/Certification Criteria Process

1Certification: The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)

Valid BSCI audit certification with “A, B, and C” rating will be accepted in lieu of conducting anonsite assessment

At the time of audit scheduling, Lowe’s appointed 3rd party will

Check to see if the factory has current and valid Certification or Assessments

BSCI certification will be validated by 3rd party if one on file

If Assessments from THD is on file or in the process of undergoing one, 3rd party will not schedule the assessment

Lowe’s will obtain the report directly from THD

2Onsite Assessments:THD’s Retail Ethical Sourcing Assessment (RESA) Lowe’s and The Home Depot

(THD) worked collaboratively to establish one unified assessment template and “branded” as RESA3 Lowe’s Retail Ethical Sourcing Assessment (RESA)

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RESA

•One template accepted across all Lowe’s enterprise retail markets and also by The Home Depot (THD)•Conducted by approved 3rd party, vendor/factory paid and Scheduled on a semi-announced basis•Assessment types:o Initial assessment: Full scope assessment for new factorieso Follow up assessment: Full scope assessment for existing factories includes CAP verification from previous assessment

Scope•Focuses on such topics as forced labor, labor contracts, working hours, compensation and benefits, employment practice, environmental compliance and worker health and safety, etc.

Report & CAP

•RS team provides final rating and dispositions based on assessment findings reported by 3rd party•Formal report with rating and dispositions communicated by 3rd party•Assessment and Required CAP fee is vendor/factory paid•Man Day Requirement: < 500 Employees =1 Man Day, > 500 Employees = 2 Man Days•Man Day Rates - Mainland China: 475 U$D and Vietnam: 550 U$D

RS PROGRAM OVERVIEW

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Onsite Assessment: Retail Ethical Sourcing Assessment (RESA)

RESA RATING

Risked based color coded assessment result

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• No or low-risk violations and/or conditions observed • Green Follow-up assessments will be conducted two years from the Green assessment dateGreen

• Medium risk violations and/or conditions observed•Yellow Follow-up assessments will be conducted one year from the Yellow assessment date.Yellow

• High risk serious violation and/or conditions observed• PO Inspection will be suspended • May result in purchase order cancelation, and/or termination of the business relationship with Lowe’s.

Red

• High risk violations and/or conditions observed• Orange Follow-up assessments will be conducted six months from the Orange assessment date•Three consecutive Orange assessments will place the factory in Red rating

Orange

RESA

RESA Red Points• Child Labor / Young workers • Forced Labor• Life threatening Health, safety and environmental

hazards

• Business ethics • Sexual harassment and abuse • Access Denial

o Auditor should have the adequate access to facilities, documents and employees to verify whether factory’s practice compliance with related law or regulation requirements.

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Specific actions and CAP requirements will be

communicated to the impacted vendor in full alignment with

Lowe’s Legal, Sourcing Team & Merchandising

KEY CONTACTS

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Responsible Sourcing (RS) Program - Key Contacts

Sence Liu Responsible Sourcing Manager [email protected] 021-5116-4553 Shanghai

Anwar Khan Director of Responsible Sourcing [email protected] 704-693-3055 USA


PROTOCOL TESTING

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PROTOCOL TESTING OVERVIEW

ALL in-scope items MUST have valid product test reports before introduction into the Lowe’s distribution network

Program Scope:

ALL Lowe’s Private branded items sourced in the US or Canada (if imported, the vendor is the importer of record)

The following product categories are Exceptions (testing is not required):

Lumber

Building Materials (excluding ladders)

Millwork (excluding garage door operators)

Liquid / Aerosol Paint

Fertilizer

Live Plants, Seed, Soil, Mulch, Stone.

© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 10


Additional Details

• Service Providers: BV, SGS & ITS are the qualified 3rd parties for Lowe’s protocol testing

o Available lab locations are provided in the test request form by Item Category

• Turn-Around-Time: 7-11 working days. Special tests may take longer

• Cost: This program is vendor paid

Average Cost (per tested item)

o $300-$700 – US Labs

o $200-$600 – Asia Labs

Note: Representative Item Testing program (explained later), typically reduces the number of tested items



The Testing Frequency Matrix identifies which product types fall into each Class, and can be found on Loweslink(Password “Lowes2018”)

The 3rd party lab determines the class during testing based on the matrix.

Retesting outside of the regular frequency may be required when:

– Significant engineering changes to the item

– Significant changes to Regulations or Industry Standards


Testing Requirements & Frequency

Product Class Product Testing Frequency

Class 1(High Risk Items) Annual

Class 2 (Lower Risk Items) Once every 2 years

https://www.loweslink.com/llmain/pubdocuments/qatestingfrequencymatrix-2018-03-30.pdf


Protocol Testing Process:

Obtain testing protocol Internal review

Representative Item review (Optional)

Testing application

Testing execution Report release


Protocol Testing Process: Pre-Testing



Testing application Testing execution Report release

These are recommended best practices:

Contact the 3rd Party Test Lab to obtain the latest version of the test protocol

Conduct an internal review and testing to ensure the item will comply with the requirements


Protocol Testing Process: Representative Item Testing




The representative item testing process was created to reduce the number of items which are required to be tested, when multiple similar items are provided by the same factory

Not applicable for all product categories (example: Toy/children’s products)

Dedicated representative list for each Vendor-Factory combination

The representative list should be reviewed every year (or 2 years if Class 2) before testing

The items selected may vary from year to year

The quantity selected for test will depend on their degree of similarity and product risk






• Download the last version of template from Loweslink.

• Complete all necessary fields

• Submit the list for review via email (file name) Vendor Name_Factory Name_MMDDYYYY

*MMDDYY is the initial submit date

• Submit test samples to lab according to approved rep list.

• Testing Program Engineer reviews the list and selects tested items

• Release approved rep list (pdf file)

Vendor/Factory Lowe’s QA

Vendor/Factory are responsible for initiating the process:





All items to be considered should be listed on the form. For each item there will be one of three types of testing assigned:o FULL: The item will need to be submitted for full testing per Lowe’s protocol.

o NONE: No protocol test is needed for the item. Another (Full) tested item number will be assigned to represent this item

o PARTIAL: Another (Full) tested item number will be assigned to represent this item. However, this item still needs partial tested per the partial test comments.

Representative Item List can be revised to add new items or correct item information. Any revisions must be re-sent to the Test Program Engineer for review and approval.






Protocol Testing Process: Testing Application

Get “Test Request Form”

• Always download the last version of Test Request Form (TRF) from Loweslink

Select Test Lab • Complete the TRF per template instructions• Select available test lab• Find contact information of the lab

Communicate with Lab

• Sample requirements• Quotation & test time• Other supplements documentations, etc.



Test Request Form

Approved Representative Item Form

The item information (Tested item, Represented item) MUST be the same as the approved representative list.

o “Partial” and “None” tested items will be listed on the Test Request Form of the corresponding “Full” item. This ensures they are covered by the test report

o “Partial” test comments must match the approved list






Double check with your lab contact to confirm they have capability to test your items. The lab will also confirm sample quantity, and supplemental information/documentation needed for the test.

A printed version of the TRF should be included with the test sample.

Approved Representative Item List (pdf file) should be summited to third party lab together with the Test Request Form.





Protocol Testing Process: Testing Execution and Report Release

3rd party will release the test report to the vendor/factory and Lowe’s QA once testing is completed.

Vendor/factory should pay special attention to the overall test result:o GOOD: No action necessary before the report expiry date.

o UNSATISFACTORY: Resubmit for testing. The issue must be addressed and samples sent to the 3rd party lab for acceptable re-test.

o CONDITIONALLY APPROVED: Conditional acceptance for 90 days . The issue must be addressed and pass re-test within 90 days.

For reports rated “GOOD”, the report validity period is determined by the Item Class. The validity period begins on the Date OUT.

KEY CONTACTS


Protocol Testing Program - Key Contacts

James Joyner QA Program Manager (Testing Program) [email protected] 704-693-3066

USASteve Ogle Testing Program Sr. Engineer (Product Test) [email protected] 704-693-3072

Curtis Henquinet Quality Packaging Sr. Engineer (Transit Test) [email protected] 704-693-3075

Noah Heavner Testing Program Engineer (Domestic Testing) [email protected] 704-693-3073

For all general questions and submission of representative item test forms, please email:

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

ONLINE RESOURCES

For more Lowes Enterprise QA details and documentation visit:www.loweslink.com/llmain/Enterprise_Quality_Assurance.htmo The password for all PDF documents is: Lowes2018o Vendor Login is not required to access the siteo This training presentation, Test Request Form, Representative Item Testing Form and Inspection Advice Form are

also located at this site. Vendors to always download the latest forms from this site


USHI

http://www.loweslink.com/llmain/Enterprise_Quality_Assurance.htm

Lowe’s Enterprise Quality Assurance (QA) Responsible Sourcing (RS) ProgramResponsible Sourcing (RS) Program ScopeRS Assessments & Certification OptionsRS Program OverviewRESA RatingRESAKey ContactsProtocol TestingProtocol Testing OverviewProtocol Testing OverviewProtocol Testing OverviewProtocol Testing OverviewSlide Number 14Slide Number 15Slide Number 16Slide Number 17Slide Number 18Slide Number 19Slide Number 20Slide Number 21Slide Number 22Key ContactsOnline Resources

Documents

LOWE’S ENTERPRISE QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)€¦ · QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) DOMESTIC PRIVATE BRAND PROGRAM 1 USHI . CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL USE ONLY RESPONSIBLE SOURCING (RS) PROGRAM