LOWE'S ENTERPRISE QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA) - USHI - LowesLink
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LOWE’S ENTERPRISE
QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)
DOMESTIC PRIVATE BRAND PROGRAM
USHI
1
CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL USE ONLY
RESPONSIBLE SOURCING (RS) PROGRAM
2
CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL USE ONLY
RESPONSIBLE SOURCING (RS) PROGRAM SCOPE
Vendor Type Importer of Record Scope
Lowe’s
Import Vendor All Products
(LGS, RONA-Canada)
Lowe’s Private Branded products that are
Vendor for USHI
Domestic Import Vendor manufactured outside the U.S. and Canada sourced
(Lowe’s USA)
& 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
3
RS ASSESSMENTS & CERTIFICATION OPTIONS
Assessments/
Options Criteria Process
Certification
At the time of audit scheduling, Lowe’s
Valid BSCI audit certification with
Certification: The Business appointed 3rd party will
“A, B, and C” rating will be
1 Social Compliance Initiative
accepted in lieu of conducting an
(BSCI) Check to see if the factory has current and
onsite assessment valid Certification or Assessments
Onsite Assessments: BSCI certification will be validated by 3rd party
2 THD’s Retail Ethical Sourcing if one on file
Assessment (RESA) Lowe’s and The Home Depot
(THD) worked collaboratively to If Assessments from THD is on file or in the
establish one unified assessment process of undergoing one, 3rd party will not
schedule the assessment
3
Lowe’s Retail Ethical Sourcing template and “branded” as RESA
Assessment (RESA)
Lowe’s will obtain the report directly from
THD
4RS PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Onsite Assessment: Retail Ethical Sourcing Assessment (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:
RESA o Initial assessment: Full scope assessment for new factories
o Follow up assessment: Full scope assessment for existing factories includes CAP verification from previous assessment
•Focuses on such topics as forced labor, labor contracts, working hours, compensation and benefits, employment practice,
environmental compliance and worker health and safety, etc.
Scope
•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
Report &
•Man Day Requirement: < 500 Employees =1 Man Day, > 500 Employees = 2 Man Days
CAP •Man Day Rates - Mainland China: 475 U$D and Vietnam: 550 U$D
5RESA RATING
Risked based color coded assessment result
• No or low-risk violations and/or conditions observed
Green • Green Follow-up assessments will be conducted two years from the Green assessment date
• Medium risk violations and/or conditions observed
Yellow • Yellow Follow-up assessments will be conducted one year from the Yellow assessment date.
• High risk violations and/or conditions observed
Orange • 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
• High risk serious violation and/or conditions observed
Red • PO Inspection will be suspended
• May result in purchase order cancelation, and/or termination of the business relationship with Lowe’s.
6RESA
RESA Red Points
Specific actions and CAP
• Child Labor / Young workers
requirements will be
• Forced Labor communicated to the impacted
• Life threatening Health, safety and environmental vendor in full alignment with
hazards Lowe’s Legal, Sourcing Team &
• Business ethics Merchandising
• 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.
7KEY CONTACTS
Responsible Sourcing (RS) Program - Key Contacts
Sence Liu Responsible Sourcing Manager Sence.liu@lowes.com 021-5116-4553 Shanghai
Anwar Khan Director of Responsible Sourcing anwar.khan@lowes.com 704-693-3055 USA
8PROTOCOL TESTING
9
CONFIDENTIAL – INTERNAL USE ONLYPROTOCOL 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 10PROTOCOL TESTING OVERVIEW
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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 11PROTOCOL TESTING OVERVIEW
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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 12PROTOCOL TESTING OVERVIEW
Testing Requirements & Frequency
Product Class Product Testing Frequency
Class 1(High Risk Items) Annual
Class 2 (Lower Risk Items) Once every 2 years
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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 13Protocol Testing Process:
Representative
Obtain testing Testing Testing
Internal review Item review Report release
protocol application execution
(Optional)
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 14Protocol Testing Process: Pre-Testing
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 15Protocol Testing Process: Representative Item Testing
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 16Protocol Testing Process: Representative Item Testing
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
Vendor/Factory are responsible for initiating the process:
Vendor/Factory Lowe’s QA
• Download the last version of template from
Loweslink.
• Testing Program Engineer reviews the
• Complete all necessary fields list and selects tested items
• Submit the list for review via email (file • Release approved rep list (pdf file)
name) Vendor Name_Factory Name_MMDDYYYY
*MMDDYY is the initial submit date
• Submit test samples to lab according to
approved rep list.
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 17Protocol Testing Process: Representative Item Testing
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
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.
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 18Protocol Testing Process: Testing Application
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
Get “Test • Always download the last version of Test
Request Form” Request Form (TRF) from Loweslink
• Complete the TRF per template instructions
Select Test Lab • Select available test lab
• Find contact information of the lab
• Sample requirements
Communicate
• Quotation & test time
with Lab
• Other supplements documentations, etc.
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 19Protocol Testing Process: Testing Application
Approved Representative Item Form
The item information (Tested item,
Test Request Form
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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 20Protocol Testing Process: Testing Application
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
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.
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 21Protocol Testing Process: Testing Execution and Report Release
Representative
Obtain testing
Internal review Item review Testing application Testing execution Report release
protocol
(Optional)
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.
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 22KEY CONTACTS
For all general questions and submission of representative item test forms, please email:
QADomesticTesting@Lowes.com
Protocol Testing Program - Key Contacts
James Joyner QA Program Manager (Testing Program) James.N.Joyner@lowes.com 704-693-3066
Steve Ogle Testing Program Sr. Engineer (Product Test) Steven.W.Ogle@lowes.com 704-693-3072
USA
Curtis Henquinet Quality Packaging Sr. Engineer (Transit Test) Curtis.Henquinet@lowes.com 704-693-3075
Noah Heavner Testing Program Engineer (Domestic Testing) Noah.D.Heavner@lowes.com 704-693-3073
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 23ONLINE RESOURCES
For more Lowes Enterprise QA details and documentation visit:
www.loweslink.com/llmain/Enterprise_Quality_Assurance.htm
o The password for all PDF documents is: Lowes2018
o Vendor Login is not required to access the site
o 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
© 2020 LOWE’S. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CONFIDENTIAL 24You can also read
