How to Register an External Complaint in MKG

The standard notification type 'External 8D Report (8000)' gives you the option to register customer rejections in MKG. The combination of a total of seven parameters and eight tasks forms the basis of this notification type. The parameters record some basic information, such as the customer name and which product it concerns. The tasks show the tasks to be completed by the users. The tasks also indicate the timeframe in which the eight steps of the 8D form must be completed.

Parameters

In the standard report type 'External 8D Report (8000)' not all parameters are mandatory to fill in; these therefore have no default value (pre-filled fixed value). You will therefore have to choose exactly what to fill in for each complaint. The parameters that are mandatory to be filled in can be recognized by the characteristic of the same name. MKG will also provide a reminder of this when the notification is saved. The more parameters are entered, the more insight this can provide.

• 8D-8001 / Debtor. Here the customer from whom the complaint comes is selected. The parameter is set up in such a way that you can choose from the existing table with all debtors in MKG.
• 8D-8002 / Item. This parameter is also linked to the table with all existing items in MKG. A selection condition can be applied to this, for example by only filtering items from a certain inventory group.
• 8D-8003 / Your complaint no.. In many cases, the customer will have assigned its own number or description to the complaint. This characteristic can be entered in this field.
• 8D-8004 / Number of Rejections. This parameter contains the exact quantities that have been returned and to which the complaint relates. In practice, it may be the case that 50 pieces are delivered and only 10 pieces are returned. The customer can of course also return the entire shipment, although the complaint does not apply to all items.
• 8D-8005 / Rejection Reason. Some common reasons for product rejection are included in the selection list. Here a choice must be made for one of the reasons. Afterwards, an analysis can be carried out that can provide more insight and perhaps help prevent complaints. See also the dashboard for this.
• 8D-8006 / Caused by. The owner of this report type (quality department) chooses whether the complaint was caused internally or externally. This could therefore have arisen internally during the production process. If the complaint arose during transport or with an outsourcer, external is chosen here.
• 8D-8007 / Costs. This is an open field, where a number can be entered that shows the costs for handling and resolving the complaint. It is possible to enter a fixed amount as the default value. These would then be the costs charged for each complaint. Any additional costs can be added manually later.

Tasks

Once a new notification has been created and the parameters have been entered, it can be saved. Only then do the tasks become visible. These are used as action points that must be completed by (different) people in MKG. The external customer complaint contains eight tasks that together have a lead time of approximately 4 weeks. A task is always linked to a user in MKG. It is possible to assign a different user per task, but all actions can also be handled by the same person.

Each task has a short description of the action that needs to be carried out. If further explanation is required to properly carry out the action, this can be stated in the Internal Memo. As the name suggests, this is a field where information can be shared that is only intended for MKG users. The findings can be noted in the External Memo, which can then be shared with the customer (via the report).

The tasks are arranged in order and have been given a time indication. The latter has to do with the display options on the screen. Some tasks will have a start condition, i.e. a condition for when they can be started.

In the Tasks module, the tasks per user can be shown in one overview. This can be useful to complete the tasks and know what still needs to be done. Open the Detail via the list settings for additional information.

Reporting and dashboarding

For each registered notification, the standard report Notification (8786) is available in the preview view in the Notifications module. This report displays the entire notification and the status of the handling in one overview. This makes it possible to share the complaint handling with the customer via a report.

The Notification Dashboard module contains the matching dashboard 8D Notifications 001 that can subsequently be used to analyze the registered customer complaints can serve and answers questions, such as: how many complaints have I received in a certain period, were the complaints internally or externally related, what was the most common reason for the rejection, does it concern the same customer or the same item? The dashboard can be opened by opening the 'Dashboard 8003' form via the hamburger button at the top right. A new tab opens. Select the dashboard here via the Views button.

Want to get started with complaint registration?

To get started with notification registration, some preparations need to be made. Then, with a few adjustments, you can also continue working with the existing example of report type 'External 8D Report (8000)'.

1. Go to the Administration Settings via the ‘General’ to the ‘Process Numbering’ tab. Check whether a number has been entered at ‘Notification Code’. In this way, all future notifications in MKG will be uniquely marked. As with the other process numbering, it is often decided to include the year in the numbering of the Notification Code; this is not mandatory.
2. In the Notification Types table, select number 8000. The Owner field is now filled with the administrator by default. Change this to the person responsible within your company for managing quality reports regarding external complaints.
3. The eight tasks assigned to this report consist of various task types. Here too, enter a username per task that will be responsible for carrying out that task. This can be one person for all tasks, but it can also be divided among several people.
4. If the choice has been made for the users entered in the notifications, these users also need corresponding rights. In the Users module, check whether these users are ‘Active within notifications’ are. The owner of the notification type must also have additional rights. To do this, activate the ‘May manage all notifications’ option.