Josh,
A few quick suggestions based upon what you have provided;
- The current format is not allowing you to utilize the full benefit of excel and you might as well keep your supplier document list in Notepad or Paint for what you can do with this. Switch it to a single table 'database' format which will allow you to filter, sort and pivot to your hearts content.
- Use a document pick list to avoid people adding random and irrelevant documents to the list. This will also ensure conformity in naming.
- Consider hyperlinking each individual document as appose to the document folder. This would be handy because if you want to view a document you just need to click on it.
- Add a Material column so that you can distinguish between supplier (facility) documents and material documents.
- Make sure there are no gaps (empty cells or empty rows) in the table. Fill them with N/A or copy the value from above (in the case of the Supplier Name for example).
I could go on and on if I spent some more time on this but hopefully this will be enough to put you in a more organized place.
I have attached some of the above.
Regards,
Philip.
I agree with all of this. One of the best things about Excel is being able to sort through lots of data. We have over 100 suppliers so it is nice to only display a certain company etc. I also have audit expiration dates color coded (you can look up an easy tutorial for this on Google) so that if something is yellow it expires within 30 days, if it is red it is already expired and I need to request new documents.
I recommend hyperlinking individual pieces of information. For example in one column I have the product code we use internally, this is hyperlinked to our approval sheet from R&D (this may not apply to you), then I have the name of the ingredient which is hyperlinked to a picture (the receiving clerk looks at this to make sure we are getting what we are supposed to be getting, if it is different I am alerted). Next I have the name of the vendor listed followed by the address and an audit certificate if applicable. Then I have the manufacturer name, address, and the date of the audit certificate expiry hyperlinked to the audit certificate itself. I have other documents in this row as well such as Kosher certificates, Allergen information etc, mainly things the receiving clerk uses to identify the product, see if it is approved, and label it with the correct allergen sticker if applicable.
Google is great at helping you through any Excel question you have. The program really does do a lot. Good luck!