How do you calculate a supplier risk priority score?

Multiply severity x occurrence x detection. With ratings of 8, 5 and 6 the score is 240 (shown here scaled to 6.45 on the page's index), and you rank every supplier-part the same way.

What is a good supplier risk score for bike components?

Lower is better. On a 1-10 scale, RPNs under 100 are typically routine, 100-200 warrant a corrective-action plan, and above 200 trigger immediate containment or re-sourcing — especially for safety parts.

What scale should I use for severity, occurrence and detection?

Use a consistent 1-10 scale across all comparable suppliers. Severity 10 = a defect that can cause injury (brake or battery failure), occurrence 10 = defects on nearly every lot, detection 10 = your inspection almost never catches it.

Why is detection scored backwards?

A high detection rating means the defect is hard to detect, which is bad. Easy-to-catch problems score low because they rarely reach the customer, so they lower the overall risk.

RPN vs a simple defect-rate ranking — which is better?

A raw PPM defect rate only captures occurrence. RPN adds how bad the failure is and whether you'd catch it, so a rare-but-catastrophic battery defect outranks a frequent cosmetic blemish.

Should battery and brake suppliers be scored separately?

Yes. Score each critical subsystem supplier on its own row because severity differs sharply — a torque-sensor vendor and a grip-tape vendor should never share a risk line.

Bicycles, E-Bikes & Micromobility calculator

Supplier Risk Score Calculator

Supplier Risk Score is an FMEA-style Risk Priority Number applied to your component vendors, ranking each supplier-part combination by how dangerous, how frequent, and how hard-to-catch its defects are. Sourcing engineers and quality managers at bicycle, e-bike and micromobility builders use it to triage which suppliers get audits, dual-sourcing, or incoming inspection first. For powered two-wheelers, a brake caliper or battery-cell vendor that scores high deserves attention long before a decal supplier. It turns a wall of vendor scorecards into a single number you can sort.

What this calculator does

Score bicycle, e-bike, scooter, or component supplier risk using severity, occurrence, and detection ratings from quality and supply data.
a micromobility procurement or quality team needs to rank supplier risks before launch, ramp, or corrective action
It multiplies a supplier's defect severity, occurrence and detection ratings into one risk priority score (RPN) per supplier-part.

Formula used

Supplier risk priority score = supplier issue severity score × supplier issue occurrence score × supplier issue detection score
Use the same severity, occurrence, and detection scale across comparable suppliers and components.

Inputs explained

Component defect severity rating:
Defect occurrence frequency rating:
Inspection detection difficulty rating:

How to use the result

Use it during supplier qualification, annual vendor reviews, or after a quality escape to decide where containment and audit effort goes first.
RPN treats a 2x10x2=40 the same as a 8x5x1=40, so a high severity rating alone (safety-critical brake or battery parts) should override a low multiplied total.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate a supplier risk priority score? Multiply severity x occurrence x detection. With ratings of 8, 5 and 6 the score is 240 (shown here scaled to 6.45 on the page's index), and you rank every supplier-part the same way.
What is a good supplier risk score for bike components? Lower is better. On a 1-10 scale, RPNs under 100 are typically routine, 100-200 warrant a corrective-action plan, and above 200 trigger immediate containment or re-sourcing — especially for safety parts.
What scale should I use for severity, occurrence and detection? Use a consistent 1-10 scale across all comparable suppliers. Severity 10 = a defect that can cause injury (brake or battery failure), occurrence 10 = defects on nearly every lot, detection 10 = your inspection almost never catches it.
Why is detection scored backwards? A high detection rating means the defect is hard to detect, which is bad. Easy-to-catch problems score low because they rarely reach the customer, so they lower the overall risk.
RPN vs a simple defect-rate ranking — which is better? A raw PPM defect rate only captures occurrence. RPN adds how bad the failure is and whether you'd catch it, so a rare-but-catastrophic battery defect outranks a frequent cosmetic blemish.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.