Making the best use of the BMA

The BMA has online and Practitioner led versions. The online version is free and access to it is here -You can use the online BMA as many times as you like, track your own improvement or understand how different parts of your organisation see the company’s maturity. Be creative!

Accessing the Baseline Maturity Assessment (BMA)

SC21 companies are not mandated to seek an award as it may not suit their business model, they will however be encouraged to do so. For those that wish to progress to an award, use of the Practitioner led Baseline Maturity Assessment (BMA) offers a speedy and ‘low cost’ option to reach the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels.

Practitioner led BMA

The Practitioner led BMA will require the assessor (Practitioner in SC21 speak) to come onsite for at least one day and often more. There is usually a cost associated with this however, there is no ‘going rate’. If you are looking to do a Practitioner led BMA, you can ask the Programme Management Office (PMO) for a list of qualified Practitioners (contact the Head of SC21, Steve Collins [email protected]) .

Most companies conduct a Practitioner led BMA to gain an SC21 award. Before you seek an award for the first time, our advice would be to conduct free online assessments until you are confident that you are BMA scores are high enough. As a guide a score of around 45-50 on the BMA may put you in line for a ‘Bronze’ qualifying score. A couple of things to consider however, you may be ‘over estimating’ your maturity when you self-assess (you may also be under estimating!), so a self-assessment can only be a guide, and there are other parts to an SC21 award, including quality and delivery statistics.

Overall, our best advice is not to spend money on a practitioner led assessment until you are pretty sure that you are ready!

Engagement with OEMs

Some companies may have an established and collaborative relationship with an SCS engaged OEM that actively supports the SC21 programme. Many of these OEMs not only use the BMA as a standard improvement and diagnostic tool within their own operations, but also maintain teams of qualified SC21 Practitioners. In some cases, SCS‑supporting organisations—particularly those deeply engaged in the programme—may offer practitioner‑led SC21 BMA assessments for key suppliers as part of their wider supply‑chain development activity.

Where a supplier is able to build a strong engagement with these OEMs or partner organisations, there is an opportunity to access a fully practitioner‑led BMA at no cost. This can provide significant value, especially for suppliers seeking structured support to advance their SC21 performance journey.