Move a running product without missing a delivery.
Transferring production is a risk decision, not a price decision. The question is never only what a unit costs at the new supplier — it is whether your customers notice the change. They should not.
The trigger is usually one of these.
- Your current supplier cannot follow your volume — up or down
- Engineering support disappeared after the first order
- Quality escapes are handled with an apology instead of a root cause
- A product is too small for your own line but too important to drop
- Second-source pressure from your own customers
- The supplier is exiting the product, the market or the business
Nine steps, none of them optional.
- 01Fit check
Volumes, complexity and standards reviewed before anyone signs anything.
- 02NDA & intake
Drawings, BOM, revision status, test specs and packaging rules land with engineering.
- 03Gap analysis
What is documented, what lives only in the old supplier heads, what must be recreated.
- 04Supplier mapping
Directed-buy parts, alternates to qualify, long-lead items flagged early.
- 05Industrialization
Work instructions, fixtures and test procedures — the golden sample defined.
- 06Pilot batch
Built on the real process, functionally tested, reviewed with you before ramp.
- 07Validation
First article and your written approval, against your standards.
- 08Ramp & stock bridge
Old and new supply overlap on purpose, so the shelf never runs dry.
- 09Steady state
Frame agreement, rolling forecast, lifecycle and obsolescence watch.
- 01
Fit check
Volumes, complexity and standards reviewed before anyone signs anything.
DeliverableWritten feasibility note with an indicative scope
Your gateYou decide whether to proceed
- 02
NDA & intake
Drawings, BOM, revision status, test specs and packaging rules land with engineering.
DeliverableSigned mutual NDA and a documentation receipt list
Your gateYou confirm the document set is complete
- 03
Gap analysis
What is documented, what lives only in the old supplier heads, what must be recreated.
DeliverableGap register with an owner and an action per item
Your gateYou approve the gap-closure plan
- 04
Supplier mapping
Directed-buy parts, alternates to qualify, long-lead items flagged early.
DeliverableComponent risk list: directed-buy, alternates, long-lead
Your gateYou approve directed-buy parts and alternates
- 05
Industrialization
Work instructions, fixtures and test procedures — the golden sample defined.
DeliverableWork instructions, fixtures and the test procedure
Your gateYou approve the golden-sample definition
- 06
Pilot batch
Built on the real process, functionally tested, reviewed with you before ramp.
DeliverablePilot units with complete test records
Your gateYou review the pilot batch before ramp
- 07
Validation
First article and your written approval, against your standards.
DeliverableFirst article inspection report against your standards
Your gateYour written first-article approval
- 08
Ramp & stock bridge
Old and new supply overlap on purpose, so the shelf never runs dry.
DeliverableRamp plan with the agreed stock-bridge quantity
Your gateYou release the ramp
- 09
Steady state
Frame agreement, rolling forecast, lifecycle and obsolescence watch.
DeliverableFrame agreement, forecast cadence and lifecycle watch
Your gateYou set the review rhythm
What keeps a transfer boring.
Stock bridge
The overlap quantity is planned with you before the first pilot unit is built.
Documentation truth
Undocumented field changes are back-documented into CAD and BOM, so the series starts from what actually works.
Component risk
Long-lead and end-of-life parts are flagged at intake, with alternates qualified against the datasheet.
No silent changes
Any deviation is proposed, approved and recorded — never absorbed quietly into the build.