1. Establish fit
Compare product type, materials, processes, and complexity with verifiable experience. Ask which work is performed in-house, what is outsourced, and who holds final responsibility.
2. Review the quality system
Review inspection criteria, result records, lot traceability, and nonconformance handling. Check a certification’s entity, site, scope, and validity; do not treat a logo as a substitute for documentation.
3. Assess people and planning
Speak with engineering, quality, and commercial contacts. A credible plan accounts for material dependencies, sample approvals, testing, seasonal capacity, and changes.
4. Agree on confidentiality and ownership
Before sharing proprietary designs, agree on storage, access, usage rights, tooling ownership, and document handling when the project ends.
Purposeful site visit
Prepare the operations and evidence to review, while following safety and confidentiality rules.
Compare on shared criteria
Use a consistent question set to compare suppliers and record what remains unverified.