SOURCING GUIDE
Need a second qualified source this month? The requalification playbook
Every single-sourced part is one bad month away from a production stop. This is the calm playbook for qualifying a second source fast — written for the case where the incumbent is still breathing (harder case: they are not; see the burn playbook).
Days 1–2: package the part for transfer
Collect the released drawing (PDF+STEP), the spec you actually inspect to (tolerances that matter, finish standard, cert requirements), the current price and lead-time history, and the tooling inventory — who owns the mould, the fixtures, the program files. Parts without clean documentation are the ones that break dual-sourcing; fix the paper first.
Days 3–5: shortlist by capability evidence, not price
Two or three candidates per process, filtered by what the part needs: the certificate if audited (see the certification pages), the machine if brand-specific (the machine index tells you who owns an EOS P 396 or a TruLaser), the quantity band you actually run. Send the full package from day one — suppliers price ambiguity pessimistically.
Days 6–14: the requalification order
Order the same quantity as a normal batch, from the real drawing, with an FAI requirement. Run their parts against yours on the same gauge. If they pass, they become the ~30% secondary allocation and you run a quarterly swap to keep both warm. Total cost: roughly one batch — against the cost of a line stop, it is free insurance.
Frequently asked
The incumbent found out and dropped the price. Cancel?
Keep the secondary anyway. A price that exists only because a competitor looked real will drift back the moment you cancel; and you just learned the true margin on the part.
How different can the second source be before parts differ?
Same material grade, same process route, and inspection against the identical drawing. Deviations hide in tooling wear and finishing chemistry — that is what the FAI comparison is for before allocation, not after.
Post a brief — get an evidence-ranked shortlist for this exact situation →