A supplier quality agreement translates commercial expectations into operating rules. It should complement the purchase agreement and specifications, not replace them. The objective is to remove ambiguity about how product is approved, produced, inspected, changed, contained, and documented.
Define the controlled product record
Identify drawings, specifications, bills of material, approved samples, workmanship standards, packaging, labeling, testing, and revision hierarchy. State which document controls if requirements conflict. Define how files are issued, acknowledged, protected, and made obsolete.
Assign responsibilities
Name responsibilities for material approval, process validation, first articles, inspection, test fixtures, calibration, product release, records, certificates, regulatory data, and customer communication. Include subcontractors and special-process providers. Responsibility should follow the work, not disappear at a tier boundary.
Establish approval and inspection rules
Document sample stages, first-article requirements, production approval, sampling plans, critical characteristics, acceptance criteria, and certificates. Clarify whether buyer inspection changes supplier responsibility—it normally should not. Define how deviations are requested and approved before shipment.
Control nonconforming product
- Immediate containment and segregation
- Notification timing and required facts
- Stop-ship or controlled-release authority
- Sorting, rework, scrap, replacement, and cost responsibility
- Root-cause and corrective-action method
- Effectiveness verification and recurrence tracking
Require change notification
List changes requiring written approval: material, source, formulation, process, equipment, tooling, software, firmware, facility, subcontractor, inspection, packaging, ownership, or key quality personnel. Set notification timing and revalidation requirements. Uncontrolled improvements can create the same risk as uncontrolled cost reductions.
Specify traceability and records
Define lot or serial traceability, retention periods, language, format, access, backup, and retrieval time. Connect finished goods to materials, process records, inspection, test, deviations, rework, and shipment. Apply stricter rules where product regulation or customer contracts require them.
Connect audits and performance
Define reasonable audit access, notice, confidentiality, and closure of findings. Establish scorecard calculations for quality, delivery, responsiveness, corrective action, and change compliance. Repeated misses should lead to a documented escalation path.
A useful quality agreement is specific enough to guide daily decisions and practical enough that both companies can follow it. Legal counsel and qualified quality or regulatory specialists should review obligations for the product and relationship.
