| Legal and Business Qualification | Valid business registration, manufacturing address, ownership information, export capability, and relevant operating licenses. | Mandatory prerequisite; supplier cannot proceed if core documents are missing or unverifiable. | Document review, address verification, management interview, and independent background checks where required. | Common responsible-sourcing and supplier due-diligence practice. |
| Quality Management System | Documented procedures for incoming materials, process control, final inspection, nonconforming products, corrective action, and record retention. | 20% of supplier evaluation score; documented control plan required for critical products. | Procedure review, sample record checks, production-floor audit, and corrective-action verification. | ISO 9001:2015 quality-management principles. |
| Production Capacity and Capability | Available equipment, trained personnel, monthly capacity, utilization level, production flexibility, and backup arrangements. | 15% of supplier evaluation score; demonstrated capacity should exceed forecast demand with contingency room. | Capacity review, equipment inspection, production schedule analysis, and sample order simulation. | Standard manufacturing-capacity assessment practice. |
| Product and Technical Compliance | Approved specifications, drawings, bills of materials, material declarations, test reports, labeling requirements, and traceability records. | 20% of supplier evaluation score; all critical specifications must be confirmed before mass production. | Technical document review, sample comparison, laboratory testing where applicable, and first-article approval. | Product-specific regulations and contractual specifications. |
| Cost and Commercial Transparency | Itemized quotation covering materials, tooling, packaging, testing, logistics assumptions, payment terms, and price-validity period. | 15% of supplier evaluation score; unexplained charges or inconsistent quotations require clarification. | Quotation comparison, cost-breakdown review, commercial-risk assessment, and written approval of changes. | Transparent procurement and total-cost-of-ownership practices. |
| Delivery Reliability | Confirmed production lead time, shipment readiness date, order-acknowledgment speed, and on-time delivery history. | 15% of supplier evaluation score; target on-time delivery rate of at least 95% after the performance baseline is established. | Order tracking, milestone reports, shipment records, and monthly supplier-performance review. | Common supply-chain performance KPI practice. |
| Ethical, Environmental, and Social Compliance | Workplace safety, working-hours controls, prohibition of forced and child labor, environmental permits, waste handling, and responsible material sourcing. | 15% of supplier evaluation score; zero tolerance for severe legal or human-rights violations. | Self-assessment, document review, site audit, worker interviews, and corrective-action follow-up. | Applicable labor, environmental, health-and-safety, and anti-corruption requirements. |
| Pre-Production Approval | Approved samples, packaging specification, inspection checklist, quality limits, and signed production reference sample. | Required before bulk production; unresolved critical deviations block production release. | Sample inspection, dimensional checks, functional testing, packaging review, and written approval. | First-article and pre-production control practice. |
| In-Process Quality Control | Inspection of critical process steps, material identification, operator checks, equipment calibration, and defect isolation. | Controls defined by product risk; critical characteristics require documented monitoring. | Production-line inspection, process records, calibration review, and random verification. | Risk-based process-control methodology. |
| Final Random Inspection | Appearance, dimensions, functionality, quantity, packaging, labeling, and shipping-mark verification after production is substantially complete. | Example reference plan: Critical AQL 0.0, Major AQL 1.5, Minor AQL 2.5; final limits depend on product risk and contract. | Random sampling using a defined lot size, inspection level, sample size, and acceptance number. | ISO 2859-1 sampling procedures for inspection by attributes. |
| Testing and Measurement Control | Test method, equipment identification, calibration status, measurement results, and laboratory competence where testing is required. | 100% compliance with specified test methods for regulated or safety-critical characteristics. | Test-report review, equipment verification, repeat testing, and independent laboratory confirmation when appropriate. | Applicable technical standards and contractual test specifications. |
| Nonconformance and Corrective Action | Defect description, root-cause analysis, containment action, corrective action, responsible person, and completion date. | Critical issues require immediate containment; corrective-action closure should be verified before final release. | 8D or equivalent corrective-action report, evidence review, and follow-up inspection. | Corrective and preventive action principles used in quality management. |
| Supplier Performance Review | Quality defect rate, on-time delivery, response time, corrective-action closure, cost stability, and audit findings. | Quarterly review recommended; preferred suppliers maintain a composite score of 80/100 or higher. | KPI dashboard, trend analysis, review meeting, and documented improvement plan. | Continuous-improvement and supplier-scorecard practice. |
