Define the scope before reviewing the supplier.
Identify the part revision, intended use, manufacturing route, materials, critical characteristics, quantities, and delivery expectations. Assign a buyer representative to each technical or commercial approval. A supplier suitable for one product is not automatically qualified for another.
- Record the part or product, revision, required processes, and applicable acceptance criteria.
- Identify mandatory quality-system, regulatory, customer, and traceability requirements.
- List unresolved design or specification questions separately from supplier deficiencies.
Verify how and where the work will be done.
Ask the candidate to explain the proposed production sequence, relevant equipment, tooling, operator controls, and inspection points. Distinguish work performed at the proposed site from subcontracted operations. Equipment ownership or a machine list alone does not establish suitability.
- Request evidence relevant to the material, geometry, tolerances, and production quantity.
- Identify subcontractors, their responsibilities, and who approves changes to them.
- Confirm material procurement, approved substitutions, capacity assumptions, and scheduling constraints.
Request quality evidence that matches the requirement.
Check the scope, site, validity, and issuing body of any required certification. Then review the controls needed for your product: measurement methods, calibration, inspection records, testing, nonconformance handling, and revision management. A certificate does not replace part-specific evidence.
- Agree inspection and test coverage, acceptance criteria, and shipment records.
- Review representative reports and clarify whether required measurements can be performed.
- Define containment, corrective-action communication, and approval of process changes.
- PCBA and EMS supplier evaluation in Vietnam — For electronic assemblies, review supplier scope and quality evidence.
Approve samples and production readiness separately.
Agree first-article or sample quantities and the required report before manufacture. Check critical characteristics and functional fit against the controlled requirements. Where justified, use a pilot build to assess repeatability, material traceability, packaging, and capacity under the proposed production conditions.
- Record deviations, concessions, and who may approve them.
- Define what must be resolved before a production release.
- Confirm that sample approval does not silently approve every future process or material change.
Keep a reusable qualification record.
For each checklist item, record the requirement, evidence source and date, reviewer, result, open question, responsible person, and next review date. Use clear results such as accepted, unresolved, or not applicable. The buyer retains supplier-approval responsibility; unresolved critical risks should prevent approval until addressed.
- Capability and production route reviewed; subcontracted scope identified.
- Quality and inspection evidence checked; sample results accepted.
- Capacity, material responsibility, change control, and remaining risks documented.