A number of factors go into choosing the right manufacturing partner. Capabilities, certifications, and equipment are important starting points, but the decision should go beyond confirming that your supplier can make your parts.
Whether you’re evaluating a new supplier or taking a closer look at an existing partnership, this checklist can help you identify what matters.
1. Can They Cover the Basics?
There are a few obvious questions to answer first:
- Does the supplier have the necessary machining and manufacturing capabilities?
- Do they have the certifications your industry or project requires?
- Do they have the capacity to support your production needs?
These requirements represent the minimum, making it easy to qualify or disqualify a supplier. But once you’ve established that a supplier can technically produce your parts, it’s time to consider how they operate.
2. Do They Communicate Clearly and Proactively?
Pay attention to the questions a supplier asks during the quoting stage. A manufacturer that simply says yes to every tolerance, material, special process, and requested lead time may seem easy to work with, but the right manufacturing partners will push back when something isn’t realistic. If a tolerance is unrealistic or a lead time is too aggressive given the project’s complexity, you want a supplier who’s willing to tell you that up front.
At Reata, we often ask our customers about challenges they’ve experienced with previous suppliers. We also use a pre-quote questionnaire to better understand their priorities before we develop a quote. These proactive measures ensure we understand what our customers are actually trying to accomplish so we can determine how to support them.
Additionally, a strong manufacturing partner should be upfront when they aren’t the right fit. We know we aren’t the best choice for every project, and we’re comfortable directing customers toward other manufacturers when another shop can provide more value. That honesty builds confidence from the beginning.
How Do They Handle Bad News?
Every manufacturer experiences problems one way or another. The bigger question is what happens next. Does your supplier identify the problem early? Do they tell you what happened and explain how they’re addressing it? Do they take steps to prevent it from happening again?
A mature manufacturer doesn’t hide bad news or tell you what they think you want to hear. They communicate clearly, take ownership, and learn from the problem.
3. Does Their Engineering Expertise Suit Your Project’s Requirements?
The best suppliers essentially become an extension of your engineering and operations teams. They understand how your parts function, identify potential manufacturing problems, and help find solutions before those problems reach downstream processes.
Be sure to look for a supplier that can:
- Ask meaningful questions about your design
- Identify manufacturability concerns
- Recommend process improvements
- Help troubleshoot production issues
- Understand how individual components fit into the larger product
Engineering support becomes especially valuable on new products and complex parts, where the drawing may not tell the whole story.
4. How Is Quality Built Into Their Processes?
A supplier’s quality program should extend beyond final inspection. Ask how they manage things like:
- Revision control and traceability
- First-article inspections
- In-process inspection
- Dimensional reporting
- Nonconformances and RMAs
- Inspection data and records
You can also ask how they monitor parts while they’re being produced and whether they have the equipment needed to verify critical dimensions.
A supplier that discovers every problem at final inspection has a very different process from one that builds quality checks throughout production.
5. How Do They Manage On-Time Delivery?
On-time delivery is another critical part of supplier performance. Consider the following questions to see how they manage scheduling:
- How does the supplier schedule work?
- How do they manage capacity?
- What happens when they have an urgent job?
- How do they communicate if a date changes?
A strong, customer-focused manufacturer should have systems in place to control both the parts they’re producing and the commitments they’re making.
6. How Strong Is Their Supply Chain?
Even if your manufacturer makes the majority of your parts in-house, they likely rely on outside suppliers for materials, finishing, plating, heat treating, coatings, or other processes. That means their supply chain becomes part of yours.
Look closely at whether your supplier has established relationships with outside vendors and how they communicate with those vendors. Can they maintain traceability? How do they track material and process certifications?
A strong manufacturing partner should be thinking about the entire path your parts take through production, not just what happens inside its own facility.
7. Do They Track Their Performance?
A manufacturer should know how it’s performing. What metrics are they tracking around areas related to:
- On-time delivery
- Quality
- Capacity
- Scrap and rework
- Customer satisfaction
A partner that doesn’t know where it is struggling will have a harder time improving.
You don’t necessarily need a supplier to share every internal metric with you, but they should have a clear understanding of their own performance and where improvements are needed.
8. Are They Thinking About the Future?
Your supplier should be thinking beyond your current purchase order. Look for evidence that they are investing in equipment, software, automation, and employee training and development.
Continuous improvement doesn’t necessarily mean always buying the new, shiny machine. It means the company is actively looking for ways to become more capable and reliable for its customers. You don’t want to outgrow your manufacturing partner because it hasn’t invested in the capabilities your products will eventually require.
The Right Partner Creates the Most Seamless Experience for You
Choosing a manufacturing partner is ultimately about more than finding someone who can make your parts. You want a company that can understand your requirements, identify problems before they become costly, communicate when things change, and continuously improve how it supports you. At Reata, that’s the standard we work toward.
Looking for a manufacturing partner, or validating that your current partner is checking all your boxes? Download the attached checklist to evaluate your current supplier or take it with you when evaluating your next one.
If Reata checks all your boxes, reach out. We’d love to learn more about your project and see how we can help.