QuotedPartAnswers · Updated 2026-10-30
How do I get on a customer's approved supplier list?
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Ask the buyer for their supplier qualification process, fill in everything they send, and expect a document package, a survey or audit of your quality system, and a first order that proves you. There's no single route: each customer runs its own program, and the timeline is theirs. The steps below are the ones that are common, and the checklist shows what to have ready so that you can answer within days instead of weeks.
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The steps, in the usual order
1. Find who runs it. Large manufacturers publish supplier requirements on a website or portal; smaller ones have a buyer or a supplier-quality engineer. Ask the person who contacted you. Don't send a capabilities brochure to a general inbox and wait.
2. Submit the basics. Expect a supplier application: legal name, address, tax form (W-9), insurance certificate, a list of equipment and processes, key customers, and sometimes financials. Sending these completely the first time saves the most time.
3. Show your quality system. They may ask for a certificate (ISO 9001, AS9100), or for your quality manual and procedures, or for a survey to fill in, or an on-site audit. A shop with no certificate can often be approved on a survey and a visit if the work needs no certificate.
4. Pass a first article or a trial order. Many customers approve a supplier part number by part number: your first order is the test. Deliver on time, with the paperwork in the form they asked for, and ask for feedback when it's done.
5. Stay approved. Approved status is reviewed. Late deliveries, escapes and unreturned corrective action requests are how shops drop off a list.
What to have ready
Keep these in one folder so a request is a two-hour job. Do not invent items you don't have, such as a certificate; say what you do have.
| Item | Why they ask | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| W-9, business license, insurance certificate | Set you up as a vendor | Check the liability limit they require before you send it |
| Equipment and capability list with sizes and tolerances | Judge fit with their parts | Include inspection equipment and its calibration status |
| Quality manual or procedures: contract review, purchasing, receiving, calibration, nonconformance | Judge control | Keep it short and true; they will audit it |
| Calibration records for gauges and CMM | Measurement control | A list with due dates is enough to start |
| Material traceability: how a part ties to a mill cert | Traceability | Show a sample traveler |
| References or past work | Judge track record | Ask your customers first |
| Export registration, if the work is defense-related | Legal requirement | Ask your customer what applies; see the ITAR and CMMC pages |
| Sample first article report and C of C | Show how you report | Make a real one from a recent job |
How long it takes, and how to speed it up
We don't have a verified timeline: it varies from days for a small buyer that accepts a survey to a long process at a prime with audits and approvals. Ask the buyer for their expected time at the start, and ask what would speed it up.
The shop that gets approved fastest has already answered the questions. Respond within a day, send complete documents, keep the shop tidy for a visit, and send a sample report. Then do exactly what you said on the first order.
Don't over-promise capacity on the application. A new supplier who can't hit the first delivery is often cut after one order. Tell them what lead time you can do honestly.
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- The steps and the kit are a checklist from common practice; no timeline or approval rate is claimed.
Questions
Do I need ISO 9001 or AS9100 first?
Not always. Some customers require a certificate; others approve on a survey and an audit. Ask before spending money.
Can I quote before I am approved?
Often yes, but you may not receive an order until approved. Ask the buyer.
Price one of your own parts
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