Launch Readiness Assessment
Our on-site audits evaluate launch readiness and production capability. Think of our assessments like multi-day health checks for your auto parts manufacturing plant. We identify the gaps in your launch readiness and production plans and address them.
The Cost of Supplier Failures at Launch
When a car manufacturer plans for production, they have enormous facilities filled with expensive parts and operations staff to build the vehicles. When parts are missing, the entire situation gets expensive. Someone must pay for all the idle labor and lost profit when missing parts stop the plant from producing vehicles, and these combined costs can easily reach five figures per minute.
Recovery costs at the supplier must also be factored in. Corporate offices and customers who intervene at a troubled facility often compound operational difficulties. Their demand for status updates, leadership conflicts, and decision-making power struggles all increase the burden on operations. Teams then resort to premium freight and non-standard-work containments, both of which are expensive.
The RPM Difference
Taking the Extra Step to Protect Your Supply Chain
At RPM Partners, we take the extra step to check for critical risks that traditional suppliers might miss. We look for logically sequenced credible plans, interpret the information in the layers beneath APQP tools and Program Management reports, and use our experience to find critical issues hiding in plain sight. We audit program team issues lists and timelines and compare them to the conditions on the floor.
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Our On-Site Supplier Assessment Methodology
We visit the supplier and engage with the program team to audit their program execution with a proven supplier audit methodology.
To assess launch readiness before the start of production, we begin by managing wide: looking across the entire program at a high level to look for warning signs. During our discovery phase, we assess your actual program outputs for completion and appropriate sequence for a wide overview.
Our team is experienced at sensing danger and will review and audit the summary tools and program output in enough detail to validate their contribution to a smooth launch. We look for disconnects, missing execution steps, and tasks done out of sequence.
If our findings suggest opportunities for improvement, we shift from managing wide to managing deep: drilling down into the details to formulate recommendations for recovery.
What We Assess in Supplier Risk Evaluations
To make sure you are ready for a successful launch, we look beyond the checklists that claim essential tools are in place. We want to make sure all your tools are linked, with one informing the next, so we evaluate these in this sequential order to make sure they are each successful before evaluating and improving the following:
1
Statement of Work
2
Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (DFMEA)
3
Drawings (critical and special characteristics)
4
Design Verification Plan (DVP)
5
Process Flow
6
Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA)
7
Control Plan
8
Operator Instructions
When we get the answers, we ask to review evidence.
Design
Next, we interview your teams to assess the credibility of the plan and timeline. When supplier timing does not meet expectations, manufacturers must negotiate either expediting/timing compression or modify customer expectations to align with what is possible. For example, all components require their own production part approval process (PPAP) date. When a component’s approval date is after the total finished good approval, there is a disconnect.
Drill Deep into Weaknesses Found in the Discovery Phase
The root cause of timing issues is in the details but knowing what to worry about requires knowledge of those details. You do not have time to sit down with hundreds of suppliers to go through thousands of components worth of data; that’s where we come in. If we sense a disconnect and there is a reason for us to investigate further.
When is the final PPAP?
What is the PPAP date for each component?
Have all suppliers been selected?
Have purchase orders been issued?
Have suppliers committed to component PPAP timing?
When we get the answers, we ask to review evidence.
We trust but verify. We have found that a line of questioning like this reveals whether the supplier knows what corners should not be cut.
Why OEMs Trust RPM Partners for Supplier Assessment
We combine deep financial distress expertise, hands-on manufacturing operations experience, and a launch-focused approach to differentiate our launch readiness assessment and program management services.
Our on-site, in-person assessment goes beyond generic supplier audits. We bring automotive and OEM professionals to engage directly with program teams to assess readiness, deliver actionable recommendations, and enable rapid deployment.
We apply our wide-and-deep management methodology to quickly identify risks and prevent supplier‑driven disruptions before they impact production and cause failures, while drilling into the details that matter most for launch success.
Do you need help assessing your manufacturer’s launch readiness? A proactive supplier review and capability evaluation may uncover gaps, identify risks early, align expectations, and prevent supplier holdups. Contact us today to find out how RPM Partners can support you.
