Two suppliers were qualified in the same month against the same criteria and both passed. One delivered three orders on schedule; the other missed the third, because its line had been committed elsewhere and nobody had asked for a schedule. Both qualifications had been thorough, and both had answered a question that was not the risk.
Supplier qualification: the four gaps that let risk through
Evidence that answers the wrong question, qualification by certificate, capacity assumed, and no re-qualification after a change.
Each gap produces a qualification record that looks complete and a risk that arrives later. The pattern is consistent: the documents were collected, the questions were asked, and the specific risk that materialised was never in the list.
The remedy is not more paperwork. It is asking what would have to be true for this supplier to fail, and then checking that one thing.
Gap 1: evidence that answers the wrong question
A quality manual describes an organisation; a test record describes a product.
Qualifications often collect system documents, which show how the factory is arranged, and leave the product evidence to the sample. The two are different: the platform revision, the test limits and their source, and the records from the last production batch describe what will be shipped. Confirm it by asking for the last batch’s raw results and seeing whether the document can be read as a description of a specific product.
Gap 2: qualification by certificate
A certificate without a scope answers nothing about your product.
The useful document states the product revision covered, the markets supported and the responsible party. Where a supplier is qualified on a certificate alone, the gap appears when a marketplace asks for the file in the brand’s name, or when the platform revision changes and the certificate no longer describes the product being bought. Reading the scope takes a few minutes and prevents that discovery.
Gap 3: capacity assumed from floor area
Capacity is a schedule for the months you need, not a measure of the building.
The question is which line, which shifts, how many units per shift for this product and which months are already committed. A supplier that answers in machine counts is describing capability; one that answers with a named line and committed months is describing availability. The risk of skipping this check appears on the third order, which is the one that arrives when the first two have gone well.
Gap 4: no re-qualification after a change
Qualification describes a state, and the state changes.
A change of factory, ownership, line, platform revision or key supplier invalidates part of the qualification record. The trigger is the change, not the calendar, and the practical approach is to write into the supply terms which changes require notification and which require a re-qualification before the next order. Without that clause, the first sign of a change is usually a batch that behaves differently.
| Gap | How it appears | How to confirm it | What closes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrong evidence | System documents and a sample | Ask for the last batch’s raw results | Product evidence in the record |
| Certificate only | A file without a scope | Read the revision and the markets | The scope and the responsible party |
| Capacity assumed | Machine counts as an answer | Ask for the line and committed months | A dated capacity answer |
| No re-qualification | The first sign is a different batch | Ask which changes trigger a review | A notification clause in the terms |
Building a qualification record that survives
Six items, and each one is checked against the product rather than the organisation.
The platform and its revision; the test stages with their limits and the source of each; the certification scope by market; the capacity answer with a date; the traceability format and the retention period; and the changes that trigger a re-qualification. The record is short, it is dated, and it can be reviewed by someone who was not involved in the qualification, which is the test of whether it is usable.
When to re-qualify
Four triggers, and all four are events rather than dates.
A change of production site or line; a change of the platform revision or a key component; a change of ownership or of the certification holder; and a defect that reached the market. Each of the four moves the supplier away from the state that was qualified, and each is cheaper to review before the next order than after the next shipment.
FAQ
How is qualification different from vetting?
Vetting decides whether to work with a supplier; qualification records the state the supplier is in for a specific product, with the evidence attached. Vetting ends in a decision, qualification ends in a record that can be reviewed later. Vetting decides whether to work with a supplier, while qualification records the state the supplier is in for a specific product with the evidence attached.
What if the supplier refuses a re-qualification?
The clause in the supply terms is what makes the request a contractual step rather than a favour. Where no clause exists, the buyer has to decide whether the change is material enough to hold the next order, and that decision is easier with the clause in place. The clause in the supply terms is what makes the request a contractual step rather than a favour, and without one the buyer has to decide whether to hold the next order.
Do we need to qualify a second source?
A second source is worth qualifying while there is no pressure to use it, because qualifying under time pressure is not qualification. The record can be maintained at the pilot stage and refreshed when the volume moves. A second source is worth qualifying while there is no pressure to use it, because qualifying under time pressure is not qualification at all.
How much evidence is enough?
Enough to answer the specific question the qualification exists for: what will be shipped, from which line, with which limits and which records. Six items covering those points are more useful than a folder of certificates. Enough to answer the specific question the qualification exists for: what will be shipped, from which line, with which limits and which records attached.
Who owns the qualification record?
The buyer, with the supplier providing the evidence. Where the brand sells under its own name, the record also supports the answers the brand has to give to a marketplace or a distributor. The buyer owns it with the supplier providing the evidence, and where the brand sells under its own name the record supports the answers a marketplace or a distributor asks for.
Next step
Send the product, the volume and the markets to Wecent Group through the contact page. The reply provides the qualification record for the configuration: the platform and its revision, the limits and their source, the certification scope, the capacity answer and the change triggers. Related reading: our charger factory, OEM and ODM charger manufacturing and charger manufacturing services. External references: IEC standards, BSI ISO 9001 quality management, IQNet certification network, UL standards and certification, ICC Incoterms rules and Intertek testing services.
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