Supply chain consulting for aerospace and defense suppliers

This is for small and mid-size manufacturers that make parts or assemblies for aerospace and defense customers.

• Machine shops and fabricators supplying primes or larger tier suppliers.
• Suppliers with long-lead materials, special processes and approved-source requirements.
• Teams asked by customers for stronger traceability and supplier records.
• Companies dependent on a small number of qualified sub-tier suppliers.
• Owners growing aerospace work alongside commercial business.

Aerospace and defense work adds constraints that commercial work does not. Common issues include:

• Long lead times on certified materials and special processes.
• Few approved sources, so one late supplier delays a whole order.
• Certificates and records scattered across email and paper files.
• Planning that does not reflect long lead times and lot traceability.
• Customer scorecards with little time to act on them.

We focus on the supply chain and records side of the work. Depending on scope:

• A map of critical parts, materials and special processes to their approved sources.
• A sub-tier supplier risk review and options for alternates.
• Support preparing information for alternate supplier qualification, which your quality team and customer approve.
• A records structure for certificates of conformance, material certifications and test reports.
• Planning settings for long-lead and lot-controlled items.
• A supplier performance routine your buyers can maintain.

Our founder has worked in supply chain on the Pratt & Whitney F100 engine program, as described on his professional profile. That background shapes how we look at approved sources, long lead times and documentation.

We do not claim security clearances, ITAR registration or government contracts, and we do not approve suppliers or certify compliance. Quality, export control and contract decisions stay with your team, your customers and your advisers. For background on records, read supplier traceability requirements.

For many suppliers, the payoff is fewer surprises. When long-lead items are visible early, approved sources are mapped and records are easy to find, buyers spend less time firefighting and more time working with suppliers ahead of need. That steadier rhythm also makes it easier to respond to customer questions about delivery and documentation with facts rather than estimates. It also gives new buyers a clear picture of the supply base much sooner.

Many small A&D suppliers start with a single painful program: a part with a long-lead material, a special process available from only one or two approved houses, or a customer scorecard showing late deliveries. We map that program end to end first, from material order to shipment, and find where time is lost.

From there, the work tends to fall into three streams. The first is supply: understanding which sources are approved for each part and process, where alternates might exist and what information your quality team would need to evaluate them. The second is records: making certificates, test reports and purchase records easy to retrieve for each lot. The third is planning: making sure long lead times and lot control are reflected in the ERP so purchasing starts early enough.

Each stream produces something your team keeps: a source map, a records structure and planning settings with a clear owner.

We work only with information you are permitted to share with an outside adviser. If export-controlled technical data is involved, we agree in advance how the work is structured so that controlled data stays with your authorized people.

A useful first conversation needs only general information, not controlled technical data. Please bring:

• The types of parts you make and the materials and special processes involved.
• A rough count of approved sources for your most critical materials and processes.
• Any recent customer scorecard comments on delivery or documentation.
• How certificates and test reports are stored today.

Do you hold a security clearance or ITAR registration?

No. We do not claim clearances, ITAR registration or government contracts. Scope is agreed so that we work only with information you are permitted to share.

Can you qualify a new supplier for us?

We can help gather and organize the information your quality team and customer need. Qualification and approval decisions stay with them.

Do you help with AS9100 certification?

No. We are not a certification consultant. We help with supply chain records and processes that sit alongside your quality system.

Is this only for defense work?

No. It applies to commercial aerospace and other regulated, long-lead supply chains too.

How do we start?

Contact us. Contact us first, scope agreed before we start.

• All services
• Supplier risk assessment
• Supplier compliance documentation
• Single-source supplier risk
• Industries we support