Five Questions to Ask Before Qualifying a New Component Source

Price and lead time get the most attention when qualifying a new component source, but they're rarely where the real risk hides. A source that's 5% cheaper but can't produce clean traceability documentation, or handles quality escapes poorly, will cost far more than the savings the first time something goes wrong on a customer's line.

This guide covers the five questions our sourcing team asks every new supplier before a source ever gets added to an approved vendor list: Can you trace this lot back to an authorized manufacturer or distributor? What's your documented process when a quality escape is discovered after shipment? How do you handle date-code and lot-code consistency across a single order? What's your return and RMA policy in writing, not just verbally? And can you provide references from customers sourcing similar part categories?

None of these questions are unusual, but you'd be surprised how many prospective suppliers struggle to answer even one or two of them clearly. The suppliers that answer all five without hesitation are almost always the ones worth building a long-term relationship with.