What does an aerospace buyer check before adding a supplier?
They check aerospace quality certification, approvals for the special processes involved, and full material traceability. Aerospace supply is a documentation discipline: a part without a complete, auditable paper trail is not a part that can be fitted.
A supply chain engineer is qualifying a source for a part where the audit trail matters as much as the geometry.
Reviewed 4 August 2026
Scope and specifications
- Products and processes
- Machining, sheet metal, composites and assembly are different approvals.
- Aerospace quality certification
- The sector quality standard, with certificate details.
- Special process approvals
- Heat treatment, plating, non-destructive testing and welding each need approval.
- Materials worked
- Titanium, nickel alloys and aluminium require different capability.
- Size and tolerance capability
- The technical filter.
- Traceability system
- Material and process traceability to the individual part.
- Customer approvals held
- Prime contractor approvals shorten qualification.
Documents buyers may need
| Document | What it proves | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| Aerospace quality certificationAsked at: supplier approval — mandatory | The aerospace quality management standard, with certificate number and body | Publish it |
| Special process approvalsAsked at: before those processes are performed | Approval for each controlled process, by the recognised scheme or the customer | Publish it |
| Material certificationAsked at: every part | Full traceability of material to its source and specification | Per shipment |
| First article inspection reportAsked at: before series release | Full verification of the first part against the drawing | Per shipment |
| Certificate of conformityAsked at: every shipment | Formal declaration that parts meet the requirement | Per shipment |
| Non-destructive testing approvalsAsked at: where required by drawing | Approval and operator qualification for the methods used | Name it, share on request |
| Export control and counterfeit prevention policyAsked at: onboarding | Handling of controlled data and prevention of counterfeit material | Publish it |
Details for a useful enquiry
- Part drawing and specification
- The basis of any quote.
- Material and special processes required
- Determines whether you hold the approvals.
- Quality and certification requirements
- Frequently customer-specific.
- Volume and delivery schedule
- Aerospace volumes are low and schedules firm.
- Export control classification
- Determines what can be shared and with whom.
- First article and delivery dates
- Qualification takes time and must be planned.
Questions suppliers ask
Why list special process approvals separately?
Because they are approved separately and buyers verify them separately. A part requiring heat treatment and non-destructive testing needs approvals for both, held either by you or by an approved subcontractor. Listing them individually, with sources, is how a buyer confirms you can actually make the part.
How much does prior prime contractor approval matter?
Considerably, because it demonstrates that your quality system has already survived an audit by a demanding customer. Where confidentiality permits, stating which primes have approved you, even generically, materially shortens a new qualification.
What most often disqualifies a new aerospace supplier?
Documentation rather than capability. Parts that are dimensionally correct but arrive without complete material certification, process records and a certificate of conformity cannot be accepted. Showing what your paperwork package contains addresses the real risk.
Check which documents and standards your buyer needs; requirements vary by market, customer and contract.
Plact Research. Plact's editorial desk for buyer-evidence research. Industry standards, documents and buyer questions are researched and drafted with Plact's AI tools, then reviewed by Praveen Kavuri before publication. Every claim cites the standard, regulation or public source it rests on.
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