In aviation, vendor quality is never “just purchasing”. It is a core part of how you protect airworthiness and customer trust.
Too often, organisations still treat ISO 9001 or EN9100 requirements as paperwork instead of as a practical framework to select, monitor and develop their vendors.
From my experience in supplier quality and as Certifying Staff in a Part 21G production environment, the real value of a QMS appears when you connect the clauses to daily vendor decisions – audits, approval, escalation and, if necessary, phased exit.
For aviation OEMs and maintenance providers, three simple questions make a big difference:
- Do we have a clear, risk‑based process to approve and re‑approve vendors (not just a one‑time questionnaire)?
- Do we systematically link vendor performance (quality escapes, documentation, on‑time delivery) to our internal risk register and audit plan?
- Do we treat distributors and brokers with the same process discipline as direct manufacturers, especially regarding EN9120 and traceability?
If you recognise gaps here, it is not about blaming Purchasing. It is about building a joint vendor quality approach between Quality, Engineering and Supply Management – one that is simple enough to use and strong enough to satisfy ISO, EN and customer‑specific requirements.
At SK Quality Consulting, I support organisations that want to turn “vendor management” into a living part of their aviation QMS – from practical audit checklists to aligned procedures for vendor approval, monitoring and escalation.
If this is relevant for your organisation, feel free to reach out via skqc.org or connect with me here on LinkedIn.