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Selecting the right supplier is crucial to the success of any new design. Although you may have an existing relationship with a vendor, it is important to continuously validate their capabilities for your emerging needs.
Our EV Supplier Evaluation Interview Guide provides you with 13 essential interview questions to help ensure that your chosen supplier meets your technical requirements, quality standards, and long-term goals. This interview guide is meant to be a starting point that identifies common criteria that you should discuss with a supplier during the evaluation process. Different industries or applications may have additional requirements, and these questions can be further modified as needed.
1. What is your experience in supplying components for electric vehicle applications? |
2. Do you have customer testimonials or case studies on your company’s products and previous projects? |
3. Do you comply with established standards and regulations for the automotive industry (such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949, PPAP, etc.)? |
4. Can you provide documentation on your established internal quality management system and related policies? |
5. What processes do you have in place to address the control of changes made to the product or process so that the supply chain and production cycle is not adversely affected? |
6. What types of components are included in your product range? Can you deliver adjustments from standard parts to customize components? |
7. What manufacturing capabilities do you have? (machining, forming, stamping, etc.) |
8. Is your production capacity flexible? How long does it take, on average, to increase your capabity? |
9. What is your estimated parts per million (PPM) defect rate over a given range of time? |
10. What value-added services do you offer (e.g., maintenance, testing, warranties, engineering design support, inventory management etc.)? |
11. What technical support do you provide? Where are your technical resources located? How accessible are these resources? |
12. Please describe your product development and revalidation testing requirements. |
13. What training programs do you have in place for employee advancements? What educational opportunities do you provide to ensure that information related to component design and production endures? |
Selecting the best component suppliers for your electric vehicle can mean the difference between system failure and project success. We’ve developed tools including these interview questions, a checklist, and a worksheet to help you evaluate the best supplier.
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