Your first batch of metal brackets arrived as agreed. For the repeat order, the same salesperson sends the same drawing and bank details, then mentions that a sister factory will handle production. It has more space, he says. Your engineer approved the process at the original site; she has seen nothing from the sister factory. Before accepting the repeat order, find out what will move and what evidence she needs to approve the new arrangement.
The brackets, sites and proposed approvals below are fictional illustrations, not customer transactions or a qualification standard. This article is general information, not engineering, legal, tax or investment advice. Qualified specialists must determine suitable checks. A successful earlier batch does not guarantee performance at another site, and an internal hold does not change existing contractual obligations.
Identify the new site and the work it will perform
Ask the contracting seller for the new site's address, operating business and relationship to the seller. Have it identify the operations proposed there. Moving final packing raises different questions from moving machining, welding or coating. Your technical reviewer needs the proposed division of work, including outside processors.
The seller may describe the site as another workshop in the same group. Establish who operates it and who will provide access and production records. The registration-records guide helps identify the businesses involved. A common owner does not establish that two facilities use the same equipment or controls.
In its manufacturing-contract discussion, Harris Sliwoski highlights unauthorised subcontracting and movement of production or tooling as issues to address in the contract. This is legal-practice commentary, not evidence of how often suppliers relocate work. Have counsel review the seller's proposal against your own subcontracting and change-approval terms.
Explain which parts of the earlier approval need reopening
Your engineer should compare the original process with the proposed process at the new site. For the brackets, she may need information about the forming equipment, material source and coating operation. Record changes and unknowns, with the previous approved process as the reference. Keeping the drawing unchanged does not answer those process questions.
Ask the supplier whether tooling will move, whether different equipment will require adaptations and who will control setup. Establish how the new factory receives the current specification and reference samples. If some operations stay at the old site, agree how staff will identify and transfer parts between locations.
QIMA's manufacturing-audit description covers assessing facilities, capabilities and quality systems. Use that distinction when choosing a verification assignment. Your team may need a process assessment before a finished-batch inspection can answer the remaining questions. The independent-inspector guide covers selecting a contractor for a defined brief.
Agree a site-change proposal before production approval
A useful proposal gives purchasing something narrower to accept than "same quality, different factory". For this fictional repeat order, your team could request the following record:
| Proposal field | Confirmation to obtain |
|---|---|
| Sites and roles | Original and proposed locations, operating businesses and operations at each |
| Process changes | Equipment, materials, tooling and outside processors that differ or remain unverified |
| Verification access | Named site contact, relevant records and permission for agreed visits or tests |
| Trial evidence | Identifiable first articles or trial lot made using the intended process at the new site |
| Acceptance | Specialist-defined criteria and the buyer's authorised reviewer |
| Commercial responsibility | Seller's agreed responsibility for subcontracted work and handling of failures |
| Next approval | Exact quantity and process authorised after review; restrictions on later changes |
These are negotiation fields, not a mandatory qualification format. Have the seller confirm the record and settle the schedule and costs before commissioning the work. The contracting seller should acknowledge its agreed responsibilities; pointing you towards a sister factory after a failure is not the arrangement you intended to buy.
Your purchasing response can state that the original site approval does not extend to the proposed facility, with the new order awaiting agreed evidence. Counsel should adapt that response if you have already committed to the repeat order. You cannot assume that an internal purchasing rule permits you to suspend a due payment or cancel production.
Evaluate parts made through the intended new process
Suppose the new site sends acceptable first articles, but its manager says workers made them on the old site's equipment. Your engineer has learned about those parts, not demonstrated the proposed new production process. Ask for the agreed evidence from the intended location and record the limitation of the first submission.
For a suitable technical trial, keep the lot identifiable and connect its parts to the site, material and process records. Your specialist chooses the tests and sample quantity. A hand-selected sample or video of an unrelated batch cannot substitute for the agreed assignment.
If your reviewer accepts a bounded trial but leaves scale-up questions open, limit approval to that scope. A pilot still needs acceptable safety and compliance conditions. Decline the transfer if the seller cannot provide necessary access or evidence, and address existing commitments through the agreed contractual process.
Give finance the revised approval
After review, record the accepted site and operations with the approved order revision. Name the reviewer and identify unresolved limitations. Purchasing should also confirm any changed lead time, inspection booking or price before finance releases funds. Use the factory-order payment plan for those release points.
Use pay an invoice to ask A2vanta about a proposed supplier payment before funding. Payment handling does not qualify a factory. Your team approves the new manufacturing arrangement even if finance recognises the seller and payment recipient from the first order.