Supplier exit and transition: moving a part number without stopping the line

What actually has to move when a part changes hands

A drawing pack is the smallest part of the handover. The incumbent holds the tool and its spare inserts, the check fixtures and gauges, the approved control plan, the deviation history, the material approvals it obtained from its own mill, and the undocumented knowledge about which dimension drifts on the night shift. Ask for the gauge register and the tool history early, because tools are often stored at a subcontractor rather than at the plant you visit. Anything the incumbent developed at its own cost, such as a secondary-operation jig, will not move without a commercial conversation, and that conversation goes badly once notice has been served.

The bridge build that keeps the line fed

Almost every transition needs a stock bridge covering the gap between the incumbent's final shipment and the replacement's first approved lot. Sizing it means adding the requalification calendar to the new source's own manufacturing cycle, then adding recovery time for one failed sample round, which is the outcome worth planning for. The build has to be produced while the incumbent still cares, which argues for placing it before notice rather than after. Watch shelf life on adhesives, elastomers and plated components; watch cash, because a bridge is inventory you have paid for and cannot sell; and watch storage conditions, since a banked lot that corrodes is not a bridge.

Exit clauses that only matter once you use them

Supply agreements are written when both parties are optimistic, so termination language rarely gets tested until it is needed. The terms that decide how expensive an exit becomes are the notice period, the tooling release condition, liability for raw material and work in progress the supplier bought against your forecast, and whether the supplier must keep shipping at agreed prices during the notice window. Check whether tooling release is conditional on settled invoices, because a disputed debit note can hold your tool hostage. Check too who owns process documentation created during development, since a supplier that treats the control plan as its own property will hand over nothing usable.

Running the incumbent and the replacement in parallel

For anything safety-related, regulated or dimensionally fussy, plan a window where both sources ship. Parallel running gives a live comparison of capability rather than a sample-based one, and keeps a fallback available while the new process settles. It also creates a traceability obligation: receiving, stores and the line must be able to say which source built any given assembly, which usually means separate lot identifiers and physically separated stock locations. Customers in regulated sectors expect notification of a source change and may require their own approval, so the notification window becomes a gate inside your plan rather than a courtesy afterwards.

Exits that were never your decision

A large share of transitions are not planned. A supplier enters administration, loses its plant to fire or flood, is bought by a competitor, or simply stops answering. The recoverable position is built beforehand: know where your tools physically sit and have that address confirmed in writing, hold a current copy of every drawing and control plan in your own system rather than the supplier's, and keep the material specification detailed enough that another shop could quote from it without asking questions. When an administrator is appointed, tooling you own but cannot identify becomes an asset inside someone else's estate, and arguments about it move slowly.

Frequently asked questions

What should we demand from an outgoing supplier before the final shipment?

Get the physical items first: tools, spare tooling components, check fixtures, gauges and any residual raw material you paid for. Then the records — the current control plan, inspection and capability data, material certificates covering the banked stock, deviation and concession history, and the identity of any subcontractor doing heat treatment, plating or other special processes. Ask for those sub-tier contacts explicitly, because a replacement shop using a different plating line is not making the same part. Confirm the physical location of the tooling in writing.

Who pays for the cost of moving a part to a new supplier?

It depends on why the move is happening. If you are exiting for commercial reasons, expect to fund new or transferred tooling, sample and testing costs, the bridge inventory and any customer approval work. If the incumbent has failed on quality or delivery and the agreement supports a claim, transition costs can sometimes be recovered as damages, but recovery is slow and rarely complete. Budget as though you are paying, and treat any recovery as an improvement to the business case rather than an assumption inside it.

How do you keep an outgoing supplier performing during the notice period?

Assume goodwill will fade and design around it. Keep payments current and undisputed, since the quickest way to lose cooperation is a withheld invoice. Where possible, place the bridge order before serving notice, and settle tooling release terms in the same conversation as the termination rather than later. Give the supplier a defined end point and a clean final account instead of an open-ended wind-down. Where the relationship allows it, being straightforward about the reason usually produces a better handover than a vague one.