Case study: three processes, one shipment — multi-supplier coordination

The problem: a product that crosses three processes

The assembly needed a sheet-metal enclosure, machined mounting brackets, and extruded rails. Each part is simplest made by a different kind of shop — and a buyer placing three separate orders inherits three schedules, three quality standards and three sets of export paperwork that all have to land together.

The risk isn't price. It's that the enclosure arrives, the brackets are a week behind, and the rails were made to a slightly different revision. Nobody is accountable for the kit.

What I did

• Matched each part to the right shop. Sheet metal to a laser-bend-weld shop, brackets to a machining shop, rails to an extrusion supplier — chosen on capability, per the four capability domains.
• Held one quality standard across all three. First-article inspection and the same drawing-level tolerance discipline applied to every supplier, so the parts actually fit each other. See sheet metal fabrication in China for the process detail.
• Coordinated the schedules. The critical path was planned across all three shops so the parts converge on one date, not three.
• Kitted and shipped as one. Consolidated into a single deliverable — one purchase order, one accountability chain, one shipment to the dock.

The result

Three processes consolidated into one accountable delivery. The customer placed one order and dealt with one engineer instead of chasing three suppliers across time zones — and the parts arrived together, to one revision, ready to assemble.

Where I fit in

Multi-process work is where a single accountable engineer pays for itself — I match each part to the right shop, hold one quality standard across all of them, and land the kit together. Send the assembly.

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