Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) is how companies that adopt Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) to build confidence and ensure that suppliers are able to meet quality requirements as well as demonstrate readiness for production as per the specifications. Many industry supply chains, including Automotive, Aerospace, Medical Devices have adopted APQP and PPAP as the standard for working with the supply chain and ensuring their readiness.
ZFlow supports highly developed APQP framework and PPAP processes that can be used to work collaboratively with suppliers and ensuring their readiness. Depending on the program need and supply chain relationships different PPAP levels can be supported within in the workflow
- Level 1 – Part Submission Warrant (PSW) only submitted to the customer.
- Level 2 – PSW with product samples and limited supporting data.
- Level 3 – PSW with product samples and complete supporting data.
- Level 4 – PSW and other requirements as defined by the customer.
- Level 5 – PSW with product samples and complete supporting data available for review at the supplier’s manufacturing location. Complete documentation
Supplier PPAP Workflow
Suppliers can use the Supplier PPAP flow that uses a stage-gate model of workflow where each phase is represented using a project activity as shown below.
Suppliers can initiate the Supplier PPAP workflow themselves for the components that they design/manufacture and complete the tasks
APQP/PPAP Tools and Techniques
Suppliers can also take advantage of APQP tools and techniques available in ZFlow to provide required PPAP information.
PPAP Part Data and Document Management
In addition to using integrated APQP tools and techniques suppliers can also share and submit required data and documentation using integrated parts data and document management capabilities of PPAP workflow.
