Metal Finishing Technologies Purchasing Terms and Conditions
General: As a supplier to Metal Finishing Technologies, (MFT), it is understood that your organization agrees to meet the following stipulations / AS9100 requirements whenever an MFT Purchase Order specifies that the order is for an aerospace application/job (or contains some similar aerospace/AS9100 reference). These requirements are, therefore, to be considered as terms and conditions to all aerospace purchases.
1. All suppliers to MFT are expected to implement a quality system and will provide MFT with evidence of an established system.
2. Where required on the MFT Purchase Order, its suppliers must use MFT’s customer-approved special process sources.
3. Suppliers shall ensure appropriate competence of its personnel, including any required qualifications, when applicable, to provide additional confidence of the conformance of purchases.
4. Suppliers shall ensure its personnel are aware of their contribution to product or service conformity, their contribution to product safety, and the importance of ethical behavior.
5. MFT monitors supplier performance, including both on-time delivery, and quality of purchases, and may react accordingly based on performance concerns.
6. When applicable, MFT retains all rights and controls regarding design and development activities of purchases, and supplier agrees to abide by MFT’s direction.
7. MFT is to be contacted (by the supplier) in the event of nonconforming product/material. Arrangements for the approval of supplier nonconforming product/material must be as directed by an MFT authorized manager or designee.
8. Furthermore, the supplier is required to notify MFT of any changes to a product and/or process and/or service, including changes of their external providers or location of manufacture, and to obtain approval from an authorized MFT manager or designee (if applicable).
9. MFT, their customers, and regulatory authorities retain the right of access to all supplier facilities involved in the aerospace order and to all applicable records.
10. The AS9100 standard requires that all applicable customer/regulatory/AS9100 requirements for the supplier to flow-down to sub-tier suppliers (includes requirements in the purchasing documents and key characteristics where required). However, MFT does not allow its aerospace suppliers to subcontract any product or process to a sub-tier supplier without MFT expressed written consent.
11. MFT performs inspection activities to ensure that purchased product meets purchase requirements. They may include: Receiving inspections (of supplier products / services / documents) may be / are performed by a designated employee. MFT verifies the authenticity of the appropriate certificate of conformity, material certificates, etc. and other accompanying documentation by review and comparison (as is appropriate) to the drawing and/or industry specifications or by other means. When necessary, MFT may inspect or audit at the supplier’s facility. Furthermore, products are inspected to ensure they meet requirements (dimensions, etc.) and the results are recorded (as appropriate). All special processes (periodic testing, salt spray, etc.) where the compliance cannot be verified by inspections will require a Certificate of Conformity.
12. When appropriate, MFT may delegate the inspection authority to one of its approved suppliers. MFT will communicate the inspection requirements (including approved monitoring and measurement equipment/methods) and will maintain a record of those approved to carry out such inspections.
13. Where specified in the contract, the MFT customer or customer’s representative will be afforded the right to verify at the supplier’s premises and MFT’s premises that subcontracted product conforms to specified requirements. Verification by the customer is not used by MFT as evidence of effective control of quality by the supplier and shall not absolve MFT or its supplier of the responsibility to provide acceptable product, nor shall it preclude subsequent rejection by the customer.
14. When MFT or its customer intends to perform verification at the supplier’s premises; MFT will first state the intended verification arrangements and the method of product release. This information will be communicated on the MFT Purchase Order or via another acceptable purchasing arrangement.
15. To prevent the purchase of counterfeit or suspect/unapproved manufacturing consumables and to ensure product identification and traceability (and for other reasons), MFT will institute controls that include the requirement of Material Certificates, Certificates of Conformity, and/or other supporting documentation from its suppliers as is appropriate. These requirements may be specified on MFT’s Purchase Order or may otherwise be communicated to the supplier.
16. MFT may also require specific actions where timely and/or effective corrective actions to a supplier issue(s) are not achieved. These actions may include but are not limited to any or all of the following: withholding payment until the issue is resolved, removal of the supplier from MFT’s Approved Supplier List, and legal actions.
17. Records are available for review by customers and regulatory authorities in accordance with contract or regulatory requirements and should otherwise be kept confidential.
18. MFT requires all documents be retained for 10 years. MFT requires vendors to destroy/shred/delete or otherwise securely dispose of documents after the retention period has ended.