US Marine OEM: 6-RFQ Supplier Qualification Won Through Tooling Order
A US marine OEM ran a rigorous multi-month evaluation across several business units to qualify a new supplier for custom wire harnesses and audio systems.
Background
A US marine OEM was searching for a new supplier capable of producing custom wire harnesses and integrated audio systems. The evaluation pulled in multiple business units and ran across several months.
The Challenge
The customer issued 6 separate RFQs over two months and opened a 64-email technical deep-dive thread. They demanded strict weekly delivery, a clear plan for tariff mitigation, and pricing that beat their incumbent suppliers.
Our Solution
We held response times to 1-2 days throughout the engagement and proactively proposed a buffer-stock strategy, ordering ahead to support weekly delivery and reduce tariff exposure. We also presented alternative material options transparently, showing the cost benefit of each.
The Result
We cleared the extensive qualification process and secured the tooling order, moving the program into the prototyping phase ahead of mass production. The 64-email thread and 6 RFQs converted into a committed relationship.