FIG. 1 · RFI 26-118 · ELECTRONICS HOUSING ASSEMBLY · EXAMPLE
You can make this part. So can the shop down the road.
Deals are won and lost on the secondary ops.
A prime needs this electronics housing assembly, every op on the drawing done by one supplier. You and Competitor B both answered the RFI. Each of you sent a capabilities sheet copied from your website. Pick the work you want, then scroll. We'll read you both note by note, the way a prime's supplier quality engineer will.
RFI: THE BUYER'S SUPPLIER SCREEN. ONLY THE SHORTLIST GETS THE RFQ.
SCROLL TO READ THE DRAWING ↓
NOTES 1 TO 4 · FIRST-ORDER
Same machines. Same certs.
6061-T651. Five-axis to ±0.001 in. AS9100D. A CMM report with an AS9102 first article. You say it. Competitor B says it. So does every shop that answered. These notes get you read. They don't decide who gets the RFQ.
Every shop that answered gets this far.
FIRST-ORDER: MATERIAL, MACHINING, QUALITY SYSTEM, INSPECTION. TABLE STAKES.
NEXT: THE SECOND OP ↓NOTES 5 TO 9 · SECOND-ORDER
Then the drawing asks for a second op. And a third.
Hard anodize, masked for chem film on the gasket lands. Thread inserts. An EMI gasket and connector plate, torqued. A UID mark to MIL-STD-130. Competitor B says each one on its website. Yours stops at machining. The buyer wants one supplier for the finished assembly, so they count what each shop says it can finish.
SECOND-ORDER: FINISH, HARDWARE, SUB-ASSEMBLY, MARKING, TEST.
NOTE 9 · LEAK TEST · PREFERRED · NEITHER SHOP SAYS IT · HOLD THAT THOUGHT
NEXT: THE RFI RESULT ↓RFI 26-118 CLOSED
You lose the RFI. You never see the RFQ.
Nobody calls to ask about your anodizer. The RFQ goes to the shop that wrote it down, and the five-axis work you're best at goes with it. You won't hear that you were in the running.
YOUR SITE SAYS 04 OF 9 · COMPETITOR B SAYS 08 · SHORTLIST CUT 7 · ILLUSTRATION
Would a buyer shortlist you? Get your free Buyer's-Eye Audit →ILLUSTRATION · INVENTED SHOPS · RFI: THE SUPPLIER SCREEN · RFQ: THE REQUEST FOR QUOTE
NEXT: WHAT'S ON YOUR FLOOR ↓AS FOUND ON YOUR FLOOR
You do that. The buyer had no way to know.
Your anodizer has run your housings for years, and your quality team owns the masking drawing and the certs. Inserts and gaskets go in on the assembly bench. The laser marker sits by the CMM, and the leak-test stand is behind the tool crib. It's all true on your floor. None of it is written where a buyer can read it.
Our rule of thumb: most plants say about 40% of what they can do. On this RFI your site said 4 notes of 9.
Sometimes the other shop runs an op you don't. That's a capability call. On this RFI, you run every one.
OPS YOU SEND OUT COUNT TOO, WHEN YOU MANAGE THE PROCESSOR AND STAND BEHIND THE CERT.
NEXT: PUT IT IN INK ↓THE BLUEPRINT
The Blueprint puts every op you run in ink.
We capture what your plant can truly do from your website, your documents, meetings with your team and an on-site visit. Every secondary op goes on one record, written the way a buyer screens for it. Then each one goes on the pages a buyer checks. Now read the same RFI again.
RFI 26-118 · RERUN · YOU 09 · COMPETITOR B 08 · SHORTLISTED · ILLUSTRATION
NOTE 9 · LEAK TEST · NOW YOU SAY IT · COMPETITOR B STILL DOESN'T
From there, the intelligence keeps reading the shops you lose work to and marks what they say that you don't.
BLUEPRINT · PAID ONBOARDING · FIRST STEP OF EVERY PROGRAM · SCOPED ON THE REVIEW CALL AFTER THE FREE AUDIT
Illustration. Ink gets you read and shortlisted. Price, lead time and your team still win the order.
NEXT: START YOUR BLUEPRINT ↓WHAT THE BUYER CAN READ · SHORTLIST CUT 7 · ILLUSTRATION
| Note | Requirement | Your shop | Competitor B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 · MATERIAL | 6061-T651 plate per AMS 4027, mill certs on file | Said | Said |
| 02 · MACHINING | 5-axis milling, ±0.001 in on bores and gasket lands | Said | Said |
| 03 · QUALITY | AS9100D quality system | Said | Said |
| 04 · INSPECTION | CMM inspection, first article per AS9102 | Said | Said |
| 05 · FINISH | Type III hard anodize per MIL-PRF-8625 (formerly MIL-A-8625), Class 1, gasket lands masked for chem film per MIL-DTL-5541 Type II, Class 3 | Not said; true on your floor | Said |
| 06 · HARDWARE | Helical-coil and key-locking thread inserts, installed and gauged | Not said; true on your floor | Said |
| 07 · SUB-ASSEMBLY | EMI gasket and connector plate installed, fasteners torqued to drawing and recorded | Not said; true on your floor | Said |
| 08 · MARKING | IUID data matrix per MIL-STD-130, verified | Not said; true on your floor | Said |
| 09 · TEST | Leak test every unit, results logged by serial number (preferred) | Not said; true on your floor | Not found |
Put it in ink.
RELEASED · DRAWN FOR DEFENSE WORK
Every program starts with a Blueprint of your plant. Tell us the assembly you want to win, and we'll tell you where your Blueprint would start.
DRAWN FOR DEFENSE WORK · RFI 26-118 · EXAMPLE SHOP
| NOTE | SAID TODAY | WHERE A BUYER LOOKS |
|---|---|---|
| 05 · HARD ANODIZE | NOT SAID | /hard-anodize-type-iii · EXAMPLE PAGE |
| 06 · INSERTS | NOT SAID | /thread-insert-installation · EXAMPLE PAGE |
| 07 · GASKET + ASSY | NOT SAID | /emi-gasket-sub-assembly · EXAMPLE PAGE |
| 08 · UID MARK | NOT SAID | /uid-marking-mil-std-130 · EXAMPLE PAGE |
| 09 · LEAK TEST | NOT SAID | /leak-testing · EXAMPLE PAGE |
5 OF 5 SECONDARY OPS NOT SAID · 0 NOT RUN
You can't sell what you don't say.
BLUEPRINT · PAID ONBOARDING · FIRST STEP OF EVERY PROGRAM · SCOPED ON THE REVIEW CALL AFTER THE FREE AUDIT
The Blueprint is paid onboarding and the first step of every program.
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