The second supplier is approved. They’ve never run the job.

Dual sourcing that exists in the procurement file and nowhere else tends to fail at exactly the moment it was created for.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The second supplier is approved. They’ve never run the job.

Most businesses that depend on a critical input can name a backup. There is a signed agreement, a completed vendor questionnaire, perhaps a first-article sample from three years ago sitting in a drawer. On paper the single point of failure has been removed. In practice, the alternate has never produced the part, run the batch, or handled the account under live conditions, and the gap between those two states is where continuity plans usually break. The distinction worth holding onto is between qualification and capability. Qualification is a status: they…

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