Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for defence component manufacturers.
A checklist built from how defence component manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Contract and delivery schedule
- Controlled drawing register
- Free-issue material account
- Inspection hold points
- Serial number register
- Certificate of conformance and packing
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For contract managers
- For planners
- For quality and security officers
- For stores staff
- For machinists
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Contracts by delivery stage and days to the call-off date
- Free-issue forgings received, machined, scrapped and returned
- Hold points awaiting an inspector’s visit
- Serial register by contract and batch
- Drawing views by user and classification
- Subcontract quantity out against quantity returned
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Document storage
- Barcode and label printers
- Accounting export
- Single sign-on
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- How are controlled drawings managed?
- Can free-issue material be shown separately?
- How do inspector hold points work?
- Can the register avoid serial number clashes?
- Does it track stage payments and penalty dates?
- Can subcontracted processes be recorded?
- Does the software handle export or end-use rules?
- Can it run on our own network?
- What decides the price?
- Can we take our records with us if we leave?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Drawing issues are controlled by hand
- Customer-furnished material is mixed with own stock
- Inspection stages are missed or unrecorded
- Serial ranges overlap across batches
- Access to restricted files is informal
Prefer to talk it through? See the defence component manufacturers page.