How do you calculate supplier screening cost?

Multiply part numbers screened by the cost per part number, then by the share needing full upscreen, and add the source qualification fee. With 25 part numbers at $950 each, 75% upscreened, plus a $5,500 fee, total cost is $23,312.50.

What is a typical screening cost per part number?

For EEE parts requiring DPA and lot acceptance testing, $500-$1,500 per part number is common. The example's blended figure is $932.50 per part number once the qualification fee is spread across the 25 parts.

What does the upscreen share represent?

The fraction of part numbers that need full upscreening to space grade rather than a basic screen. At 75%, the variable screening cost is $17,812.50 of the $23,312.50 total — the main cost driver.

Why is there a fixed source qualification fee?

Qualifying a supplier or a new source involves audits, first-article evaluation, and paperwork that happen once regardless of how many part numbers you screen. Here that fixed cost is $5,500.

How can I lower supplier screening cost?

Buy from already-qualified space-grade sources to cut the upscreen share, and consolidate part numbers so the fixed qualification fee spreads across more of them. Both reduce the $932.50 per-part blended cost.

Does this replace a full parts stress analysis?

No. This estimates screening spend, not derating or radiation analysis. Those are separate mission-assurance tasks with their own budgets.

Space Payload & Avionics Manufacturing calculator

Supplier Screening Cost Calculator

Supplier screening cost is what a space or avionics program spends verifying incoming parts are flight-worthy before they ever reach the assembly floor. For EEE parts, this means DPA, lot acceptance testing, and often full upscreening from industrial to space-grade — expensive, lab-intensive work driven by mission-assurance requirements. Supply-chain and quality engineers use this figure to budget incoming inspection, to decide whether a part number justifies a fully qualified source, and to price mission assurance into a bid. Because a single source qualification can cost thousands before a single part is screened, understanding the fixed-versus-variable split is essential to controlling parts cost.

What this calculator does

Estimates the cost of upscreening supplier parts and qualifying sources for a space avionics build.
A supply chain engineer pricing the burn-in and DPA screening needed to take commercial parts to flight grade.
It computes total screening cost as part numbers screened times screening cost per part number times the share needing full upscreen, plus a fixed source qualification fee, and reports cost per part number.

Formula used

Total cost = part numbers x screening cost per part number x share needing full upscreen + qualification fee
Cost per part number = total cost / part numbers

Inputs explained

Part Numbers Screened:
Screening Cost per Part Number:
Share Requiring Full Upscreen:
Source Qualification Fee:

How to use the result

Use it when budgeting incoming inspection for a bill of materials, deciding whether to qualify a new source, or pricing EEE parts mission assurance into a proposal.
It blends all part numbers at one average screening cost; a single complex ASIC upscreen can dwarf the mean and should be estimated on its own.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026), up 41.5% in a year, and U.S. industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh. Both feed electrified-hardware unit economics.
Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate supplier screening cost? Multiply part numbers screened by the cost per part number, then by the share needing full upscreen, and add the source qualification fee. With 25 part numbers at $950 each, 75% upscreened, plus a $5,500 fee, total cost is $23,312.50.
What is a typical screening cost per part number? For EEE parts requiring DPA and lot acceptance testing, $500-$1,500 per part number is common. The example's blended figure is $932.50 per part number once the qualification fee is spread across the 25 parts.
What does the upscreen share represent? The fraction of part numbers that need full upscreening to space grade rather than a basic screen. At 75%, the variable screening cost is $17,812.50 of the $23,312.50 total — the main cost driver.
Why is there a fixed source qualification fee? Qualifying a supplier or a new source involves audits, first-article evaluation, and paperwork that happen once regardless of how many part numbers you screen. Here that fixed cost is $5,500.
How can I lower supplier screening cost? Buy from already-qualified space-grade sources to cut the upscreen share, and consolidate part numbers so the fixed qualification fee spreads across more of them. Both reduce the $932.50 per-part blended cost.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.