Supplier Quality, Development & Audits worked example

Supplier Qualification Cost at 86% first-pass yield: a worked example in supplier quality, development & audits

This scenario runs the supplier qualification cost calculation on the strong side: 86% first-pass yield, with every other input held at its documented default. An advanced quality engineer uses it to budget the qualification effort for onboarding a new supplier source.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Qualification test runs: 6 runs (unchanged)
  • Cost per qualification run: 2,200 $/run (unchanged)
  • First-pass yield: 86 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 75)
  • Documentation and PPAP adder: 4,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total qualification cost = test runs x cost per run x first-pass yield% + documentation adder) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 15,352 $ for total supplier qualification cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,559 $ / piece for supplier qualification cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11,352 $ for variable supplier qualification cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4,000 $ for fixed supplier qualification cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where first-pass yield sits at 75% and the headline result is 13,900 $, this scenario comes in 10.45% above the baseline at 15,352 $.
  • Use it during sourcing and APQP to budget onboarding, compare supplier bids on a total-qualification basis, or justify requalifying an incumbent instead. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Total supplier qualification cost: 15,352 $ (headline result)
  • Supplier qualification cost per unit: 2,559 $ / piece
  • Variable supplier qualification cost: 11,352 $
  • Fixed supplier qualification cost adder: 4,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Supplier Qualification Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.