10. Customer Success & Business Operations
Commercial governance from RFQ to delivery: contracts, cadence, escalation.
Part 1. Pipeline, RFQ Intake & Quoting
1.1 Commercial Qualification
Manufacturing capacity is a finite asset; engineering time is non-renewable. Every hour spent quo...
1.2 RFQ Intake Checklist & Golden Data Pack
Manufacturing speed relies on data integrity. An incomplete or ambiguous RFQ package halts the Ne...
1.3 Quotation Model: Cost Structure & Assumptions
A quotation is a simulation of the production run. If the pricing model fails to account for mate...
1.4 Deal Desk: Quote Approval & Margin Guardrails
Revenue does not equal profit. The Deal Desk exists to filter out "toxic revenue"—projects that c...
1.5 Contract Review & Commercial Controls
A signed contract is not a victory; it is a liability container. If the legal terms contradict th...
1.6 Sales → Project Handoff Package
The "Throw it over the wall" era is over. A signed PO is worthless if Operations cannot execute i...
Part 2. Account Governance & Executive Alignment
2.1 Account Governance: Cadence, Escalation & Decision Rights
Entropy is the default state of any manufacturing relationship. Without a rigid governance struct...
2.2 Quarterly Business Review (QBR)
A Quarterly Business Review is not a social visit or a grievance session for a single late shipme...
2.3 Account Plan: Expansion Map, Stakeholders, Renewal Roadmap
A static account is a dying account. In manufacturing, if you are not growing your share of the c...
Part 3. New Product Introduction (NPI) & Industrialization
3.1 NPI Stage Gates (Commercial + Technical)
New Product Introduction (NPI) is the highest-risk phase in the manufacturing lifecycle. It is wh...
3.2 PVT / Pilot Run Readiness: Tooling, Test & Yield
PVT (Production Validation Test) is not a "practice run"; it is a stress test of the manufacturin...
3.3 SOP Readiness & Transfer to Volume
Start of Production (SOP) is the specific moment where the project transitions from an Engineerin...
Part 4. Supply Chain, Orders & Logistics
4.1 Rolling Forecast: Horizon Rules & Capacity Reservation
Manufacturing is a momentum machine; it cannot turn on a dime. The Rolling Forecast is the steeri...
4.2 Materials Ownership Model & Liability
Inventory is not an asset; it is cash trapped in a physical form that degrades over time. Ambigui...
4.3 E&O Prevention & Disposition Rules
Excess and Obsolete (E&O) inventory is financial cancer. It occupies warehouse space, consumes wo...
4.4 Order Acceptance Rules: PO Validation & Promise Logic
A Purchase Order (PO) is not a suggestion; it is a binding legal contract. Once accepted, the fac...
4.5 Fulfillment & Logistics: Incoterms, OTIF & Claims
Logistics is the final step of the manufacturing process, not an afterthought. A product that is ...
Part 5. Quality, Change & Lifecycle
5.1 Engineering Change Management (ECM)
Uncontrolled variation is the primary driver of manufacturing failure. In an electronics manufact...
5.2 Deviations / Waivers / Concessions
Rigid adherence to specification is the baseline for quality, but manufacturing reality occasiona...
5.3 Customer Complaints → Containment → 8D/CAPA
Unresolved field failures degrade contract margins and invite liability claims. A complaint is no...
5.4 Quality Assurance & RMA
RMA (Return Material Authorization) is not a waste disposal channel; it is a forensic feedback lo...
5.5 End of Life (EOL) Management
EOL is a financial event, not just an operational stop. A poorly managed discontinuation results ...
Part 6. CRM & Commercial Operating System
6.1 CRM Data Model
A CRM is not a digital address book; it is the operating system of your manufacturing revenue. If...
6.2 Automation Rules: Stage Gates, Approvals, & Escalations
Manual enforcement of process discipline is a single point of failure. Human memory is fallible; ...
6.3 Dashboards & KPIs
A dashboard is not an art gallery; it is a control panel. If a metric does not drive a decision, ...