Converting suppliers to Demand Flow Technology is a gradual and deliberate process. During the inspection of their premises, manufacturers should inquire into union affiliations, customer turnover rates, the number of new production employees, and any manufacturing process that has had multiple managers in the past six months.

The buyer inspects things that might interrupt the flow of quality goods to his plant. In qualifying and certifying the supplier and its processes, the buyer investigates the financial stability of the supplier, neatness and orderliness of the plant, and plant safety. Questions to ask include:

• Is there a logical physical flow to their product?

• How does the supplier measure and control the production flow?

• How aware are the employees of current production techniques?

• How do the supplier's financial ratios compare to industry norms?

• How stable is the management team?

• Does the quality emphasis occur at the process source rathe than final product inspection?

• Does the supplier understand process-capability techniques?

• Can the supplier prove its process capability statistically, and does it understand the variables related to its own process?

As a part of the certification process, Pareto analysis and control charts are set up to monitor parts at the supplier location; data is sent to the buyer's quality team with a closed-loop corrective-action program; and arrangements are made for periodic audits of the supplier's facility, processes, and materials. While the supplier becomes an extension of the buyer's production process, the buyer's quality development team becomes an extension of the supplier's process.