Original Date: 09/14/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Raytheon Missile Systems Company (RMSC) set up the Supplier Base Participation in Single Process Initiative (SPI) to encourage its suppliers to participate in SPI for acquisition reform. This simple, effective process enables suppliers to rapidly obtain approval for supplier SPIs, and immediately implement many of the common processes approved through RMSC’s SPI system without further review. Previously, no defined approval process for supplier SPIs and no formal means for suppliers to implement RMSC SPIs existed.

The company set up a Technical Review Board (TRB) to process and approve SPIs from its supplier base. As requests are received from the suppliers, the TRB calls on RMSC technical experts to review each request and provide feedback to the review team. The proposal may also be reviewed by the customer, if the contract requires this action. The TRB either rejects the request or approves it for implementation at the supplier’s site. As an additional way to involve suppliers in acquisition reform, RMSC developed and incorporated a standard language for all production orders, which allows many of the approved RMSC common processes to be automatically implemented without further review or notification.

Since being implemented, the Supplier Base Participation in SPI appears to be very promising for approving supplier SPIs and creating flowdown of RMSC SPIs to the supplier level. Currently, five supplier SPIs have been received and approved. The most complicated request incorporated 46 processes, and necessitated a review and approval by 18 RMSC technical experts. This request was processed and approved in ten days. By implementing SPI at the supplier tier, RMSC reduced costs via streamlined acquisition, eliminated duplicated efforts, enhanced prime contractor/supplier relations, and created a rapid approval system.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.