A supplier can keep the same part number while moving production to another line, building, or subcontractor. The approval question is which relevant process conditions change and what evidence demonstrates acceptable output afterward. A transfer announcement by itself does not answer that question.
Map the old and new routes
Request a comparison covering equipment, tooling, materials, process sequence, inspection, test, and responsible organizations. Include outsourced operations and product-specific fixtures. A statement that the process is equivalent needs enough detail to establish which aspects are actually unchanged and which rely on new qualification evidence.
TI’s change-notification description includes anticipated impact, qualification information, sample availability, and projected shipment timing. Those fields provide a useful model for reviewing a transfer, without assuming every supplier uses TI’s process or notification terms.
Link evidence to each meaningful change
| Changed element | Possible evidence to agree |
|---|---|
| Process equipment or tooling | Relevant process comparison and representative product results. |
| Material source | Approved specification and property or performance review. |
| Inspection/test system | Coverage and measurement correlation for the transferred checks. |
| Production site | Applicable site qualification, control records, and responsibility mapping. |
Select evidence according to the product risk and the actual change. Repeating every historical test can waste samples, while testing only an easy characteristic can leave the changed failure mechanism unexamined. Preserve the engineering rationale for what is repeated, bridged from existing evidence, or considered unaffected.
Control the first shipment boundary
For example, a new test station may use the same nominal limits but a different fixture and measurement path. A passing first lot does not alone establish comparable measurements. The station-correlation plan can support that part of the transfer independently from the assembly-process review.
Connect affected products through the PCN impact map and agree how the first changed material will be identified. Forecast shipment dates do not necessarily create a clean inventory boundary where old stock remains in the supply chain.
Close the transfer review with the accepted evidence, unresolved conditions, and the build or lot scope of approval. If approval is conditional on early production monitoring, define the measurements, review owner, and completion decision. A temporary bridge should not silently become permanent approval without its stated conditions being checked.
Move from reading to a build-ready project
Use the fabrication and assembly checklists to prepare drawings, production files and test requirements.
Open the DFM checklist