APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) and PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) are methods used in
the automotive and some other industries. Their purpose is to ensure that the supplier understands the
customer's requirements and is capable of providing the required quality and quantity of product on time.
APQP sets out a clear path for planning, implementing and verifying a process.
The APQP process has five phases. What phases a company has to complete depends on what they do. There
are checklists provided in the back of the guide published by AIAG that are very helpful in keeping on the right
path. They provide the organization and consistency needed to ensure a successful product and process launch.
If I needed to boil the whole idea down to a few words, it would be "Matching the voice of the supplier's
process to the voice of the customer, VOP = VOC."
PPAP is the hard proof that the supplier understood the customer's requirements. It principally involves
gathering all the data and information that was generated throughout the APQP stage and presenting in
prescribed method and format to the customer for review and, hopefully, approval. The customer reviews the
PPAP submission and renders one of three possible decisions:
1) Product and process approved as submitted
2) Interim approval with a request for additional information or samples
3) Not approved - start over