These terms and conditions apply to all external suppliers and sub-tier suppliers which furnish products, processes, or services to be incorporated into The MEL Group’s contractually deliverable products.
 
Suppliers to The MEL Group are key contributors to the products and services that we deliver to our customers. We value the conformance of supplier’s products and services to our specifications and requirements.
 
Suppliers provide a major contribution to product safety. As a condition of purchase, The MEL Group expects their suppliers to apply principles of good ethical behaviour and to operate an effective Quality Management System.  The supplier shall promote the prevention of the use of counterfeit parts and shall ensure traceability to a satisfactory source of manufacture. Configuration and identification of all components must be maintained throughout all stages of manufacturing, processing or servicing.

All requirements for the purchase of products and services will be made on an official Purchase Order. When specified on the purchase order, suppliers must use only MEL Group approved sub tier suppliers and special process sources (anodising, heat treatment, welding, etc). Suppliers shall not sub-contract work to a sub tier supplier without the authorisation of The Mel Group.

Suppliers are required to inform the MEL Group in the event of nonconforming product/material. Arrangements for the approval of supplier nonconforming product/material must be as directed by The MEL Group.

Suppliers shall notify The MEL Group of any changes to a product and/or process, including, competence qualification and/or changes of external providers or location of manufacture, that may affect conformance to specifications or requirements, and to obtain approval from The MEL Group prior to production.
 
Rights of Access:
Suppliers shall provide The MEL Group (including customers and regulatory authorities) with rights of access and entry to applicable areas of their facilities and documented information at any level of the supply chain.

Control of Documents, Quality Records and Record Retention:
The supplier shall maintain an effective document control system to ensure that the correct revision of drawings and specifications are used at all times.
 
The supplier shall retain documented records associated with the supply of goods and services to The MEL Group in a manner which enables them to be readily retrievable and readable. Supplier’s records applicable to product conformance shall not be destroyed without the written consent of The MEL Group.

Receiving Inspection:
The MEL Group performs inspection activities to ensure that purchased product meets requirements, including:

a.    Receiving inspections (of supplier products / services / documents) performed by a designated employee. The MEL Group verifies the authenticity of the appropriate certificate of conformity, material certificates, etc. and other accompanying documentation by validation to the drawing and/or industry specifications, or by other means.

b.    Product inspections to ensure they meet requirements, dimensions, etc. Special processes (anodizing, heat treat, welding, etc.) where compliance cannot be verified by inspection will require a Certificate of Conformity.

c.    Product/service conformity and on-time delivery will be monitored by The MEL Group.

Control of Production:
The supplier shall implement processes needed to ensure product safety during the life cycle. Care must be taken to ensure that Foreign Object debris/ Damage prevention measures are applied. All burrs are to be removed and components are to be handled and packaged to minimise the risk of damage.
All MEL Group provided tooling and test equipment shall be returned upon purchase order completion.
The MEL Group shall invoke the requirements of Boeing document EPB17-119 for the supply of flight critical safety parts as applicable.
When required as a condition of purchase, the supplier shall provide test reports, key characteristic data or First Article Inspection Reports.

The MEL Group requires suppliers to have policies and procedures to identify potential Counterfeit Parts. The seller shall immediately notify The MEL Group with the pertinent facts if they become aware of or suspects that Counterfeit Parts may have been used in a delivered product.

The MEL Group may also require top level escalation where timely and/or effective corrective actions to a supplier issue are not achieved.