Case Study: From First RFQ to Repeat Awards
Imagine a concrete story: you notice a small RFQ for a weird bracket used on a legacy radar. History shows a single vendor with sporadic awards and long gaps. You sense an opportunity.
Step 1: you pull the drawings, understand the tolerances, and talk to a local machine shop about pricing at low quantities. Step 2: you quote conservatively, win a tiny award, and execute flawlessly—on time, zero defects, great packaging.
Step 3: you capture every detail into a one-page playbook: setup notes, inspection plan, packaging recipe, photos, and lessons learned. Step 4: the next time that NSN appears, you quote faster and more confidently. Step 5: you look for sister parts—same platform, similar geometry—and repeat.
Within a year, that one bracket has turned into a micro product line: five related NSNs, a go-to shop that knows the work, and a small but reliable stream of awards.
Mermaid Block — Business Workflow
Mermaid Block — Interaction Sequence
Action List
- Write down one concrete experiment you will run related to this chapter.
- Identify which RFQs, suppliers, or tools you need to test the idea.
- Define a small success metric: a quote submitted, a new supplier found, a script written.
- Schedule a review to capture lessons learned and update your playbook.