Vendor Terms and Conditions

The term Vendor & Supplier interchangeably represents any company that sells goods or services to Pacific Aero Components, a California corporation dba Aero Component Engineering Co. (ACE).

Accepting & Confirming the Purchase Order:  The following Terms and Conditions, and Quality Clauses apply to all purchase orders placed by Aero Component with any supplier. In accepting this order, Vendor agrees that all materials furnished conform to instructions and/or conditions stipulated herein. All paperwork must reference the purchase order number it is related to and include the part number and quantity. An order acknowledgment is required with each purchase order. This simply needs to state receipt of the order and expected ship date or ready by date. When possible, please provide pricing when it is missing on the purchase order.

Code of Conduct & Ethics: The success of our business is dependent on the trust and confidence we earn from our customers. We gain credibility by adhering to our commitments, displaying honesty and integrity. We expect the same from our vendors. Vendors are expected to follow anti-corruption laws and adhere to fair business practices. Vendors should provide safe working conditions, treat employees with respect, and follow state and federal laws. Vendor production processes should show responsibility to the environment. Vendors are expected to ensure their employees are aware of their contribution of product or service conformity, their contribution to product safety, and the importance of ethical behavior.

Right of Entry: Representatives of ACE, our customers, and regulatory authorities reserve the right of access to the vendor’s facility & records for the purpose of audit & inspection as pertaining to any product or service provided to ACE. Should this become necessary, reasonable notice will be given to the vendor prior to visitation.

Control of Quality: The vendor is required to maintain an Inspection and Quality Control Program which shall include Product Safety & Contamination Control (FOD). All product and services must conform to current drawing requirements and procurement specifications. All work must meet the quality standards of our company and our customers. Therefore, it must go through a final inspection and acceptance process. This includes product & services that provides either no risk or an acceptable level of minimum risk considering the intended use of the product. Burrs imbedded, or attached particulates, and loose material must be removed prior to shipment. Product & services furnished are subject to inspection and recount upon receipt by ACE. Any item rejected shall be repaired or replaced by Vendor. Vendor is responsible to correct at its expense, all defects, and failures to conform to these necessary requirements.

Certificate of Conformance: At minimum each shipment shall be accompanied by a manufacturers Certificate of Conformance. The CoC will state that the product supplied meets all drawing, specification, and purchase order requirements. The CoC will also include the part number, quantity, purchase order number, date, and signed by an authorized representative of the vendor. Please include certification for any outside processes such as heat treatment, anodize, cadmium plating, passivation, oxygen cleaning, electropolish when applicable. Unless otherwise noted ACE requests OEM certs be provided. Always provide full trace (including raw material certs & MSDS certs) when available at no additional charge.

Test Reports, Raw Material/Chemical/Physical: When requested each shipment shall be accompanied by a legible copy of the original test repot containing quantitative data for the chemical analysis and /or physical properties as applicable for the material supplied or used in the manufacture of the product. Vendor shall provide a legible copy of the Raw Material Certification and/or Special Processing Certification. The certification shall be from the Mill Source and list the actual test values. Material Safety Data Sheets will be provided.

Lot Control/ Traceability: When requested a unique lot/control number will be assigned by the vendor to the production lot. All items provided shall be traceable to raw materials used. Traceability and inspection records shall be made available and will include but is not limited to lot number, material type, specification, heat number, mixing date. Vendor must be able to record sufficient identification information to adequately identify all material in such a manner that full traceability of raw materials is included.

Calibration: When applicable the vendor shall maintain a calibration system compliant with the requirements of ISO17025/ ANSI/NCLS S540-1.

Packaging/ Shipping: Vendor shall provide adequate protective packaging to prevent damage, contamination, and deterioration of product or services at no additional charge. Vendor shall comply with written packaging or shipping instructions provided with the purchase order. A packing slip is required with each shipment.

Counterfeit Parts: Vendor is responsible for maintaining a counterfeit/ suspect part program. Vendor shall not deliver counterfeit work or suspect counterfeit work to Aero Component.

Non-Conforming Products: Vendor is to notify ACE of non-conforming material. Shipment of product which knowingly fails to confirm to drawings and procurement specifications, or ACE PO requirements is prohibited without written approval from ACE.

Corrective Action: Acceptance of the Purchase Order obligates the vendor to perform upon request a corrective action investigation when discrepant material is received by ACE. A written response shall be furnished with specific and conclusive data to prevent a recurrence of the discrepancy.

First Article Inspection (FAI): When requested Vendors are required to complete and maintain FAI Reports in accordance with AS9102. A hard copy of the FAI Report including all actual certification documents and drawings shall be submitted with the product to ACE. In addition to the hard copy supplied an electronic copy may also be provided to [email protected]

Specialty Metals: All product being supplied to ACE must comply with DoD DFAR clause 252.225-7009 Restrictions on Acquisition of Certain Articles Containing Specialty Metals. The term DFARS compliant refers to materials that come from domestic or NATO sources including countries in DFARS that are not members of NATO. Aero Component prefers the use of materials 100% domestic when possible.

Conflict Minerals: Vendor recognizes the significant legal and non-legal risks associated with sourcing tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) and its surrounding countries, as stated in the Conflict Minerals provision (section 1502) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Report and Consumer Protection Act. Vendor commits to comply with these regulations when applicable. These minerals are not acceptable for use in product or services provided to Aero Component Engineering.

Mercury Exclusion Clause: Aero Component requests that the product only enter a mercury -free environment. The vendor is responsible to ensure that product shall not come in direct contact with mercury or any of its compounds during manufacturing or subsequent processing. Nor shall it come in contact with any devises containing mercury not backed by a second seal or barrier to prevent contamination.

Shelf Life: Products shall have current cure. At the point of delivery, the useable shelf life remaining must be a minimum of 85%. Cure date shall also be physically marked on the product. The Cure Date & Expiration Date shall be included on the supplier’s packing slip or CoC.

Performance Evaluation: Our Vendor Quality expectation is 100%. Our Vendor On-time Delivery expectation is 95% or better. ACE customers expect 100% Quality and 100% OTD of our product, which we will not be able to accomplish without Vendor performance at or about the same level. OTD is based on the ship date a vendor provides when confirming the PO. Please let ACE know as soon as possible when the ship date is changing. Please be prepared to provide root cause for any delays. This also includes parts that have been returned to you for rework. Any fees accrued because of changes to the agreed upon ship date will be paid by the Vendor. When a PO is placed with the vendor, we require that an order acknowledgement is sent back to us with your expected ship date or ready by date. This will help ensure clear communication. Vendor quality rejections and continued late deliveries may require Root Cause and Corrective Action.

Record Retention: Vendor shall maintain on file, quality records traceable to the conformance of the product or service delivered to ACE. The vendor shall make such records available upon request by ACE. The vendor shall retain such records for a period of not less than 10 years from ship date unless otherwise stated.

Cybersecurity: NIST 800-171 compliance applies to any Vendor who processes, stores, or transmits potentially sensitive information for the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), NASA, and other government or state agencies. This includes contractual agency relationships. This requirement also pertains to controlled unclassified information (CUI) such as but not limited to any drawing, specification, or government contract we may provide.

Sub-Tier Supplier Flow Down: The vendor is required to flow down all of Aero Component’s purchase order requirements to sub-tier suppliers including but not limited to requirements contained herein, ACE Terms and Conditions, drawing data, and any special instructions.

All vendors are required to complete a vendor survey and W9 prior to placement on our Approved Vendor Listing. We require vendors to provide updates periodically or when changes to their organization are made. We require vendors to supply current certifications at time of renewal. ACE uses any of the following criteria to determine qualification: ISO/ AS certification, successful on site Q.A. survey, past performance and completed vendor survey documentation, sole source supplier of item, or customer requirement.

It is Aero Component’s preference to engage in business with suppliers that are at minimum certified to ISO9001 or equivalent.