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Use case · Aerospace & defence supplier assurance

Connect suppliers, obligations, evidence, actions, and assurance decisions

Supplier → obligation → evidence → finding / action → decision assurance.

STREAM® Cloud helps supplier assurance teams in aerospace, defence and other critical supply chains connect suppliers, obligations, evidence, findings, remediation actions, supplier changes, exceptions and assurance decisions — so critical supplier risks can be tracked, evidenced and defended in one configurable workspace.

The supplier assurance challenge

Supplier evidence is spread across email, shared drives, supplier folders, questionnaires, audit packs, contract files, QMS records and cyber tools. Supplier criticality is not always visible or consistently applied, so assurance effort is uneven across the estate.

Contractual, quality, cyber, privacy, export-control, customer and programme obligations are not always mapped to current evidence. Audit findings, supplier actions, NCRs, cyber gaps and remediation items sit open without clear ownership or closure evidence. Cyber, procurement, quality, supplier assurance and programme teams each hold part of the supplier story.

Supplier changes — site, subcontractor, ownership, hosting, toolchain, process or data-handling — can invalidate prior assurance. Programme or leadership decision packs are often rebuilt manually from exports, email and reconciliation work, right when the decision has to be made. Supplier assurance teams need a practical place to hold suppliers, obligations, evidence, findings, actions, changes, exceptions and decisions together.

What evidence-backed supplier assurance looks like

Moving from scattered supplier evidence and rebuilt decision packs to evidence-backed assurance is about traceability between supplier, obligation, evidence, finding, action, change and decision — and a current view leaders can trust.

01

Suppliers held as structured records

Critical suppliers, programmes, work packages and contracts captured as linked records — not spread across spreadsheets, folders and inboxes.

02

Supplier criticality made visible

A consistent criticality view across the supplier estate, so assurance effort focuses on the suppliers that genuinely matter.

03

Obligations mapped to owners

Contractual, quality, cyber, privacy, export-control, customer and programme obligations linked to named owners and review cycles.

04

Evidence currency and sufficiency

Certifications, attestations, audit reports, questionnaires and approvals connected to the obligations they support, with visible status and age.

05

Findings and actions through to closure

Audit findings, NCRs, cyber gaps, corrective actions and remediation items tracked with owners, due dates and closure evidence.

06

Supplier change review captured

Changes to site, subcontractor, ownership, hosting, toolchain, process or data handling recorded against the supplier and prior assurance basis.

07

Exceptions and concessions in the open

Concessions, exceptions and accepted gaps held in the same workspace as the obligations and evidence they relate to.

08

Defensible assurance decisions

Onboarding, continuation, renewal, release, qualification, deferral or rejection decisions linked back to the evidence and findings behind them.

How STREAM® Cloud helps

STREAM® Cloud gives supplier assurance, quality, cyber, programme and procurement teams practical structure for the work behind supplier assurance — structured records, linked registers, dashboards and an audit history of what has changed. It is a configurable supplier assurance, evidence, action and decision-support workspace that sits alongside ERP, procurement, supplier, QMS, PLM, CLM, cyber, export-control and document systems.

01

Configurable record types for suppliers, programmes, work packages, contracts, obligations, evidence, findings, actions, supplier changes, exceptions and assurance decisions

02

Configurable fields, with mandatory fields where required, so supplier, quality, cyber, export-control and programme teams capture what each register actually needs

03

Linked records that connect suppliers to obligations, evidence, findings, actions, supplier changes, exceptions and assurance decisions

04

Registers and register-based permissions so views can be structured by programme, supplier portfolio, assurance domain or sensitive supplier cohort

05

Lists, filters and search across structured data so teams can find the relevant supplier, obligation, evidence item, finding or action quickly

06

Dashboards and reports that update as data is entered, giving leaders a current view of supplier evidence currency, overdue findings and decision readiness

07

Exports for customer assurance responses, programme review packs, audit packs and internal supplier reporting

08

Controlled visibility so procurement, supplier quality, cyber, export-control, programme and assurance teams see what is relevant to them

09

Audit history of changes to support customer audits, internal audit and re-attestation cycles

10

Action tracking with owners, due dates, status, blockers and evidence trails through to closure

11

Evidence can be stored or referenced, depending on implementation, alongside the obligation and decision it supports

12

A guided product walkthrough so teams can see how the supplier assurance model fits their existing operating rhythm

STREAM® Cloud is not positioned as an ERP, procurement system, supplier portal, QMS, PLM, CLM, export-screening tool, vulnerability scanner, SIEM, legal-advice engine or supplier certification system. Applicability and compliance decisions remain with customer legal, security, quality and assurance owners.

Related solution areas: Third-Party Risk Management and Vendor Management Hub.

In practice

How supplier assurance teams use STREAM® Cloud

Different teams arrive with different starting points. The underlying shape — supplier, obligation, evidence, finding, action, change, decision — is the same.

Critical supplier review cycles

Hold critical suppliers, the obligations flowed down to them, the evidence on file and the findings still open — so each review starts from a current view rather than a rebuilt spreadsheet.

Programme gate and release decisions

Connect a supplier's evidence currency, open findings, exceptions and prior assurance decisions to the programme or work package they support, ready for gate, release or continuation reviews.

Customer audits and assurance packs

Pull together the evidence, findings, corrective actions and decisions behind a supplier into an exportable assurance pack, rather than reassembling it from email and shared drives.

Cyber supplier assurance

Track suppliers with connectivity, sensitive data access or hosted services against their cyber evidence, gaps and remediation actions — without positioning STREAM® Cloud as a scanner or SIEM.

Export-control and controlled-data context

Use configurable flags to record export-control relevance, controlled technical data, licence references and data-processing status alongside the supplier and obligation. Applicability decisions remain with legal and export-control owners.

Supplier change notifications

Record supplier change notifications — site, subcontractor, ownership, hosting, toolchain, process or data-handling changes — link them to the affected programme and re-open the assurance question where needed.

Who it is for

Supplier assurance, quality, cyber, programme and procurement teams

  • Head of Supplier Assurance / Supplier Assurance Lead
  • Supplier Quality Director
  • Head of Supply Chain Risk
  • CISO / Cyber Supply Chain Lead
  • Programme Assurance Lead
  • Export Control Lead
  • Procurement Lead
  • Internal Audit / Quality or Risk Committee Chair

Teams responsible for critical supplier evidence, flowed-down obligations, audit findings, corrective actions, supplier changes, exceptions and defensible assurance decisions across programmes and customers.

Pathway

When STREAM® Classic may be needed

STREAM® Cloud is the right starting point for most supplier assurance work. Some organisations later need capabilities that sit in STREAM® Classic.

STREAM® Classic is the pathway for:

  • Configurable automations
  • Messaging and alerting
  • APIs
  • Advanced modelling
  • Quantitative analysis
  • Complex data sets
  • More mature or enterprise-scale cyber GRC requirements

Foundation

Built on STREAM® Cloud

Structured records, configurable record types and fields, registers, linked records, search, dashboards, exports, permissions, audit history, action tracking, evidence and controlled visibility — the foundations supplier assurance teams need to connect suppliers, obligations, evidence, findings, actions, changes, exceptions and decisions.

Assurance Insight

The Approved Supplier That Was No Longer Assured

See a synthetic scenario showing how supplier approval can become disconnected from current evidence, open actions, supplier changes and decision-ready assurance.

Read the scenario

See how STREAM® Cloud supports supplier assurance

Walk through how your team could connect suppliers, obligations, evidence, findings, actions, changes, exceptions and assurance decisions in one configurable workspace.