APQP is a structured way to plan a new or changed product so it can be built right from the first production run. A cross-functional team works through five phases: planning, product design, process design, validation, and feedback with corrective action. Each phase has deliverables, such as FMEAs, a control plan and capability studies, and the team reviews them at gates before moving on. The process ends in PPAP, where the supplier shows the customer the evidence that the process is ready.
Example: A supplier wins a new bracket for an automotive customer. The APQP team builds a timeline, runs a DFMEA and PFMEA, writes the control plan, runs a trial build, checks capability, and submits a PPAP before the launch date.
Most launch problems are cheaper to prevent than to fix. APQP forces the risk review, gauge planning and process trials to happen before parts ship, so the plant is not finding failure modes through customer complaints. Automotive customers usually require it, and many aerospace and industrial customers expect something like it.
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