A single purchase order does not settle every responsibility in a PCB assembly program. Before quotation, record who supplies each input, who performs the work, who approves changes and what record closes the handoff. This guide focuses on those responsibilities. For the sequence of manufacturing operations, use the PCBA process guide.
Start with the boundaries of the order
List the items being delivered: bare boards, populated boards, programmed assemblies, tested units or a finished box build. Identify customer-supplied parts, fixtures, firmware, cables and enclosures separately. A process included in a supplier presentation is not automatically included in a quotation.
Put unresolved items in the RFQ with an owner and a decision date. Distinguish the person who provides a file from the person authorized to approve it. A purchasing contact may transmit an engineering change without having authority to approve its technical content.
| Handoff | Input or decision to assign | Evidence to agree |
|---|---|---|
| PCB fabrication to assembly | Buyer supplies the released fabrication specification; identify who approves panel and fabrication changes. | Approved fabrication and panel revision, open DFM decisions and the supplied-board quantity. |
| Component sourcing to kitting | Identify who buys each BOM line and who approves an alternate or one-lot deviation. | Exact MPNs, ownership of supplied and excess material, approval references and shortage disposition. |
| Kitting to assembly | Assign release of the BOM, placement file, assembly drawing and applicable work instructions. | Matched file revisions, fitted/DNP reconciliation and first-article approval scope. |
| Assembly to programming and test | Assign the firmware source, fixture owner, procedure approver and test-data recipient. | Image identity, approved limits, fixture revision and serial/lot result format. |
| PCBA to box build | Identify who controls enclosure, harness, fastening, labels and final-product requirements. | Released interface drawings, assembly instructions and final-unit verification record. |
| Release to shipment | Assign approval of packaging, labels, accepted quantity and remaining exceptions. | Shipment release, serial/lot list, packing specification and agreed delivery documents. |
Resolve exceptions before they become production instructions
Suppose a drawing and a placement file disagree about a polarized part. The useful response is a documented hold and an engineering decision, not an assumption that the newest email wins. The polarity-conflict first-article example illustrates the records to connect before releasing the remaining units.
Use one change reference across the revised file, affected quantity, approval and build instruction. State whether approval covers one lot or future orders. The release-package revision guide describes how to keep that chain reviewable.
Separate material ownership from manufacturing acceptance
For supplied parts, agree how quantities, packaging condition and discrepancies are recorded at receipt. Define what happens if material is short, damaged or incompatible with the released BOM. Receiving a parcel does not by itself approve a substitution. Refer to the consigned and kitted assembly controls for shared-supply questions.
Make the handoff testable
Ask the team to trace one proposed shipment record back to the build revision, material decisions and test configuration. This is a record-format review, not evidence that a production lot has already passed. Any missing link becomes an assigned action before release.
Agree where records will be delivered, which format is usable and how corrections are identified. For a serialized product, avoid relying solely on a summary that cannot connect a result to the delivered unit.
Use the matrix at quotation and at release
At quotation, mark each row included, excluded or unresolved and connect it to a price or schedule assumption where relevant. At release, replace assumptions with the agreed documents and approval references. Keep unresolved exclusions visible. Use the PCB assembly cost comparison guide to check that competing quotations cover the same responsibilities.