Supplier containment is a temporary set of controls used to prevent suspect or nonconforming material from a supplier from entering production, inventory, or shipment while an issue is being investigated and corrected.
In manufacturing quality workflows, supplier containment commonly applies after a detected defect, nonconformance, escape, customer complaint, or supplier corrective action request. It may include quarantine, segregation, added inspection, sorting, controlled release, special labeling, or certification of shipments. Containment can occur at the supplier site, at receiving inspection, on the production floor, in transit, or through a third-party sorting activity.
Supplier containment is not the same as permanent corrective action. It is intended to control immediate risk and protect downstream operations while root cause analysis, disposition, and corrective action are completed. In some organizations, terms such as controlled shipping or supplier hold are used for specific formal containment statuses, but the exact meaning depends on the quality system and customer requirements.