APQP: Advanced Product Quality Planning.

Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) is published by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) as the APQP and Control Plan reference manual, currently the Second Edition. APQP organises the supplier product development cycle into a structured set of phases that align supplier engineering, quality, and operations work to customer programme timing. The framework is required by IATF 16949 clause 8.3 and is reinforced through customer-specific requirements at each major OEM.

Five phases structure the cycle. Phase one is Plan and Define Program, capturing customer voice, design and reliability targets, and preliminary process flow. Phase two is Product Design and Development, producing the design FMEA (DFMEA), design verification, drawings and specifications, and engineering bill of materials. Phase three is Process Design and Development, producing the process flow diagram, the process FMEA (PFMEA), the pre-launch and production control plans, and process instructions. Phase four is Product and Process Validation, executing significant production run, measurement system analysis (MSA) studies, preliminary process capability studies, production part approval (PPAP), and packaging evaluation. Phase five is Feedback, Assessment, and Corrective Action, capturing reduced variation, customer satisfaction, and delivery and service performance.

Each phase has gate reviews aligned to customer-specific programme timing, with Ford Q1, General Motors BIQS, and Stellantis CSL Suppliers each layering their own gate review structures and deliverable expectations on top of the AIAG APQP baseline. APQP differs in tools, terminology, and gate review structure from European product development discipline, including VDA Maturity Level Assurance (MLA) and similar OEM-specific frameworks used in DACH programmes. The two are not directly substitutable.