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Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP): The Five Phases and APQP vs PPAP
Advanced product quality planning, or APQP, is the structured way the automotive supply chain plans quality into a new part before it is made: five phases from concept to launch. It is often paired with PPAP, but PPAP is the approval package APQP produces near the end, not a separate process.
Why does APQP matter?
APQP builds quality into a new automotive part before production starts, so problems are designed out early instead of discovered at launch. Without that upfront planning, defects surface late, when changes are expensive and a delayed launch can hold up a whole vehicle program. It is also how suppliers meet customer and IATF 16949 expectations for new parts.
What are the 5 phases of APQP ?
Each phase has its own deliverables, and quality is built in step by step:
- Plan and define: turn customer requirements into clear specifications and goals.
- Product design and development: design the part, run design FMEA, prove it works.
- Process design and development: design the process that will make it, with process FMEA.
- Product and process validation: trial runs, capability studies, and the PPAP submission.
- Feedback and improvement: launch, measure results, and act on what you learn.
How does APQP differ from PPAP?
It is the difference between a framework and its output. APQP is the whole planning journey across five phases. The production part approval process (PPAP) is the evidence package produced in phase four, the one that proves the part and process are ready for production. A first article inspection often sits inside that PPAP. APQP plans it; PPAP proves it.
APQP vs PPAP at a glance
The journey versus the package it produces.
| Aspect | APQP | PPAP |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A five-phase planning framework | An approval evidence package |
| Spans | Concept to launch | One submission near validation |
| Contains | Design and process FMEA, plans | Results, studies, PPAP forms |
| Relationship | The whole plan | A deliverable inside phase four |
Free APQP phase checklist
It lists the deliverables for each of the five phases with an owner and a status, so nothing slips before launch. Download the checklist (PDF). You can also complete the checklist digitally in flowdit on your phone, tablet or PC.
Related Terms
- IATF 16949 Certification – the standard behind APQP.
- Quality Assurance – the discipline APQP applies up front.
- House of Quality
- Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Further Reading
- APQP Process: 5 Phases of Advanced Product Quality Planning
- QMS-Software – digital quality management
