This answer is part of the supplier substitution approvals hub. It does one job: take a procurement systems consultant from the contact they already know to the person who can say yes.
Why one substitution record has three internal owners
A substitution approval is a single decision spread across three functions, and each one guards its own piece.
- Procurement owns the request, the alternative quotes, the buyer's notes and the purchase order. In suites such as SAP Ariba, the Approvals reporting fact also records who approved or denied documents, who reassigned approvers and who delegated approval authority.
- Quality owns the deviation or nonconformance record, the receiving inspection results and the supplier certificates in the QMS.
- Engineering owns the drawing, its revision history and the judgment that a deviation was acceptable for a given use.
SAPA procurement director can describe all three but rarely holds authority to commit quality or engineering records. Under ISO 9001, purchase requirements are meant to be checked as correct before they reach the supplier, which is one reason engineering and quality sign-offs sit in their own files rather than in procurement's.
The yes tree, question by question
- Who opens and tracks substitution requests today?
- The procurement director or a sourcing manager: start there as sponsor. Go to 2.
- Planners or buyers decide informally by email: ask who reviews those decisions and start with that person.
- Does the sponsor have authority over quality and engineering records as well as procurement?
- No, only procurement: go to 3.
- Yes, because the sponsor is also the CEO, as in some owner-run firms: go to 4.
- Who sits above procurement, quality and engineering together?
- The CEO, or the owner-CEO in an owner-run firm. That person is the approver. The COO or CFO may sponsor the case internally. Go to 4.
- In an investor-owned group, the operating company CEO, with the holding company informed.
- Do supplier quotes or certificates carry confidentiality terms?
- Often. Mark them as an outside owner and go to 5. Counsel reads the supply agreements later.
- Are any drawings or specifications owned by customers?
- Common for contract manufacturers. Mark them as excluded unless customer contracts allow use. Go to 6.
- Is the company regulated in a way that shapes its quality records?
- Medical device makers now work under FDA's Quality Management System Regulation, in effect since February 2, 2026, which incorporates ISO 13485:2016. Their quality lead and counsel join the conversation early. Go to 7.
- What is left?
- The rights review. Introduce the approver with supplier terms, customer drawings and any regulatory questions written down as open.
Roles and their authority over substitution records
| Role | What they hold or know | Can they authorize a licensing discussion? |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer or sourcing specialist | Requests, quotes, buyer notes | No |
| Procurement director | Full view of substitutions and suppliers | Sponsor; rarely final |
| Quality manager | Deviations, inspection results, certificates | No, but confirms what quality would release |
| Design or manufacturing engineer | Drawings, revisions, acceptability judgments | No, but flags customer-owned drawings |
| QMS or source-to-pay administrator | Export options, retention settings | No: access only |
| COO | Operations across procurement, quality and engineering | No; often sponsors internally |
| CFO | Supplier spend, contract risk | No; may prepare the case |
| CEO or owner-CEO | Overall appetite, customer relationships | Yes; authorizes and signs |
| General counsel | Supply agreements, customer contracts, regulatory duties | Advises; may set conditions |
Outside owners: supplier terms and customer drawings
Two parties outside the company can limit what is usable even after the approver says yes.
Suppliers. Quotes, price breaks and material certificates come from suppliers and can carry the supplier's confidentiality terms. The company holds them; whether it can license them depends on those terms. If the consultant's own firm buys from one of the suppliers involved, read can I refer a supplier my company buys from before going further.
Customers. Contract manufacturers often build to customer drawings, and those drawings, with the specifications attached, may belong to the customer. The substitution record that cites them is the company's; the drawing itself may not be. Counsel sorts this, not the partner.
Three plants, three paths (Illustrative)
Fictional examples written for this page.
| Company | Path through the tree | Who to introduce |
|---|---|---|
| A 380-person pump maker, owner-managed | Procurement director sponsors; owner-CEO oversees all functions; counsel reads top supply agreements | The CEO, with procurement director and quality manager copied |
| A 900-person contract electronics manufacturer | COO above procurement and quality; engineering under a CTO; many customer drawings | The CEO, with the COO and CTO as sponsors, customer drawings listed as excluded pending review |
| A 260-person device component supplier under a private equity owner | Quality lead joins early because of QMSR; operating CEO approves; board informed | Operating CEO, quality lead as co-sponsor |
Distributors held by investors follow a similar shape; MRO distribution gives sector context.
What stays open until SourceX's rights review
For SourceX, an introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.
Whoever approves, these remain unknown until review: which supplier documents can be included, whether customer drawings must be excluded, what regulated records require, whether buyers want substitution decisions and whether any offer follows. Why data rights matter explains the review. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions, and the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. To hand the answers over, use the substitution referral brief template; if supplier consolidation is coming, the substitution preservation timeline shows what to inventory first. The broader category is in procurement approvals and exception workflows.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
When the tree ends at the CEO, who oversees procurement, quality and engineering, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies and read the program terms before you make the introduction.