Our Supply Chain Requirements towards our Suppliers

Supply Chain Quality: Collaboration to ensure our quality and performance

MBDA’s end products are relied on to equip armed forces. Our customers expect the highest level of quality and performance from MBDA and our supply chain.

Faultless quality through open communication

To deliver the best, we need to work with the best. That’s why we engage with all our suppliers throughout our entire relationship. From the early stages of on boarding to a highly developed collaboration, we openly discuss our suppliers’ capabilities and how to maximise them. This is always to ensure that our stringent quality requirements are met.

Application of a Quality Management System and local laws

Depending on the product supplied or service offered, we may ask our suppliers that they apply a quality management system that is approved by a third party, such as ISO 9001 or AS9100. We sometimes carry out our own audits related to product risk and operational performance. We also require all our suppliers to operate within their own national laws, relevant legislation and contract and commercial laws.

Moving forward through continuous development

At MBDA, we are constantly looking to the future: new technologies and new capabilities. To innovate and attain our objectives, we create programmes that help our suppliers develop their teams, on a tactical or strategic level. Cooperation and trust are key to achieving and renewing the excellence that our customers expect.

In addition, we rely on our suppliers to monitor, measure, support and train their own suppliers. Throughout our supply chain, we are all committed to creating products and services that achieve unrivalled performance.

Supply Chain Cyber Security

Cybersecurity is a crucial worldwide challenge and this is especially so in the Defence Industry. It is also a strategic goal to MBDA, in order to provide reliable products as required by our customers. MBDA’s supply chain is key to achieving that reliability.

A shared framework to evaluate Cybersecurity risk.

MBDA evaluates its supplier’s cybersecurity capabilities through a mandatory and recurrent process. Each Nations cyber security requirements, as well as international standards are taken into consideration as part of this evaluation. Suppliers’ operational resilience and full transparency about any cyber incident, that occurs, is of the greatest importance to protect themselves, MBDA and customer data.

Evaluating our Supply Chain Cybersecurity

Whatever the sector of activity, whether its providing products or services, our suppliers have to take part in a short evaluation that will help us assess their level of awareness and protection. The assessment indicates the maturity of each supplier in terms of cybersecurity, which helps us analyse the impact of working with them according to a risk based approach that encompasses supply chain resilience and product reliability.

Reinforcement of Cybersecurity

As the cybersecurity threat has grown, so have the different recommendations, regulations and initiatives introduced by governments and industrial companies in various sectors, including Defence. 

A European overarching directive was passed in December 2022, driving a necessary harmonisation of these aforementioned initiatives. That Network and Information Security (NIS2) directive is also increasing the fundamental requirements for companies doing business in a number of sectors including Defence. Working towards NIS2 compatibility now is paramount to business continuity for businesses operating in the EU. 

In France, the French ministry of Defence has worked with the Defence industry leaders since 2019 to reduce the administrative workload and specific IT compliance requirements faced by suppliers by building a harmonised standard, compatible with NIS2. 

Similarly, the UK standards are driven by the Government and Ministry of Defence. Suppliers maybe asked to comply with DEF CON 658 and DEF Stan 05-138 prior to any contracts being awarded. Cyber Essentials remains the core cyber certification for companies operating in the UK.

MBDA, as a Group, is developing its process to ensure coherence with these standards.

Full Transparency Required

Written into all our working contracts with our suppliers is their duty to inform us at MBDA about any breaches or attacks on their system. For more information on how to report an incident, please visit here.

Export Control in the Supply Chain: Close collaboration with our suppliers

MBDA is a key actor of the manufacturing military equipment sensitive sector and is committed to rigorously respecting national and international regulations pertaining to export control.

MBDA’s Procurement and Supply Chain teams, in collaboration with suppliers, play a major role in evaluating and mitigating risks relating to export control.

During a product design phase, MBDA endeavours to source and select products and services from its suppliers that do not:

• require any export licence, and/or
• need to acquire a licence from a third country when MBDA products are exported.

During the operational execution of the procurement contracts (delivery), MBDA’s suppliers shall:

• Comply with all applicable export laws and regulations.
• Fully support MBDA to obtain export licences and apply the restrictions imposed.

MBDA expects their suppliers to declare and monitor the export classifications of all the products they supply or plan to supply to MBDA. This includes imposing this on their own supply chain.