My company built 8 very large tankers in Korea in the very early 2000's. Here's what I learned about quality enforcement. The Contract Everything depends on a strong contract. Unless the contract is rock solid, all the enforcement in the world will not result in a solid product. To the extent possible, the contract should be functional rather than prescriptive. This maximizes the vendor's responsibility while giving him freedom to innovate and come up with better or cheaper ways of providing the required functionality.
I would have loved to work for a company like yours. As a new hire at Lawrence Lab I was asked to order a filter with a spec I didn't think could be met. I went through the usual channels, starting with a simple one-page requirement, highlighting the one spec I thought would be a challenge. After a month long procurement process, I got to review the documents that would go out for bid. It took me a while to find the critical spec, so I circled it, and added a note with my phone number. A few days later, the head of purchasing called me in for a reprimand. "Let us do our job. We don't allow direct contact with vendors." The part arrived with laborious conformance on every detail except the one that mattered. I got a lot of pressure to sign that the part met specs. Even got some crap from my boss, because it didn't meet specs. Eventually they found a way to pay the vendor, and the part was never used.
I would have loved to work for a company like yours. As a new hire at Lawrence Lab I was asked to order a filter with a spec I didn't think could be met. I went through the usual channels, starting with a simple one-page requirement, highlighting the one spec I thought would be a challenge. After a month long procurement process, I got to review the documents that would go out for bid. It took me a while to find the critical spec, so I circled it, and added a note with my phone number. A few days later, the head of purchasing called me in for a reprimand. "Let us do our job. We don't allow direct contact with vendors." The part arrived with laborious conformance on every detail except the one that mattered. I got a lot of pressure to sign that the part met specs. Even got some crap from my boss, because it didn't meet specs. Eventually they found a way to pay the vendor, and the part was never used.