Flowdown Requirements

Flowdown requirements are customer, contract, program, or regulatory requirements that are passed from one organization or process level to another so they can be applied during execution. In manufacturing, they commonly move from an OEM or prime contractor to tiered suppliers, or from a customer order into internal engineering, purchasing, production, inspection, and quality processes.

Flowdown requirements may include material specifications, inspection criteria, record retention expectations, serialization or traceability rules, approved source requirements, special process controls, data submission formats, and change notification conditions. In software and data workflows, they are often represented in ERP, MES, PLM, QMS, supplier portals, purchase orders, work instructions, quality plans, and inspection records.

The term does not mean simply forwarding a document or granting portal access. A requirement is effectively flowed down when it is translated into controlled tasks, data fields, acceptance criteria, evidence requirements, and approval or change-control steps that the receiving party can execute and verify.

Flowdown requirements are closely related to customer requirements and supplier requirements, but the emphasis is on controlled transfer across organizational or process boundaries. They should not be confused with informal preferences, unless those preferences have been formally captured as requirements in the applicable business, quality, or contractual process.