Onboarding for partner relationships

Manufacturing client onboarding template

Use this checklist to onboard new partners into your manufacturing business. It covers all the complex steps involved, such as covering the legal side, through to gathering technical docs, and making sure everything is signed off at the correct stages.

Use this template to onboard your partners.

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Manufacturing client onboarding

Welcome to our manufacturing partnership. This checklist will guide you through our onboarding process, ensuring we have all the specifications, agreements, and requirements in place to start production smoothly.

No due date

Link tasks to actions, such as completing forms or booking meetings

Initial setup and agreements

Let's get the paperwork out of the way. These tasks ensure our legal and financial foundations are securely set up.

Sign the non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

Please review and sign the mutual non-disclosure agreement so we can securely discuss your intellectual property and designs.

Countersign NDA and upload to CRM

Ensure the NDA is countersigned by our legal team and uploaded to the client's file in the CRM.

No due date Any team member

Sign the master manufacturing agreement

Review and sign the core contract that outlines our manufacturing relationship, liability, and standard terms of service.

Complete the billing details form

Provide your accounts payable contact information, tax ID, and preferred payment methods.

No due date Complete form

Set up client account in the ERP

Create the new client profile in the ERP system and configure their invoicing preferences.

No due date Any team member

Tasks can be for the partners being onboarded, or for the team

Product specifications and requirements

In this phase, we will gather all the technical details needed to produce your items exactly to your specifications.

Submit CAD files and technical drawings

Upload the latest 2D and 3D CAD files for the components you need manufactured.

No due date Upload documents

Review technical drawings for feasibility

Engineering team must review the submitted CAD files for manufacturing feasibility and identify any tooling requirements.

No due date Any team member

Provide the bill of materials (BOM)

Upload your approved bill of materials, including any specific material grades or tolerances required.

No due date Upload documents

Source initial raw material quotes

Contact suppliers to get current pricing and lead times for the materials specified in the client's BOM.

No due date Any team member

Prototyping and quality assurance

Before we begin mass production, we will create prototypes to ensure the final product meets your exact quality standards.

Approve prototype production timeline

Review the estimated timeline for the first run of prototypes and provide your approval.

No due date Open URL

Manufacture initial prototype

Produce the first article inspection (FAI) units on the shop floor based on the finalized drawings.

No due date Any team member

Review and approve prototype

Evaluate the physical prototypes we ship to you. Let us know if they meet your standards or if adjustments are needed.

No due date

Finalize quality control criteria

Document the final QA/QC checklist based on the client's feedback from the prototype phase.

No due date Any team member

Production kickoff

The final steps to transition from onboarding and prototyping into active, ongoing manufacturing.

Issue the first purchase order (PO)

Submit your official purchase order for the first large-scale production run.

No due date

Confirm production schedule

Allocate machine time and staff for the PO, and confirm the estimated delivery date with the client.

No due date Any team member

Schedule production kickoff call

Set up a brief 15-minute call with the client to officially kick off their first production run.

No due date Any team member

Click the button below to edit or add tasks, add due dates, and much more...

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Customize this template

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How to use this template

Three simple steps to onboard partners

Step 1

Grab this template

Step 2

Send to partners

Only needs an email address. Or add an open invite link to your existing welcome emails.

Step 3

Partners complete tasks

  • Email reminders keep things moving
  • Ask questions or clarify with comments
  • Summary page shows everything you need to know

Free plan • No credit card needed

Customize this template

Or build your own

Loved by 4,500+ happy users

The perfect way to onboard partners

Your brand (even the emails)
Instantly know what's been done
Shows partners what to do
Chases up while you sleep
Everything lives in one place

Free plan • No credit card needed

Customize this template

Or build your own

Sick of the onboarding admin?

Switch to friction-free customer onboarding software

Secure link, no passwords

Accessing a plan (or getting back into it) is as simple as following a link. We're obsessed with useability.

Comment & collaborate

Customers can ask questions right from within a task. They can also invite others in to help them, without bothering you.

HubSpot ready

  • Start new onboarding plans inside HubSpot
  • Adds events to the timeline
  • Updates custom fields
  • Attaches photos and documents

If you don't use HubSpot, no problem. It works great without it too.

White label (including emails)

Every interaction, from invite through to the task page, showcases your brand.

Does the chasing up

Never send a "checking in" email again.
We'll make sure tasks always get done, on time.

Helps you improve

We'll ask partners to rate their onboarding experience.

  • Helps you to constantly improve your processes
  • Make sure your team are delivering exceptional service

Free plan • No credit card needed

Customize this template

Or build your own

Handles complex onboarding too

Calculated due dates

Set due dates calculated on the fly from the start date, a target date, or based off when other tasks are completed.

Sequential tasks

Choose to make tasks sequential, so that tasks need to be completed in order.

Frequently asked questions

How can I use this template?

Just click Customize this template above and we'll take you through a couple of simple steps to create an Onthen account and copy the manufacturing client onboarding template into it.

Once that's done we'll take you straight into the template editor where you can customize it to your exact needs (there's bound to be a few things you'll do differently).

Finally, once it's ready you can use it to create individual checklists (we call them 'plans') for each of your partners. Just type their email address and we'll do the rest. As they move through the tasks, you'll see their progress in the dashboard.

Who is this manufacturing client onboarding onboarding template for?

If you run a team that needs to onboard partners then the manufacturing client onboarding template is a perfect starting point.

You'll first be able to tailor the template to your team's needs, by editing, removing or adding tasks to suit your onboarding process. When it's perfect, onthen has all the tools you need to easily invite partners to it and make sure all the tasks get done, on time.

How do partners use it?

First you'll invite partners to the checklist. You can either send an invite manually, through our HubSpot integration, or by using an invite link that lets anyone with the link create a new checklist.

Your partners won't need to create an account or a password, they'll simply access it with a 6-digit code we'll send to their email.

It's really easy to use and there's nothing to navigate, it's a simple single page onboarding plan that looks pretty much like you see above.

If any task gets forgotten about, we'll send email reminders to nudge your partners to complete everything.

Free plan • No credit card needed

Customize this template

Or build your own

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