Aerospace and defense manufacturing sits at the intersection of extreme technical precision and extreme documentation rigor. AS9100 certification, ITAR/EAR export control compliance, first article inspection requirements, PPAP customer submissions, and supplier qualification programs each generate their own documentation streams—and the people managing them are typically already running at capacity.
Virtual assistants with aerospace program documentation experience are providing Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers with the administrative support that program managers and quality engineers need to keep deliverables moving without documentation falling behind.
ITAR/EAR Export License Tracking
International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations impose strict controls on technical data, hardware, and software exports for defense-related and dual-use items. Companies holding export licenses must track license validity dates, authorized quantities against actuals, and reporting requirements—while ensuring that access to controlled technical data is appropriately restricted.
A virtual assistant with ITAR/EAR administrative training can maintain the export license tracker: monitoring expiration dates against a forward calendar, preparing renewal initiation reminders, logging authorized transactions against license limits, and organizing the supporting documentation required for license applications and amendments. This does not replace the legal and compliance judgment of an export control officer—it ensures the administrative records that support those decisions are always current.
First Article Inspection Documentation Coordination
First Article Inspection reports—AS9102 AS-FAI packages—require the systematic compilation of dimensional inspection results, material certifications, process certifications, customer drawing callouts, and functional test data for every characteristic on a new or significantly revised part. Assembling this package from multiple internal sources (inspection lab, materials, process engineering) and organizing it against the AS9102 balloon drawing is a document management task that quality engineers find themselves doing instead of engineering.
A VA can coordinate the FAI documentation assembly: collecting dimensional data from the inspection team, gathering process certs and material certs from the supply chain, cross-referencing submitted data against the required characteristics list, and packaging the submission for customer review. The quality engineer reviews and certifies the package; the VA builds it.
PPAP Submission Coordination
Production Part Approval Process submissions—required by many aerospace and automotive customers before production release—require collecting and organizing evidence across up to 18 elements, including design records, control plans, measurement system analysis results, and initial sample inspection reports. Coordinating this evidence from multiple functions and staging the submission for customer portal upload is a project management task that often consumes quality and program management bandwidth for weeks.
A virtual assistant managing PPAP coordination tracks the open evidence list, assigns collection tasks to responsible owners, monitors due dates, and assembles the final submission package in the format required by the customer's PPAP portal or procedure.
According to AIAG, the average Tier 2 supplier manages 8–12 simultaneous PPAP submissions at any given time, with each submission requiring coordination across 5–7 internal contributors. That's a substantial coordination workload that VAs can absorb.
Supplier Qualification Documentation
AS9100 requires documented supplier qualification and periodic re-evaluation. Qualification packages typically include supplier surveys, capability statements, AS/ISO certification copies, first-pass yield data, and on-time delivery history. Maintaining these records for an active supplier base of 50–200 vendors requires continuous monitoring and follow-up.
A VA managing the supplier qualification database can track certification expiration dates, send renewal requests to suppliers, log returned surveys, and flag any supplier whose qualification status is at risk before an audit reveals the gap.
Manufacturers ready to reduce program documentation burden can explore aerospace-experienced VAs at Stealth Agents.
Sources
- Aerospace Industries Association, Tier 2/3 Supplier Program Administration Survey, 2024
- AIAG, PPAP Implementation Guide, 4th Edition
- AS9100 Rev D, Clauses 8.4, 8.5.4
- U.S. Department of State, ITAR Part 120–130, current