How to get introduced to Airbus procurement in Europe

To get introduced to Airbus procurement in Europe, use the route Airbus publishes: send your company information to its global sourcing team at globalsourcing@airbus.com, make clear which commodity you supply, and be ready for a selection process that includes an NDA, a detailed questionnaire, often a site visit, and an assessment against Airbus quality, sustainability and security requirements. Airbus says it will come back to you "if your products/services are aligned with our needs". A strong introduction is therefore less about the email than about matching a commodity Airbus buys and showing you already meet its baseline requirements.

This guide covers the procurement side of Airbus across its divisions. If your target is Airbus Defence and Space specifically, our guide on pitching to Airbus Defence and Space as a startup covers that division's programmes and innovation routes.

How big is Airbus procurement?

Airbus's supplier page gives the scale:

That is why the door is worth finding. It also explains why it is guarded: with 18,000 suppliers already in place, Airbus adds a new one when it fills a gap, not because a company asks.

How does Airbus organise its buying?

Airbus splits procurement in two:

• Direct procurement buys flying parts, grouped by commodity: raw materials, structures, systems and equipment, cabin products, and engines.
• Indirect procurement, run by Airbus General Procurement, buys non-flying parts and services.

Decide which side you belong to before you write. A machining shop, a composite supplier or an electronics firm is direct procurement, in a named commodity. A software company, test laboratory, facility service or consultancy is usually indirect. An introduction that names the right commodity reaches a buyer who can judge it; one that says "we can do many things for Airbus" usually does not.

Airbus is also several companies. The Partner Portal form lists the divisions and entities a supplier may work with: Commercial Aircraft, Helicopters, Defence and Space, Airbus Canada, Airbus Atlantic, Airbus Aerostructures and Airbus Protect. Name the one you are aiming at.

What is the official route in?

Airbus's page on joining its global supplier network describes a four-step selection:

1. Send your company information to globalsourcing@airbus.com, so Airbus understands what you sell.
2. Wait for contact. Airbus replies if your products or services match its needs.
3. Assessment. Airbus signs an NDA and may run a detailed questionnaire, a supplier visit and an assessment. If you do not yet meet the requirements, Airbus says it can offer development support.
4. Call for tender. After final alignment, you may be invited to tender.

What should the first email contain?

Airbus asks only for your company information, so keep it factual and easy to route. A useful structure:

Attach a short capability sheet, not a 40-page brochure. Leave out confidential technical data: there is no NDA yet.

Is there a faster route?

Sometimes. Many introductions happen through people already inside the supply chain: an Airbus engineer who needs a capability, a tier-one supplier looking for a subcontractor, or a partner in a European research project. Airbus also runs innovation units (Airbus UpNext and Airbus Central Innovation are linked from its supplier page) for technology that is not yet a product. Those routes still end in the same procurement process; they only help you reach it with a sponsor.

For most small companies, the realistic first contract is not with Airbus directly but with an Airbus tier-one supplier. Their quality and security requirements flow down from Airbus, so preparing for Airbus prepares you for them too.

What will Airbus check before you can supply?

Airbus says it looks for partners with "a proven track record of industrial maturity, operational reliability and delivering on shared commitments", and that suppliers must comply with the Airbus supplier requirements. The supplier network page lists them:

Quality

EN 9100 is the European edition of the aerospace quality standard also known as AS9100. If you do not have it yet, read our guide on AS9100 certification for a small company before contacting Airbus. Airbus also encourages suppliers to download the free AERO EXCELLENCE maturity grid as a baseline for improvement, and offers training through Airbus Beyond, at the supplier's cost.

Special processes and NADCAP

If you do heat treatment, chemical processing, non-destructive testing, welding, coatings or similar work, expect NADCAP. The Airbus supplier documents page publishes the NADCAP accreditation policy and mandating plan for each division (commercial, Helicopters, Defence and Space), lists of qualified special processes and test methods, and the generic quality and supply chain requirements for detailed parts, materials and electronics. Download the ones for your commodity and check yourself against them before your assessment.

The same page links the Airbus Approved Suppliers List and the A220 programme list. Reading them shows which companies already hold approvals in your commodity: your competitors, or your future customers if you supply them.

Sustainability and ethics

Suppliers must commit to the Supplier Code of Conduct, with zero tolerance for corruption, modern slavery and child labour, and promote these principles in their own supply chains. Airbus describes a three-step approach: supplier commitment, supplier assessment, and supplier engagement and development. New suppliers sign a supplier commitment to these principles.

Information security

Airbus publishes a security requirements annex for suppliers, How to strengthen our collaboration on security. Among its requirements, the supplier:

• has security policies with management buy-in and a nominated security focal point for Airbus;
• keeps an inventory of authorised equipment and software, and encrypts data on mobile devices;
• gives every user a unique ID and uses strong authentication to connect to Airbus or from outside its network;
• protects its network perimeter, keeps anti-virus and intrusion signatures up to date and patches its systems;
• reacts to vulnerabilities and incidents quickly, with the tools and people to do so, and cooperates with Airbus during incidents;
• cascades the Airbus requirements to its own suppliers, audits them, and gets Airbus's written authorisation before giving them access to data or systems.

The annex notes these apply to all suppliers, with more depending on the work and its risks. A small company that cannot answer these points will struggle in the assessment, whatever its technical quality.

When do you need the Airbus Partner Portal?

Only once you work with Airbus. The Partner Portal registration page asks for:

1. the signed general and specific terms and conditions package;
2. a signed company administrator registration form;
3. an email to contact.airbussupply@airbus.com with company details, your identity, the reason for the request and the Airbus division, and the email address of your internal Airbus contact (a firstname.lastname@airbus.com address).

The last point is the giveaway: you need an Airbus buyer or contact first. Portal access follows a relationship; it does not create one.

Which Airbus systems will a new supplier use?

Airbus's supplier support page lists the tools a supplier meets after the introduction. Knowing their names helps you follow what a buyer tells you:

Two practical points from the same page's questions and answers. Airbus keeps company information for three years and then asks for an update, so an introduction you sent long ago may need refreshing. And Defence and Space has its own address for certification questions (mp.ads-sp@airbus.com), which is useful if your special processes need a division-specific approval.

Which terms and conditions will apply?

Airbus publishes standard terms and conditions of purchase by region (Europe, Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Africa and Middle East) on its information site, and says the onboarding terms are available to all suppliers and partners on its public website. Read the European version before your first quotation. Liability, warranty, intellectual property, export control and payment terms in a purchase order usually follow these standard terms unless something else is negotiated, and a small company should know where it stands before pricing a part.

If you supply chemicals, coatings or parts containing them, the supplier documents page also holds Airbus's REACH information letters, the Defence and Space REACH supplier questionnaire and the communications on chromate authorisation. Shipping goods into Airbus has its own customs method for suppliers on the same page.

What does Airbus reward in its suppliers?

Airbus gives annual supplier awards in each division, and the categories show what it values. In the latest list on its support page, commercial aircraft awards went to suppliers for ramp-up and operational excellence, competitive collaboration, agility, a sustainable future, breakthrough innovation and customer focus; Defence and Space recognised industrial performance, innovation, sustainability and agility. The list is a fair summary of what a buyer will probe in your assessment: can you deliver on time as volumes rise, react quickly, and keep quality steady.

A realistic preparation plan

Common mistakes in a first approach to Airbus

• Writing to Airbus as a whole. Name the division and the commodity.
• Sending confidential data before an NDA. The NDA comes at the assessment stage.
• Promising certifications you do not hold yet. Say when you expect them instead.
• Ignoring the security annex. It applies to all suppliers, not only IT firms.
• Skipping the tier-one route. Airbus's own requirements flow down to its tier-one suppliers, who often buy the parts a small company can make.

Where does FADEC help?

FADEC brings together aerospace, space and defence companies and research partners in Flanders. Members use the network to find a sponsor or a tier-one customer, to compare notes on certification and to team up for work too large for one company. See membership, or contact us to discuss an introduction.

Quick answers

Who do I contact to become an Airbus supplier? Airbus asks new companies to send their company information to globalsourcing@airbus.com. It replies if the products or services match its needs.

What happens after Airbus contacts a potential supplier? Airbus signs an NDA and may run a detailed questionnaire, a supplier visit and an assessment. After final alignment, the supplier may be invited to a call for tender.

Which quality standards does Airbus expect? Airbus names the IAQG EN 91xx standards or equivalent, NADCAP accreditation for special processes and products, and Airbus specific requirements for quality, engineering, supply chain and logistics.

Do I need an Airbus Partner Portal account to start? No. The Partner Portal is for companies that already work with Airbus. Registration needs signed terms, an administrator form and the email of an internal Airbus contact.

How much does Airbus buy from suppliers? Airbus says it sources about 80% of its product value from suppliers, has more than 18,000 suppliers including controlled affiliates, and had an external sourcing volume of €53 billion in 2023.