Early Supplier Involvement (ESI)
Why it matters
ESI reduces costly late-stage design changes by surfacing manufacturability and cost problems during the design phase when they are least expensive to fix, and improves supplier commitment to aggressive cost and quality targets on new programs.
External References
This term appears in
Cite this definition
Finocchiaro, Michael. “Early Supplier Involvement (ESI).” DemystifyingPLM PLM Glossary, 2026, https://www.demystifyingplm.com/glossary/early-supplier-involvement-esi