Why FMD Analysis Is Critical to Effective Supply Chain Mapping

Article Highlights:

• There are a myriad of different strategies companies employ to map their supply chains, including supplier campaigning, AI-enhanced mapping, and manufacturer databases. But there’s one key asset for supply chain mapping that’s discussed far less frequently: full material declarations. 
• Because of the fact that they encompass all the materials in a given part or product, full material declarations are an effective way of defining the scope of a given supply chain. By starting with an FMD, businesses can conceptualize all the potential sub-tier pathways that can be mapped out from the direct, tier 1 supplier. 
• Supply chain risk management (SCRM) platform Z2Data carries out comprehensive supply chain mapping, allowing organizations to see direct suppliers, sub-tier manufacturers, fabs, and assembly facilities. The tool uses FMD analysis to inform its unique part-to-site-mapping process, in which it traces components and subassemblies to their points of origin—whether it be a fab in Taiwan, an EMS site in China, or a factory in the U.S.

In a year that has seen the emergence of historic tariffs, tit-for-tat trade measures, and geopolitical tensions boil over, the case for supply chain mapping has seldom been stronger. U.S. businesses are under increasing pressure to understand where the components and subassemblies they import are coming from—at both the direct and sub-tier levels—so that they can identify tariff exposure and other lurking risks. 

There are a myriad of different strategies companies employ to map their supply chains. These include:

• Supplier Campaigning: Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other importers will send surveys to their known direct suppliers, soliciting information about sub-tier manufacturers. Once this initial round of campaigning is completed, they may then administer the same questionnaires to the tier 2 suppliers yielded by their initial surveying. This cycle could continue several times, theoretically giving OEMs deeper and deeper visibility into their sub-tiers. 

• AI-Enhanced Mapping: The rise of generative and agentic artificial intelligence over the past few years has allowed this technology to start contributing to the supply chain mapping process. These tools can scrape the internet for supply chain relationships, obtaining critical documentation like declarations, freight bookings, and receipts that illuminate connections between manufacturers. Together, the materials gathered by AI tools can produce a chain of custody for a business’s raw materials, components, and final product. These models aren’t perfect, however, and they’re often best at shedding light on potential sub-tier suppliers and supply chain relationships, rather than expanding a business’s specific map with a high level of accuracy.

• Supply Chain Databases: Supply chain risk management (SCRM) platforms often rely on preexisting databases that contain thousands of supply chain relationships in specific industries (including consumer electronics, automotive, and semiconductor manufacturing). Organizations interested in mapping their supply chains with precision often partner with these SCRM firms, who can synthesize customer data with their own internal databases to create supply chain maps. 

But there’s one key asset for supply chain mapping that’s discussed far less frequently: full material declarations. 

What Are Full Material Declarations (FMDs)?

A full material declaration—also sometimes referred to as a full material disclosure—is an XML file laying out the full composition of a given product or component, including all its materials. In many cases, FMDs also include concentration levels for these materials. In an industry paper, electronics trade group IPC explains that an FMD “refers to all homogeneous materials contained within a product, including their composition and concentration.”

FMDs have an array of essential functions, including:

• Serving as critical documentation for environmental regulations.
• Aiding internal and external stakeholders in evaluating the safety of a product or part.
• Operating as a record of all the materials that went into a specific manufacturing process. 

Why FMDs Are Essential for Comprehensive Supply Chain Mapping

When most sourcing and procurement professionals think of supply chain mapping, FMDs are not the first tool that comes to mind. Generally, mapping efforts lean on the aforementioned techniques, as well as chain of custody documents that shed light on relationships between manufacturers. But FMDs also have a role to play in this complex, multifaceted process. 

When most sourcing and procurement professionals think of supply chain mapping, FMDs are not the first tool that comes to mind.

• Define Scope of Sub-Tiers: Because of the fact that they encompass all the materials in a given part or product, full material declarations are an effective way of defining the scope of a given supply chain. If an organization is trying to map the supply chain for a specific semiconductor, for example, the FMD may show them 20 different materials that go into that component. This list imposes strict parameters on all the potential sub-tier suppliers for that part. By starting with an FMD, businesses can conceptualize all the potential sub-tier pathways that can be mapped out from the direct, tier 1 supplier. 

• Filter Out Irrelevant Relationships: Some supply chain mapping techniques will rely on verified relationships between direct and sub-tier manufacturers to establish potential sub-tier suppliers. The key word here, however, is potential. Just because a manufacturer sources from a specific sub-tier supplier does not mean that the relationship is relevant to your product, part, or supply chain. Using a full material declaration as a reference point can effectively filter out these types of relationships. If the supplier is not sourcing something clearly listed in the FMD from the sub-tier manufacturer, then that relationship is not relevant to you. 

• Reduce Dependence on Suppliers and Drive Up Response Rates: While supplier campaigning can be an effective strategy for procuring information about manufacturing networks, leaning too heavily on it comes with risks. Asking tier 1 manufacturers too many questions about parts, materials, and sub-tier suppliers can lead to fatigue, which may ultimately reduce future response rates. OEMs that use their FMDs to ask more specific, targeted questions about the path from raw materials to final products streamline this surveying. Over the longer term, this can ease the pressure on tier 1 manufacturers, improve the business relationship, and even drive up future response rates. 

• Sharper Supply Chain Visibility: While a full material declaration will never actually throw light on a supply chain relationship, it does provide a useful initial framework for maximizing supply chain visibility. Starting at the level of components and materials helps businesses visualize actual supply chain pathways, and chains of custody, rather than just a series of relationships within a larger supply chain. This focus on the parts and materials level is crucial to efforts to achieve supply chain traceability, which has emerged as the new gold standard in mapping manufacturing networks and carrying out comprehensive due diligence efforts. 

Z2Data’s FMD Analysis and Supply Chain Mapping

In a landscape with growing tariff considerations and expanding ESG regulations, supply chain visibility is no longer something that can be treated as an operational luxury, executed gradually over time. Rather, visibility has become essential to deftly navigating international supply chains right now. Being able to definitively determine where parts, subassemblies, and materials are coming from can help businesses mitigate their tariff costs, fulfill regulatory obligations, and strategically restructure supply chains in a way that prepares their firm for the future.

In a landscape with growing tariff considerations and expanding ESG regulations, supply chain visibility is no longer something that can be treated as an operational luxury, executed gradually over time.

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) platform Z2Data carries out comprehensive supply chain mapping, allowing organizations to see:

• Direct, tier 1 suppliers
• Sub-tier manufacturers 
• Fabs
• EMS sites
• Assembly facilities 

The tool uses FMD analysis to inform its unique part-to-site-mapping process, in which it traces components and subassemblies to their points of origin—whether it be a fab in Taiwan, an EMS site in China, or a factory in the U.S. All of Z2Data’s supply chain mapping is carried out according to a systematic process that includes continuous updating and the utilization of highly reliable sources—an essential prerequisite to maintaining dynamic, up-to-date supply chain maps. And the entire process starts with full material declarations, which outline the full scope of potential sub-tier relationships that could make up a specific part’s manufacturing pathway. 

To learn more about Z2Data and how it leverages FMDs to lay the groundwork for comprehensive supply chain mapping and maximum visibility, schedule a free trial with one of our product experts.