Suppliers' assurances may relate to services and their continuing availability, rather than to products. This may require some differences in approach. This however depends on an understanding as to how the component is incorporated into the device and its function in it. The supplier who supplied the component to the supplier of the device may not be able to give this information. Obtaining assurance from suppliers is also part of the legal audit process.
Care needs to be taken in placing reliance on statements from suppliers.
It is clearly inadvisable to assume that a supplier's assurances are accurate. If a system is critical, in-house testing should be used to verify statements from suppliers.