Many companies use third parties to develop critical pieces of their products. This has created strong program-level dependencies with third parties wherein the success of the overall program depends highly on how successfully an organization manages these third parties. In order to ensure that the organization can meet or exceed customer expectations, these third party deliverables have to be aligned with overall project schedule and quality expectations. To do so, application of design for six sigma (DFSS) in the third party programs is crucial. Herein we present a snapshot of the application of DFSS in third party intensive programs. By third party intensive, we mean that a significant component of the program involves multiple third parties.