Automotive

Supplier Process Management Problems

The automotive industry is facing changes at a rate and intensity that was inconceivable just a few years ago. Intense competitive pressure from all corners of the globe is forcing more and more of the work to be pushed throughout a complicated global supplier community. In addition the demand for better data to make important decisions early from this same supplier community has caused increasing stress on the informational infrastructure of most of these organizations.

The AIAG's APQP standard outlines a process that companies can deploy to their supplier community to help reduce risk to a success product launch, but implementing this process in a complex supplier community brings many challenges.

Do these problems sound familiar?

I can’t tell what requirements are due when, and who is responsible.
Tracking APQP status of a part is very labor intensive.
Finding the correct revision of a document is difficult, both during and after launch.
Tracking APQP status across suppliers, products and programs is difficult if not impossible

ISO/TS 16949 Conformance Problems

Suppliers of automotive parts and services are required by the automotive OEMS to be registered for the ISO/TS 16949 standard. ISO/TS 16949 is based upon the ISO 9001 standard, with specific requirements added to support the needs of automotive industry. A key component of ISO/TS 16949 is evidence that your company is successfully managing APQP. Companies trying to implement APQP and the ISO/TS 16949 standard face a number of challenges.

Do these problem sound familiar?

I am not ready to pass an ISO/TS 16949 audit.
I can’t find the correct documentation.
It is too difficult to develop the right document.
My document does not meet the requirements of the ISO/TS 16949 standard.
My company spends too much money on compliance efforts.
My company is not able to keep up with changes to documents.
I need to bring my documentation up to the current version of the standard.