Enabling Digital Transformation for Automotive Suppliers
Build on a Foundation of Solution Modules Powered by Aras Innovator
Automotive suppliers operate in one of the most challenging and competitive business environments in industry today. Yet, strategies to replace legacy solutions or pursue digital transformation seem abstract and disruptive. vdR's Automotive Supplier Solution Suite provides a clear path forward.
Automotive Insight Video Series
Join Lloyd Rogers, automotive practice lead, in the Automotive insights Series as he address many of the challenges facing the automotive and supplier spaces.
Solution Modules
vdR's Automotive Supplier Solution is supported by a PLM-based foundation powered by Aras Innovator that addresses three critical pieces of digital transformation: data cohesion, process repeatability, and platform connectivity. Once in place, this three-part foundation supports ready-to-use solutions modules tailored to the needs of Automotive Suppliers.
Quoting
The Quoting Module helps organization’s accelerate the quotation process while reducing errors and enhancing post-sale data reuse. Weather it’s a new quote or a complex change against an active program, the Quoting Module uses repeatable workflows to ensure the required input and signoffs are captured along the process. Moreover, stockholders have real time visibility into the quote status and information they need. This ‘single source of truth’ approach ensures people no longer need to rely on emails and excel.
Feature Highlights
Produce a costed BOM with seamless access to previous quotes and internal purchased parts
Predefined workflows verify team members receive and respond to assignments
Smart workflows choose routes based on costs and risk (e.g. executive approvals)
Treat all Quote Types - New Business, requote, engineering change, etc. …
Visibility into status on ‘where’ and ‘who’ has responded, along with percent complete
Mobile approval and comment via imbedded email actions
Quote revision management with full change control
ERP/MRP Integration leveraging automated workflow triggers and next-generation connectivity technology
Notifications on quote acceptance for Launch team review
Post-sale data reuse to support budgeting and program management
Automated Phase Gate Review
This module uses predefined and repeatable phase-gate review workflows to streamline the process. Once initiated, a workflow assigns deliverables by gate to the team members responsible for providing data, signatures, and comments. The project manager receives the auto populated project package form and can sign off and forward for review. This package includes all comments, open items, and risks associated with the project while also providing a dashboard for the stakeholders.
Feature Highlights
Automated workflows templates can be customized to your unique processes
Workflow assignments to collect deliverables related to comments, risks, and open issues
Mobile approval with comments based on risk or issues found
Dashboards to track the status of all deliverables and completeness of a package
Notifications to stakeholder and management of sign-offs, approvals, or delays
Audit trail of collected data, comments, and signatures
Auto package of gate deliverables triggers workflow driven final approval to executives and management
Real-time percent complete data for reviewing phase/gates within the APQP process
Supplier Portal
The Supplier Portal Module is a next-generation solution to submit vendor requests, manage the bilateral transfer of data and files, and track the status of these interactions. A unified activity dashboard helps accelerate your team’s ability to make procurement decisions while minimizing cost and boosting quality. Connectivity to the Supplier Management module ensures portal participation is always subject to a suppliers’ approved vendor status and their assigned user permissions.
Feature Highlights
RFQ creation templates for program information, CAD drawings, and response documents
Dashboards for internal and external participants based on request status and impact on related business items such as quote or program
Notifications for internal and external participants triggered by predefined activities in the workflow
Audit trail of when data is accessed and/or submitted with time stamps and user information
Request context based on the source quote or program to dynamically associate APQP data during the PPAP process for tracking (e.g. tooling reports, packaging, engineering test, etc. …)
Auto payment triggers for parts PPAP and tooling with real-time visibility into the payment status for both your purchasing team and the supplier
Procurement Management
The procurement management module provides a complete view into your supplier network and visibility into business items related to each supplier such as quotes and supplier portal transactions. Supplier profiles let you track critical data such as NDAs, ISO/IATF, minority status, contact information, quality scorecard and other compliance information. Moreover, a notification system automatically alerts suppliers of missing documentation or soon-to-expire certifications, saving you and your team hours of manual labor trying to contact suppliers.
Feature Highlights
Minority & NDA status tracking expiration and providing status of supplier with auto notifications sent for updates
Related part numbers, piece cost, LTA’s, tooling, and capacity information managed along capability for yearly buys and other forecast calculations
Integration into supplier portal and quoting - Track quotes by supplier, response information by quote number or part number, tailored to your request
Quality scorecard and ISO/IATF tracking allowing the buyer a real-time view into score information
Supplier contact information such as plants, locations, supplier code and other pertinent information tailored to you as the buyer
Certification expiration alerts to both internal and external stakeholders
Regulatory Compliance
Automotive suppliers operate in a complex and ever-changing regulatory landscape. The Regulatory Compliance Module helps ensure your internal operation as well as external value chain comply with relevant policies and regulations. Automated workflow triggers coupled with integrations to databases such as IMDS can help track properties on your parts, materials, and suppliers to lower the cost of compliance for REACH, RoHS, Conflict Minerals, IPC-1752A, and similar regulatory directives.
Feature Highlights
Streamline IMDS compliance during APQP and PPAP activities with a plug and play IMDS integration
Regulatory change tracking helps monitor and implement policy updates and log critical information such as release date, effectivity, impacted items
BOM check identifies substances of concern used in product structures
End item traceability is maintained in the system for revision levels, and dates for which products were built in order to send out notifications
Report and analyze compliance status across product material, vendors, and operational divisions
Automated notifications and alerts for stakeholders and suppliers for substance declarations or regulatory changes based on preconfigured workflow triggers
Product Forecasting
Sales Product forecasting is a very dynamic in the automotive industry. Most companies have several inputs supporting the forecast data ranging from IHS, CRM, the Customer RFQ, ERP, and EDI data. While a company has a contractual capacity agreement, they also must determine their own financial planning volume to minimize risk on amortization of several costs such as ED&D, capital, packaging, and plant allocation of space. The Product Forecasting Module provides a framework to organize this data and calculate its impact on your forecasts for such things as take-rates, amortization schedules, and volumes. Along the way, we’ll also keep you notified on issues such as forecasted shortfalls for early negotiations with the customer.
Feature Highlights
Amortization scheduling based on real information from the ERP or EDI and enforced with early alert notifications on shortfalls from a monthly and yearly calculation.
Take rate verification on products versus the contractual data in order to provide future data to your ordering system and product close out
Capacity planning supported with monthly auto calculate forecasts designed for internal teams and plants
Forecasted spend reports derived from monthly forecasted by connecting the part number costed BOM by plant, region, and company
Actual spend comparison against actual revenue by plant, region, and company
Charts and reports to support strategic management of shortfalls, vendor and OEM negotiations, internal capacity discussions, and manufacture planning
Customer Tooling Tracker
Once a tool has been sourced, you rely on the tooling engineer to track, support, and work with the supplier through changes and track the tool to production. This includes several responsibilities related to meeting run-at-rate, craftsmanship, dimensional stability, and tool set-up, along with a weekly timing report for PPAP and still stay within budget. We have a solution to provide visibility of the progress and provide tool data for the entire launch team and plant. The tool can be searched by P/N, Tool Number, or customer asset tag number.
Feature Highlights
Tool budget information along with change management for easy tracking of tooling costs, PO’s, customer changes, contact information, and tool cost
Tool tracking via asset tag number, tool number, or part number, and have relationships to search for location of tool during production or service
Tool information can be easily tracked such as capacity, run-at-rate information, tool set-up for PPAP, part dimensional data, and pictures of part, and tool for payment
Track tool movement from tool maker to supplier or service, utilize OEM processes for tool move approval with workflows, always know the location of your tools