Manufacturing
Automotive suppliers
The most demanding customer you will have, and the one that audits most.
Automotive is where documentary demands bite hardest, for one reason: a defective part can end in a recall campaign covering thousands of vehicles. The whole documentary system is designed around that.
What you will be asked for, and what handles it
| What they ask | Module | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation from your own suppliers | Trackline | Continuous, with expiries |
| Quality and confidentiality agreements | Consigne | At onboarding and on every change |
| Batch traceability back to material | Trackline + SmartCheck | Per delivered batch |
| Responses to questionnaires and audits | Trackline | Annual or per project |
Important
Upstream traceability is what decides the scope of a recall. If you can say exactly which material batches went into which delivered parts, the campaign narrows; if not, it is scoped by dates and everything from that period is included. The difference is an order of magnitude in cost.
Frameworks cited
Sector-specific quality management standards, each manufacturer's particular requirements, and — across the board — supply chain due diligence and materials and substances rules. The concrete requirements come from the customer and your certification body.
Watch out
One manufacturer's requirements are not another's, and they usually arrive contractually. If you supply three, you will have three different questionnaires asking almost the same things — building them as separate processes and reusing answers is the only thing that makes this sustainable.
Worth knowing
Keeping each completed questionnaire with its date and source turns next year's into a review rather than a project.
›Can I reuse answers between customers?
The answers yes; the format usually not. The saving is still there.
›What if a supplier of mine gives no traceability?
That is your risk, not theirs: you are the one answering to the manufacturer.
›How long must it be kept?
Periods in this sector tend to be long; confirm them in your contracts.
A real case
The situation
A component supplier receives a field incident and is asked to scope the affected batches.
What you do
- Checks which material batches went into each delivery
What you get
Scopes it to 3 batches instead of three months of production, and the campaign costs a fraction.
The situation
The client demands documentation per part and it is handled manually.
What you do
- Ties each part to its batch and file
What you get
The trace exists without extra work.
The situation
A process change never reaches the client.
What you do
- Communicates the change before applying it
What you get
The relationship does not break over a surprise.
The situation
A client audit arrives at short notice.
What you do
- Keeps the file current through the year
What you get
Preparation is a review.
The situation
A supplier changes and nobody reviews their documentation.
What you do
- Launches onboarding on the first order
What you get
No supplier gets in without a file.
The situation
A problem with a part must be contained.
What you do
- Checks which batches carry it and where they went
What you get
Those affected are warned.
This article answers
- documentation for an automotive manufacturer
- automotive supplier audit
- automotive quality standard documentation
- tier 1 customer requirements