Driving supplier part approval process excellence with smart manufacturing for automotive

Sustainability, disruptive technologies, and supply chain volatility are driving automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier suppliers to make more frequent and impactful changes to their products and processes. As a result, effective collaboration and visibility across the supply chain have become increasingly critical and complicated for automakers. To overcome challenges, a comprehensive Smart Manufacturing approach mitigates risks with a closed-loop approach that integrates product design, manufacturing design, quality and the supply chain to safeguard compliance and product integrity. In this webinar, we will explore how a closed-loop quality (CLQ) management approach within a smart manufacturing ecosystem can provide the necessary end-to-end visibility for automotive OEMs and suppliers.

Navigating supplier quality management challenges in a volatile automotive landscape

Fierce competition for the automotive customer continues to place downward pressure on vehicle pricing. As a result, automotive manufacturers of all kinds keep seeking ways to shorten development cycles, boost traceability and reduce costs. As automotive manufacturers know, quality issues arising anywhere in the supply chain have the potential to determine the success or failure of a vehicle model and could even put the OEM's reputation and business at risk. The desire of every automotive company that receives components from a supplier, no matter their tier, is to have confidence in the quality of that supplier's goods.

Adapting supplier quality management strategies to enhance collaboration

With increased product and process changes, automotive manufacturers must closely monitor supplier performance, quality metrics, and project milestones to enable proactive issue identification and timely decision-making. OEMs and tier suppliers struggle to maintain visibility and control over the vast amount of supplier data, documentation, and quality records. Granting the right level of access and permissions for suppliers to collaborate on the part approval process is a delicate balance requiring robust onboarding and management systems.

These challenges around managing information, controlling access, and overseeing work underscore the need for automotive manufacturers to adopt a comprehensive, closed-loop approach to supplier quality management. This approach can enhance collaboration, improve quality assurance, and help navigate the dynamic industry landscape.

Leveraging smart manufacturing capabilities to stay ahead of part approval process

A comprehensive Smart Manufacturing approach mitigates risks with a closed-loop approach that integrates product design, manufacturing design, quality and the supply chain to safeguard compliance and product integrity. Siemens' Smart Manufacturing portfolio includes quality management solutions that enable OEMs and suppliers to break down barriers and adjust processes based on lessons learned.

Design, manufacturing, and quality teams can share the same views about the needed information to continuously improve product and process quality. With continuous improvement and seamless change management, issues are resolved faster, and costs are reduced.

When both OEMs and suppliers implement comprehensive and digital quality management solutions, they exceed the quality targets throughout production, and satisfy customers with reliable and high-quality products.

Enhancing supplier collaboration and quality management for automotive PPAP

In this webinar, we will explore how a closed-loop quality (CLQ) management approach within a smart manufacturing ecosystem can provide the necessary end-to-end visibility for automotive OEMs and suppliers. A CLQ system facilitates a timely, efficient, and comprehensive production part approval process (PPAP/PPA), enabling successful supplier quality management.

We will explore:

• How to streamline the supplier PPAP/PPA process through digital collaboration and traceability
• How manufacturers can proactively identify and mitigate quality issues across the supply chain
• Best practices to drive continuous improvement in products, processes, and supplier relationships