IAC Group Europe August, 2007
Dear Supplier,
The IMDS is the automotive industry material data system established by OEMs in the 1990’s. Within IMDS, all materials used for car manufacture are stored and maintained. Only in this way is it possible to meet the obligations placed on car manufacturers, and thus on their suppliers by national and international standards, laws and regulations (see e.g. EU directives 2000/53/EEC, 2003/11/EEC, 2006/122/EEC). All automotive manufacturers have revised their substances of concern specifications to reflect the impact of these regulations. To comply with these customer specifications, it is mandatory that all suppliers provide information on their products supplied to IAC Group Europe in required format.
Submission of material data sheets (MDS) to IAC Group Europe
All MDS must be submitted into the International Material Data System (IMDS) to IAC Group Europe ID site 55789, suppliers are obliged to provide an evidence of accepted IMDS submission during Production Part Approval Process (PPAP, e.g. as a screen shot). Any other way will lead to non-compliance and PPAP rejection. The MDS have to be sent without request. In case of missing MDS, suppliers will be contacted by IMDS team of Lear Corporation Philippines which is managing IMDS data on behalf of IAC Group Europe.
Submission guidelines
Suppliers are obliged to follow all valid Recommendations published on IMDS website www.mdsystem.com (to view Recommendations, you must login to IMDS first, then select Recommendation), customer specific requirements (see www.mdsystem.com, select Public IMDS Pages/FAQ/OEM Specific Info and choose IMDS specification of desired car manufacturer) and Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL, see www.gadsl.org). It is strongly recommended to visit these sites regularly to keep up with changes. It is also advisable to use MDS published by IMDS steering committee to create your own or sub-suppliers’ MDS. Deviation from these guidelines will result in rejection of your submission.
IAC Group Europe reserves the right to verify accuracy of suppliers’ submissions by requiring certified and independent laboratory test reports on corresponding products.
Submission due date
Suppliers must comply to IMDS requirement at least 1 month prior to PPAP and by any other dates requested and agreed with IAC Group Europe. As the evidence of compliance to this requirement, suppliers’ PPAP must include the screen shot of IAC acceptance screen from IMDS.
Submission non-compliance
Supplier’s non-compliance will be reflected in the suppliers’ rating and can affect future business invites / nomination. Also any additional costs arising from missing IMDS submission will be passed down to non-compliant supplier.
Training, seminars, IMDS help desk, registration
IMDS training could be obtained from company EDS (see www.mdsystem.com, select Public IMDS Pages/Training). Lot of IMDS training providers can be found also in internet (e.g. German companies imds professional, tec4U, SDI, redi-Control etc.).
There are also seminars for suppliers organized by OEMs (e.g. Volkswagen, see www.mdsystem.com, select Public IMDS Pages/Community/Volkswagen, then go to IMDS and Seminars).
In case of any doubts you can contact IMDS help desk worldwide (see www.mdsystem.com, select Public IMDS Pages/Contact and choose your preferred way how and where to contact IMDS help desk).
If you want to register your company for the IMDS, please go to www.mdsystem.com, select Public IMDS Pages/Contact/Online Registration.
It is imperative that your company supports this requirement in a timely manner. For questions, please contact IAC Group Europe at SoCReport@iacgroup.com or your direct contact person requesting this information.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Peter Bongartz
VP Purchasing
IAC Group Europe
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