This is part of AIAG's series recapping sessions from the 2025 IMDS, Product Compliance & Sustainability Conference.
Why is it so important to not reject the Regulation Wizard? What should you do about incomplete Regulation Wizard data — lower-tier lack of data versus your material?
The session “Your First Spell Book: A Beginner’s Guide to the Regulation Wizard” answered these questions and more at the 2025 IMDS Conference.
Heidi Wittenborn, co-founder and vice president of SCRI Data, gave the presentation.
Overview
The Regulation Wizard, formerly known as Chemistry Manager, handles additional regulatory information for substances in products, separate from the main data flow. The wizard is intended to streamline the management of regulatory information associated with materials and components. The shift in terminology reflects the tool’s functional scope and the need for clarity across the supply chain.
The wizard allows users to request and manage regulatory information, with status indicators (red, yellow, and green) reflecting the completeness of responses. It covers regulations like BPR, REACH, MCCPs, and soon, the EU Deforestation Regulation. It also emphasizes the importance of accepting data without rejection to avoid halting the production part approval process. Challenges include ensuring suppliers complete the wizard and the anonymity of supply chain responses.
Here’s a deeper dive into the Regulation Wizard.
Data Flow, Versioning, and Supplier Responsibilities
The Regulation Wizard operates as a distinct data flow from material declarations, allowing companies to track regulatory questions without interrupting the movement of IMDS submissions, Wittenborn explains. She stresses that rejecting data for missing regulatory information is counterproductive because the supply chain may never provide updated data. She says, “If you reject, you may never see your data again. You can just cut yourself off at the knees.” Instead, companies should accept submissions and then initiate regulatory information requests through the system.
The tool creates versions of regulatory information separately from IMDS updates. Regulatory statuses range from red (no information) to yellow (partial information) to green (complete information). These statuses can change when new substance regulations take effect or when material formulations evolve. It's important to understand responsibility: Copied data shifts the regulatory burden to the user, sometimes creating unanswerable questions. “Copying data is often a good solution, but now you get to take the responsibility for questions you can’t answer,” she says.
Regulatory Categories and Question Logic
Functional pathways for accessing the Regulation Wizard and key regulatory categories embedded in the tool include the Biocidal Products Regulation, the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals framework, medium-chain chlorinated paraffins, and upcoming requirements under the European Union Deforestation Regulation. Question logic adapts to user responses, while intent — such as whether a substance was added for biocidal effect — governs the required documentation.
Supply Chain Anonymity and Industry Challenges
Anonymity is built into the system. When suppliers respond to a regulatory request, their identity is not disclosed to the requester, a protection designed to preserve supply-chain relationships. Wittenborn notes the persistent industry challenge of obtaining complete regulatory information, remarking, “When you find out how to get everyone to complete the Regulation Wizard information, you let me know — that would be wonderful.”
Ultimately, the Regulation Wizard is integral to compliance within the European Economic Area and to the broader expectations of automotive customers. While the tool cannot compel lower-tier suppliers to respond, it equips companies with a structured, consistent method for documenting regulatory obligations and maintaining transparency across complex, often opaque supply networks.
SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 2026 IMDS CONFERENCE
This topic and more will be covered at the 2026 IMDS, Product Compliance & Sustainability Conference from October 7–9, 2026, at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. Learn about the latest sustainability topics as well as global legislative issues and IMDS topics. Conference registration will open by the spring. Look out for more details soon.
