AIAG and its member companies have worked collaboratively since 1982 to consistently offer new and eye-opening information to assist you and your company. With your help, we’ve grown to over 4,000 member companies and counting, with over 900 volunteers providing subject matter expertise. As we approach the end of 2023, here’s a look back at some of our accomplishments.

LAUNCH OF M-6 HANDBOOK VERSION 4
We were proud to publish version 4 of the M-6 Optimum Shipping & Receiving Systems Handbook in April 2023. The M-6 handbook provides best practices and requirements for designing and implementing an Optimum Shipping and Receiving System (OS/RS) to improve the safety and efficiency of delivering parts from suppliers to automotive plants.

If you are in transportation (carrier), this is a customer mandate and is part of your purchasing contract.

Along with an all-new section on fall protection at docks 48 inches or higher (which applies to virtually all companies with a dock), the document contains nine sections to help you understand connections between all aspects of the system. The document has nine modules that reference regulatory standards, automotive mandates, best-practice guidelines, and application issues.

All aspects of the systems are covered including forklift trucks, shipping containers, loading dock doors, dock levelers, trailer restraints, dock shelters, truck levelers, dock bumpers, dock system electrical controls, dock building wall design, truck well design, highway trailer design (floors, walls, roof, axle location, landing gear location, etc.), ISO and domestic container design, trailer, and container floor heights, material handling practices, safety practices, trailer loading and unloading practices, trailer switching practices, trailer inspection practices, marshaling yard design, as well as the existing body of industry standards and legislated regulations governing each of these areas.

The committee discovered how all the elements of such a formidable complex of activities related to and affected each other, and then optimized their interrelationship.

Related training videos are also available to support those involved in shipping and receiving, including the AIAG Trailer Safety Inspection and AIAG Trailer Loading and Unloading videos. The first of these covers the critical elements in a highway trailer’s structural integrity and how to determine whether this integrity has been compromised, while the second focuses on the proper practices to maximize safety at the loading dock for forklift truck operators.

If you haven't yet purchased your copy, be sure to do so here.

2023 HYBRID IMDS & PRODUCT CHEMICAL COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE
The 2023 IMDS & Product Chemical Compliance Conference was held October 17-18, 2023, at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. Over 200 people attended in person, with almost 100 additional people joining online. This always-popular hybrid event covered global legislative issues, IMDS topics, and sustainability, including product carbon footprint (PCF) reporting.

Extended to two full days to make room for focus on sustainability issues, the theme was Transitioning IMDS from Materials Compliance to the Circular Economy.

Along with sustainability-specific topics, presentations explored LCAs, updates to the battery legislation and Digital Products Passport, TSCA, responsible sourcing, recyclate, and PFAS, as well as numerous IMDS updates, including what’s new in versions 14.0 and 14.1 and what's coming next in version 15.0.

We heard from various suppliers and those in the heavy equipment industry, and the IMDS Steering Committee provided updates on ELV and REACH, as well as details on the new IMDS data structure.

Product Carbon Footprint Reporting
Starting this year, the conference included sustainability topics such as product carbon footprint in preparation for Part & Material Level Emission reporting — a new 2024 IMDS Reporting Requirement and one of the most fundamental changes made to the IMDS system in many years.

Along with PCF-specific content — e.g., why PCF tracking is so important and the specifics of its inclusion in IMDS — our 2023 event explored a wide range of issues, including REACH, ELV, and ECHA updates, CLEPA and JAPIA activities, responsible materials/sourcing, and much more.

• Auto Industry Hot Topics: Current Priorities and Emerging Issues: Featuring the Alliance for Automotive Innovations’ Catherine Palin, this session explored the major chemical regulatory and legislative issues so far this year, and those poised to expand over the next several months.
  
  
• Digital Product Passport to Life Cycle Assessment/Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: Led by Bing Xu (iPoint-systems Gmbh) and Michael Wurzman (RSJ Technical Consulting) this presentation focused on the Digital Product Passport to life cycle assessment, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, what the drivers are, and how they are all connected.
  
  
• Evolution of IMDS to Collect Recycled and Bio-Based Content of Materials: DXC Technology’s Roland Seibert discussed the evolution of IMDS from enhancement proposal to IMDS Rel. 14 implementation and IMDS 025 Recommendation with a retrospective to earlier implementations.

Consider attending in-person next year if possible because in-person attendees also benefit from:

• Optional 101-level tips for the IMDS training sessions (30 minutes) on Day 1
• Networking opportunities to connect with industry leaders and peers
• Exploring the latest innovations and spotlights at our Exhibitor Extravaganza
• And our always popular networking reception

WEBINAR RECORDINGS
CO2 Emissions Trading System in Mexico
José Francisco Castro Guardiola, senior manager of energy planning for Ternium, presents in Spanish on background information for climate change legislation in Mexico; general climate change law and its modifications to comply with Mexico's obligations under the Paris Agreement; emissions trading system in Mexico; pilot program, description, and lessons learned; progress toward the operational phase; and other issues related to climate change in Mexico.

Future Automotive Expert Webinars
AIAG's Future Automotive Expert (FAE) program is a series of webinar events geared toward professionals who have recently joined the automotive/mobility industry. Each FAE event is structured to help transfer knowledge and expertise from the current generation of industry leaders to the next generation, with a 45-minute presentation followed by a Q&A. Here’s a look back at some FAE webinars from 2023.

FAE: Real Value of Supplier Diversity to Your Supply Chain
Ford Motor Company's head of Supplier Diversity & Warranty Recovery, Travis Spencer, focuses on how an effective supplier diversity program can provide economic benefits to corporations, diverse businesses, and communities. The webinar includes a brief introduction to supplier diversity — and its history — followed by a discussion of the diverse categories supplier diversity practitioners advocate for and the national certification partners they work with to accomplish their goals.

FAE: Opportunity is Here — What Are You Waiting For?
Hear from Emeline King — the first African American woman to work as a transportation designer for Ford Motor Company — about her autobiography, What Do You Mean a Black Girl Can't Design Cars? Emeline King, She Did It! Focusing on her journey of 25 years in a male-dominated industry, King explores her fight for equality, the struggles and challenges that allowed her to "blast through" the glass ceiling, and her historic accomplishments in the automotive industry.

FAE: Communicating with Leadership — Strategies and Techniques for the Rising Professional
Plexus International's Jeremy Hazel discusses how, as current professionals move toward retirement and younger candidates begin to fill their roles, there is a substantial mismatch in new professionals' communication skills, and the needs of organizations and leaders that employ them. This webinar focuses on analyzing management and how it operates, the concept of "interested parties" and how their perceptions are created, how to generate a common language with management, and more.

FAE: Supply Chain Careers in Materials Management/Logistics — Fostering Healthier Supply Chains
Christian Aigner (SCM Planning Ford Europe, Ford) and Terry Onica (director, Automotive, QAD Inc.) focus on supply chain careers in materials management. In addition to discussing how the Materials Management Operations Guideline/Logistics Evaluation (MMOG/LE) is used to manage, assess, and benefit supply chains, they explore how to get started and excel in the supply chain field.

FAE: Supply Chain Careers in EDI and B2B Communications
Fred Coe (senior business analyst, GM), Terry Onica (director, automotive, QAD Inc.), and Jerry Czernel, CPIM (senior project manager, AIM Computer Solutions) discuss the potential and possibilities of automotive supply chain careers in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and B2B communications. Along with exploring the foundational attributes and experiences required to get started and excel in these areas, the webinar covers various disciplines within supply chain and their limitless potential for growth.

FAE: Leadership Transformation in the Automotive Industry
Our industry is experiencing massive transformation, yet we cling to a leadership model developed during the Industrial Revolution. In this webinar with Jan Griffiths, president and founder of Gravitas Detroit, we explore a leadership model for the future and blow up some myths about accountability.

FAE: Creating a Culture of Quality — Part 1, Part 2

In this two-part recording, Plex VP of product management, Anthony Murphy, explores how creating a culture of quality through the installation of an advanced QMS and a shift in mindset drives operational rigor and helps mitigate risk.

TRAINING AND RESOURCES
Automotive Industry Guiding Principles on Sustainability Becomes Available in 10 Languages

In March 2023, the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and Drive Sustainability released translated versions of the “Automotive Industry Guiding Principles to Enhance Sustainability Performance in the Supply Chain” — a set of common guidelines outlining sustainability expectations for automotive suppliers — along with the supplementary “Global Automotive Sustainability Practical Guidance,” addressing the practicalities and legalities of meeting these expectations. Language options for the guiding principles now include Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Turkish, while the practical guidance is available in the same language options, with a Japanese translation in progress.

M-6 Handbook Version 4 Launches

Version 4 of the M-6 Optimum Shipping & Receiving Systems Handbook came out in April 2023. The M-6 handbook provides best practices and requirements for designing and implementing an Optimum Shipping and Receiving System (OS/RS) to improve the safety and efficiency of delivering parts from suppliers to automotive plants. If you are in transportation (carrier), this is a customer mandate and is part of your purchasing contract.