Industry
Traceability for auto component suppliers
Your OEM customer can ask for the build record of a single part number from eight months ago and expects it the same week. Trace keeps that record per unit, in a form that holds up when it is challenged.
The situation this is for
A Tier 1 customer raises a warranty claim on a part you shipped in March. They want the torque records for the four mounting bolts, the lot numbers of the bearings, and the end-of-line test result. Without per-unit capture, the honest answer is a shift log and an apology.
What gets captured
- Torque per fastenerEvery bolt, with the limit that applied at that moment and the instrument that read it
- Component lotsBearings, seals, castings — lot codes tied to the BOM line they satisfied
- Sub-assembly serialsSerialised sub-assemblies carry their own history into the parent
- End-of-line testVerdict plus the underlying readings, not just a pass stamp
- Operator and certificationWho built it, and whether they held the skill the operation required
A route for this product
Routes are configuration, so this is a starting point rather than a fixed template. Yours is built from your operations at the walkthrough.
- 10 · Mark and verify — identity applied to the raw casting and read back
- 20 · Sub-assembly — bearing and seal lots scanned against the BOM
- 30 · Torque — four fasteners captured from the instrument
- 40 · Leak test — verdict plus pressure readings
- 50 · Final label and dispatch
Questions from this industry
Our customer audits us against IATF 16949. Does Trace make us compliant?
No software makes you compliant, and treat any vendor who says otherwise with suspicion. Trace gives you the record an auditor asks for: per-unit genealogy, captured process values against defined limits, operator identity, and evidence that records have not been altered since capture. The quality system around it is still yours.
We supply the same part to three customers. Can we trace by customer?
Yes. Units are tied to a job card, and dispatch is recorded, so a forward trace returns which customers received the affected units rather than only how many units there were.
Talk about traceability for auto components and tier 1/2
We walk one line, list what each operation should capture, and tell you plainly which of your machines can be read. You get that list whether or not you buy anything.
Keep reading
- Recall and forward traceGive Trace a component lot code and it returns every finished unit that consumed it, where each one went, and when. An indexed lookup, not an overnight report.
- Pumps and valvesA pump that leaks in the field is traced back to one gasket lot or one under-torqued flange. Trace keeps the values that tell you which, per unit.
- Switchgear and electricalsElectrical assemblies fail on components you did not make. When a contactor batch turns out to be bad, the question is which panels have it inside them.
Not sure a full MES is the right answer? Read how to choose between MES and standalone traceability.