The global automotive industry demands world class levels of product quality, productivity and competitiveness as well as continual improvement. To achieve this goal many vehicle manufacturers insist that suppliers are certified to the quality management standard for suppliers to the automotive sector, known as ISO/TS 16949.

ISO/TS 16949 is an ISO technical specification which aligns existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards within the global automotive industry. It specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of automotive-related products. 

ISO/TS 16949 has been developed by the industry, the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) , to encourage improvement in both the supply chain and the certification process. In fact, for the majority of leading vehicle manufacturers, certification to this specification is a mandatory requirement for doing business.

This specification aligns and supersedes existing US, German, French and Italian automotive quality system standards, including QS-9000, VDA6.1, EAQF and ASQ. It specifies the quality system requirements for the design/development, production, installation and servicing of all automotive-related products. First published in March 1999 and revised in 2002 and in 2009, there are now over 47,500 certificates issued in the three major business areas of the Americas-Europe-Asia. 

ISO/TS 16949 is relevant to all types of automotive supply companies, from small manufacturers to multi-sited, multinational organizations located anywhere in the world. However, it is only applicable to sites where production or service parts are manufactured for the original equipment market.

Organizations wishing to break into the automotive market must wait until they are on an automotive customer's potential supplier list before they can progress with certification to this specification.

• Gain your license to trade internationally and expand your business
• Improve processes to reduce waste and prevent defects
• Remove the need for multiples certificates for vehicle manufacturing
• Integrate ISO/TS 16949 with other management systems
• Demonstrate compliance to win new business and investment prospects

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