The United States has one of the largest automotive markets in the world and despite challenges within the industry in recent years; the U.S. automotive sector is at the forefront of innovation. Technology has definitely played a part in the industry’s growth; driving companies like Honda to set requirements and push for continuous improvement from their suppliers. We are proud to be among the many vendors who serve the automotive manufacturing industry; which is why we have taken the steps to remain involved and current with the latest standards and requirements. In fact Radley’s EDI & Label solution, iCARaS™ is included in the Honda Approved Vendors list that is published for their suppliers.
Honda requires the use of a certified solution from an approved software vendor and for their suppliers to go through a certification process. If using an uncertified solution, the supplier must go through a much more extensive certification process and are considered hybrid. By using a certified solution, our customers have a relatively quick and simple certification process. The experienced Honda EDI team actually visits each software company to review not only the technology, but the services and support provided by the vendor requesting certification. When they visited our EDI division in Southfield, Michigan they wanted to see how our solutions handle label printing, shipping documents and reporting. Receiving Honda’s certification and being included in the list of approved vendors is a big achievement for companies like Radley working within the automotive industry. However, Honda is just one of the hundreds of trading partners that Radley’s EDI solutions support as standard product. Our reputation as experts within the industry was strengthened as they continued to visit Radley over the past few years, seeking our assistance in testing changes to functionality and new requirements prior to Honda rolling them out to other vendors and suppliers.
Honda’s approach and ultimate success caught the eye of other large automotive companies which led to similar initiatives such as the MMOG/LE (Materials Management Operations Guidelines/Logistics Evaluation) to help establish standards for evaluating supply chain processes within the automotive industry. Logistics organizations and suppliers are evaluated and graded with ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ ratings. The higher the rating, the more successful the manufacturer or supplier is at reducing costs, waste and workloads by the streamlining of operations.
Radley Corporation has been a long time member of AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) in addition to serving on the actual MMOG committee; helping with changes and updates to the future versions of the logistics evaluation. Our participation with these important industry groups is invaluable to our business and our customers and is what helps define Radley as experts in the industry. We are on the forefront of changes within the automotive world and incorporate that knowledge into our existing solutions and development of future products.