Automotive supplier software for teams still run on spreadsheets — IATF 16949 traceability, PPAP evidence and schedule response without an ERP replacement
Keep the line fed and the audit clean. Bulk holds part-and-batch genealogy, control-plan evidence and the customer schedule on one live record — so containment is a query, not a fire drill.
This is your line. These are the modules on it.
An automotive supplier's line, bird view — every pin is a Bulk module doing a real job on that spot of the floor. Click one to see the module.
What holds up on a live floor.
Once every job runs on one live record, these are the outcomes you can point at — not a board-pack story.
Not an MES. Not an ERP. The traceability layer a tier-one actually needs.
Most software aimed at an automotive supplier is either an MES that assumes an integrator, a PLC network and a six-figure project, or an ERP that wants your whole business re-platformed before the first release is shipped. Bulk is the layer in between — the production tracking, genealogy and quality system for the line, without the rip-and-replace, and without waiting for a customer audit to expose the gaps.
Every part carries its own thread: the supplier lot booked at goods-in, each operation with the operator and machine that ran it, the control-plan check, the containment record if it failed. When a customer flags a suspect batch, you trace it back through every component lot, operation and operator in seconds — and list every other part built from the same lot before the escalation call ends.
Automotive suppliers cut across the discrete world, and Bulk fits the same way in each — machinists on multi-op routes and FAIR packs (CNC machine shop software), stampers and welders on weld maps and heat numbers (metal fabrication software), moulders on resin-lot and cavity genealogy (injection moulding software). Same engine underneath, configured to IATF 16949, your control plans and your customer's schedule. This page is the automotive line in general; the sibling pages go deep on each process.
From release to genealogy, one thread.
Follow one part number through the plant — every step lands on the same live record, so the trace, the PPAP evidence and the audit trail are side effects of doing the work.
Take the schedule in
The customer release lands against the part — EDI or portal — and Bulk reads the delivery paperwork and labels so nobody re-types a quantity or a lot. A swing upstream becomes a visible queue, not a Monday surprise.
Scheduling →Build to the control plan
Each operation stamps the operator, the machine and the time as the part moves down the route — mill, press, mould or assembly — and the control-plan checks land in line, so the build history and the evidence write themselves as the line runs.
Production →Check and contain
An out-of-tolerance result raises a nonconformance on the spot, holds the batch and escalates to 8D — no suspect part slips toward a customer dock while the paperwork catches up.
Quality →Trace and submit
A customer flags a lot. You pull the whole genealogy — every component lot, operation and operator — and list every affected part in one query. The same record assembles the PPAP and control-plan pack without a hunt.
Data thread →A swing upstream is your problem now.
A part moves from release to dispatch through hands, spreadsheets and paper that work — until a schedule swing, a customer audit or a containment finds the cracks. These are the three that cost you most.
Schedule swings and expedites
The customer pulls a release forward and the whole plan reshuffles on a whiteboard. By the time the line knows, the expedite is already late — and the premium freight is already booked.
PPAP and IATF evidence, reassembled by hand
Control plans, capability studies and part genealogy live in a dozen spreadsheets and binders. Every submission and every surveillance audit means rebuilding the evidence someone should already be holding.
Line-side data on paper
Takt, scrap and downtime are logged on a clipboard and keyed in at shift end — so the lost hour shows up the next morning, long after the moment you could have acted on it.
The blocks that hold a tier-one.
Every module ships from day one — these are the ones automotive suppliers reach for first, wired to one auditable record. Arrange the blocks around how your line already runs.
Availability, performance and quality recalculated as the line moves — on a desk monitor or a cell TV, no shift-end export — so a lost hour shows up while you can still recover the schedule.
OEE & analytics →Supplier lot to operation to shipped part, held as one genealogy — so a suspect batch becomes a query that lists every affected part, not a two-day trawl through travellers.
Data thread →Control-plan checks captured in line and held against the part, containment driven from nonconformance through to 8D — the IATF evidence assembles itself instead of being rebuilt for every audit.
Quality →Plan the queue against cells, machines and people, absorb a release swing without a whiteboard reshuffle, and tell a customer a real date — so an expedite is a decision, not a scramble.
Scheduling →What is on the shelf, who took it and when to reorder — raw stock and consumables tracked against the job that used them, so a line-side shortage is a warning, not a stopped line.
Inventory →ASNs, delivery notes and material certs read once and drawn from the same record — the right revision in the operator's hands, the dispatch pack assembled without re-keying a lot number.
Inbound OCR →Same parts. Fewer surprises.
Once the line is on one live record, the containment a recall used to demand stops being a fire drill — and the schedule swings that used to book premium freight get absorbed before they cost anything.
Questions, answered.
Is Bulk an MES or an ERP for automotive suppliers?
Neither, on purpose. An MES assumes an integrator and a PLC network; an ERP wants your whole business re-platformed. Bulk is the traceability, production-tracking and quality layer for the line — it captures part-and-batch genealogy, drives the control plan and holds containment, and sits alongside whatever ERP or accounts system you already run. Most suppliers our size are replacing spreadsheets and whiteboards, not systems.
Does it support IATF 16949 and PPAP evidence?
Yes — that is the point of holding it on one record. Control-plan checks are captured in line and stay attached to the part, capability and containment are driven from the same nonconformance flow, and the genealogy needed for a PPAP or a surveillance audit assembles from the production record instead of being rebuilt in spreadsheets each time.
Can it react to a customer schedule swing?
Yes. Releases land against the part number — EDI or portal — and a pull-forward shows up as a live queue against your cells and people, so you can re-plan and give a real date rather than discovering the expedite at shift end. The schedule and the shop floor read from the same record.
Can it trace a finished part back to component lots?
Yes. Every part carries the supplier lot booked at goods-in, each operation with its operator and machine, and the control-plan results. Give it a lot or a serial and it walks the full genealogy in seconds, then lists every other part made from the same lot — the containment query a recall turns on.
Do we have to replace our ERP or EDI setup?
No. Bulk runs the line and its records; it reads the customer schedule and feeds dispatch, but your ERP, accounts and EDI translator stay. This is the layer between the machines and the back office — not a rip-and-replace project, and not a big-bang cutover.
How long does rollout take?
One part number, end to end first — release to dispatch, proven on real work in weeks — then the rest of your programmes follow on the same pattern. You are an early-access customer, so you work directly with the build team and the configuration is shaped around your line and your customer's requirements, not a template.
Let's run one part number through.
Pick a part you ship every week. We'll configure it end to end — release to genealogy — and show you the containment query assembling itself as the work happens.