Regardless of the industry, multi-client subcontracting often involves a large number of clients, each with their own requirements and specifications. Paradoxically, the subcontractor must ensure flawless traceability for each client… without increasing the number of processes.
This challenge raises a strategic issue: traceability is becoming a prerequisite for access to regulated markets, while also serving as a driver of competitiveness for state-of-the-art production lines.
Is it possible to scale up traceability without making your processes more complex? If so, how? That’s what we’ll explore.
Multi-Client Traceability: Balancing Regulatory Requirements and Real-World Challenges
In modern industry, each sector has its own traceability standards.
- The automotive industry requires comprehensive tracking of batches and manufacturing processes.
- The aerospace industry requires comprehensive documentation of raw materials and inspection procedures.
- The medical industry requires a detailed history of every component used in the manufacture of a device.
All of these requirements—which are legitimate from a safety and quality standpoint—result in documentation formats that are specific to each client. This is a daily challenge for subcontractors. Which version of the CAD drawing was used for this part delivered six months ago? Where can the material certificate for this batch be found? How can we prove that the modification requested by Client A does not affect Client B’s production? These questions, seemingly trivial, require hours of searching across disparate systems…
However, the business risk is very real. A lack of traceability during an audit can lead to the suspension of a certification, halt an urgent shipment, or—worse yet—result in the loss of a contract!
Thus, as buyers reduce their supplier pools, the ability to demonstrate flawless traceability is becoming a selection criterion just as important as price or lead times.
>>> See also – Industrial Traceability: How Can You Improve the Quality of Your Products and Processes?
The Pitfalls of Artisanal Traceability in a Multi-Project Environment
Many companies believe they have their traceability under control using Excel spreadsheets and shared folders. While this approach may seem reassuring due to its apparent simplicity, it quickly reveals its limitations when faced with the complexity of managing multiple clients, since:
- Each project generates its own files,
- Each customer has its own set of terms,
- Every change creates a new version, and it is important to keep track of these versions.
The proliferation of reference systems thus becomes a major source of errors. An operator uses an old version of a drawing stored locally. A quality manager spends two hours piecing together the history of a nonconformity from scattered emails. A process engineer maintains his own change tracking spreadsheet, which is disconnected from the official quality system…
The most profound and serious impact remains invisible in traditional metrics: the time technical teams spend on administrative tasks such as searching for, organizing, and updating documentation. Rare and costly skills are thus tied up in activities that add no value, to the detriment of continuous improvement and process innovation. This ad hoc approach reaches its limits as soon as the company exceeds about ten active clients, triggering a snowball effect:
- an increase in traceability errors,
- stressful audits,
- a decline in the confidence placed in the company by its clients.
Industrialization Without Adding Complexity: The Keys to Effective Traceability
For example, an optimized process makes it possible to automatically track a customer change request step by step. In other words, from the receipt of the email to the delivery of the modified parts, including the adaptation of drawings, technical approval, updating of work instructions, and notification of the production teams.
Overall, effective traceability is based on simple but rigorous principles.
1. Centralize all technical data in a single repository
CAD drawings, manufacturing specifications, inspection reports, material certificates… Everything must be accessible from a single point of entry, with access rights tailored to each user.
2. Automate links between documents
When a drawing is updated, the associated product line must be automatically identified as requiring a revision. When an inspection is performed, it must be automatically linked to the corresponding production order. These automatic links eliminate gaps in traceability and prevent updates from being overlooked.
3. Manage versions and access natively
Every change must be time-stamped, digitally signed, and archived. Best practices require the ability to instantly determine who approved what, when, and why. This version control must be transparent to users without adding to their daily workload.
>>> See also – Industrial Production Monitoring: At the Heart of Process Automation
Technical Data Management as the Foundation of Modern Traceability
An integrated product data management (PDM) solution transforms the “challenge” of traceability into a competitive advantage. And for good reason: in this type of environment, native integration between CAD, CAM, and production management ensures complete digital continuity, from the initial sketch to the shipment of the finished product.
This unified approach makes it possible to automatically generate compliance files tailored to each client’s requirements. Specifically, the system extracts the relevant information and presents it in the expected format—all through automation. In addition, material certificates, inspection reports, and change histories are consolidated in real time.
The return on investment for such a solution can be measured in concrete terms: companies equipped with integrated PDM systems generally see a significant reduction in the time spent on quality-related administrative tasks. Audits, once dreaded, become mere formalities since all the information is available, structured, and verifiable with just a few clicks.
>>> See also – PDM: What Is It?
In this ecosystem, solutions such as TopSolid deliver unique value by natively integrating document management into the very heart of the CAD/CAM environment. Traceability becomes a natural part of the design and manufacturing process. This enables subcontractors, regardless of their size, to meet the most stringent requirements without sacrificing their operational agility.
Need a demo? Our teams would be happy to show you our solutions. Contact us!
