Customers Demanding an IMDS/CAMDS? You Have Options 需要 IMDS/CAMDS 的客户？您有选择

In an era of belt-tightening across the automotive industry, parts and vehicle manufacturers continually seek ways to cut costs.
在整个汽车行业紧缩的时代，零部件和汽车制造商不断寻求降低成本的方法。

When this happens, costs associated with tasks such as the increasingly ubiquitous International Material Data System requirement get relegated to the back of the line.
当这种情况发生时，与日益普遍的国际材料数据系统要求等任务相关的成本就会被降级到最后。

After all, the IMDS/CAMDS reporting requirements add nothing to profit margins. But the complex data are becoming more vital in the struggle to keep customers and earn new business. So what are the options?
毕竟，IMDS/CAMDS 报告要求不会增加利润率。但是，在留住客户和赢得新业务的斗争中，复杂的数据变得越来越重要。那么有哪些选择呢？

Internationally, automotive OEM suppliers are finding themselves in the same trap. They’ve seen steady growth and increasing productivity. They’ve delivered parts within deadlines and under budget. Customers are pleased with production quality and even have come to rely on them in a pinch to fulfill rush orders.
在国际上，汽车 OEM 供应商发现自己也陷入了同样的陷阱。他们看到了稳定的增长和不断提高的生产力。他们在截止日期和预算内交付了零件。客户对生产质量感到满意，甚至在紧要关头开始依赖它们来完成紧急订单。

Suddenly, an order is rejected. The client, previously so responsive and satisfied with the work, refuses to accept delivery of a recent shipment until one little line on the supplier’s paperwork is completed – something called IMDS. No shipment, and thus no payment, can be completed until this matter is resolved.
突然，一个订单被拒绝了。客户之前对工作反应迅速且满意，但在供应商的文书工作上完成一行字之前拒绝接受最近的货物的交付 - 这就是所谓的 IMDS。在这个问题得到解决之前，无法完成任何发货，因此也无法完成付款。

IMDS is an online platform hosted by MDSystem.com. The Internet-based program was created to track recyclable parts in vehicles. The goal is to improve recycling efforts when vehicles are no longer in use. Instead of adding more fodder to landfills, many automobile components can be recycled if their composition has been identified.
IMDS 是由 MDSystem.com 托管的在线平台。创建基于 Internet 的程序是为了跟踪车辆中的可回收部件。目标是在车辆不再使用时改善回收工作。如果确定了许多汽车零部件的成分，许多汽车零部件可以回收利用，而不是向垃圾填埋场增加更多的饲料。

IMDS is the single source of this information. The records in the database include the material composition, weight and size of each component in every car for all the companies that participate in the IMDS program.
IMDS 是此信息的唯一来源。数据库中的记录包括所有参与 IMDS 计划的公司的每辆汽车中每个部件的材料成分、重量和尺寸。

Current participants include most international automakers, and eventually will include the entire global auto industry.
目前的参与者包括大多数国际汽车制造商，最终将包括整个全球汽车行业。

IMDS began as an agreement between nine auto manufacturers and progressed until it reached the global impact it has today. In addition to storing the information, the database ensures OEMs their suppliers are complying with increasingly stricter international and national material-recycling laws. Most OEMs are using the IMDS standard for classifying auto parts.
IMDS 最初是 9 家汽车制造商之间的协议，并不断发展到今天的全球影响力。除了存储信息外，该数据库还确保 OEM 及其供应商遵守日益严格的国际和国家材料回收法律。大多数 OEM 都在使用 IMDS 标准对汽车零部件进行分类。

Currently, any car sold in Europe must meet the regulatory requirements of the IMDS. To create uniformity among suppliers, automakers demand IMDS data to be recorded for all parts used in the U.S. and abroad. Even if the part being made is for a Mustang assembled in Michigan to be sold in Florida, it still needs to have IMDS data for each of its components.
目前，在欧洲销售的任何汽车都必须满足 IMDS 的监管要求。为了在供应商之间建立统一性，汽车制造商要求记录在美国和国外使用的所有零件的 IMDS 数据。即使正在制造的零件是在密歇根州组装的 Mustang 在佛罗里达州销售，它仍然需要拥有其每个组件的 IMDS 数据。

Your IMDS Options  您的 IMDS 选项

So what can you do when your customers ask you to supply an IMDS number? You have four options:
那么，当客户要求您提供 IMDS 编号时，您该怎么办呢？您有四个选项：

Learn it yourself.  自己学习。

Go back to school for it.
为此回到学校。

Force your suppliers to do the work.
强迫您的供应商完成这项工作。

Contract it out.  外包出去。

A number of licensed training programs teach IMDS procedures. Send your employees or go yourself to get a handle on the requirements and save the aggravation of waiting on others to do the work. However, there’s only one HP-certified training company teaching IMDS in the U.S., located in Ann Arbor, MI.
许多获得许可的培训计划教授 IMDS 程序。派遣您的员工或自己去处理需求，并避免等待他人完成工作的烦恼。然而，在美国只有一家 HP 认证的培训公司教授 IMDS，位于密歇根州的安娜堡。

Alternatively, you can mix pleasure and business by taking a vacation to attend one of the many European training sites.
或者，您可以通过休假参加众多欧洲培训地点之一来将娱乐和商务相结合。

Like many engineers, you may prefer actual hands-on classroom training, but you have to consider the costs that include travel, hotel and meals for at least two people from your company. You will need to have a backup, after all. Bear in mind that during training, you’ll lose the productivity of those employees.
像许多工程师一样，您可能更喜欢实际的课堂实践培训，但您必须考虑包括公司至少两人的差旅、酒店和餐饮在内的费用。毕竟，您需要备份。请记住，在培训期间，您将失去这些员工的工作效率。

Another option is to look for an American training company that will teach IMDS to your employees, right at your location and tailored to your needs. This option also can be cost-prohibitive, because you have to hire outside consultants, as well as cover the time and space for the weeklong training.
另一种选择是寻找一家美国培训公司，该公司会在您的位置为您的员工教授 IMDS，并根据您的需求量身定制。此选项也可能成本高昂，因为您必须聘请外部顾问，并为为期一周的培训留出时间和空间。

IMDS is not a particularly difficult program to learn. If you have an engineering or business background, you should be able to find your way around the online system. There are even IMDS manuals available to guide you.
IMDS 并不是一个特别难学的程序。如果您有工程或商业背景，您应该能够找到在线系统的方式。甚至还有 IMDS 手册可以指导您。

On the other hand, IMDS is not particularly intuitive. The program was designed by a government group, not human-factor experts who considered your needs or processes.
另一方面，IMDS 并不是特别直观。该计划由政府团体设计，而不是考虑您的需求或流程的人为因素专家。

You’ll also need to set aside time to learning the system, valuable time that could be used more profitably elsewhere. If you hand the task off to an engineer or other staff member, you’ll lose their productivity, too. In a manufacturing business, time really is money.
您还需要留出时间来学习该系统，这些宝贵的时间可以更有利地用于其他地方。如果您将任务交给工程师或其他工作人员，您也会失去他们的工作效率。在制造企业中，时间真的就是金钱。

Just as your customers pushed the IMDS requirement back to your company, you can do the same thing to your suppliers. However, even more complications could arise if you rely solely on this strategy:
就像您的客户将 IMDS/CAMDS 需求推回给您的公司一样，您也可以对供应商做同样的事情。但是，如果您仅依赖此策略，则可能会出现更多复杂性：

·         Your suppliers often are smaller companies than yours, so they have even less flexibility to fulfill the IMDS/CAMDS requirement than you do.
·您的供应商通常是比您小的公司，因此他们满足 IMDS 要求的灵活性甚至不如您。

·         Even if your suppliers completed their IMDS/CAMDS requirement, you still need to create a record for your product.
·         即使您的供应商完成了他们的 IMDS/CAMDS 需求，您仍然需要为您的产品创建记录 。

For example, if your company produces an in-dash console or a seatbelt assembly that includes components from a number of other suppliers, you still must merge the information from your suppliers to create an IMDS report for the entire assembly.
例如，如果您的公司生产的仪表板或安全带组件包含来自许多其他供应商的组件，您仍然必须合并来自供应商的信息，以便为整个组件创建 IMDS 报告。

Getting your suppliers to provide their IMDS data may make your work slightly less cumbersome, but you still have more to do. Which puts you right back to square one: having to create an IMDS for your clients.
让您的供应商提供他们的 IMDS 数据可能会使您的工作稍微不那么麻烦，但您仍然有更多的工作要做。这让你回到了原点：必须为你的客户创建一个 IMDS。

Hire Someone to Do It for You
雇人替你做

Hiring out the IMDS work to an outside contractor has its own set of challenges. There is a cost associated with it, and that increases with the number of parts in each of your component.
将 IMDS 工作外包给外部承包商有其自身的一系列挑战。它会产生相关成本，并且随着每个组件中的零件数量而增加。

You still would need to provide the hired IMDS gun with all the blueprints, technical specs and chemical ingredients of your products. Make sure the contractor is trustworthy before revealing proprietary information. Check the contractor’s credentials and talk to their referrals even if they guarantee what they do. It’s ultimately up to you to ensure the work is performed correctly in a timely manner.
您仍然需要向租用的 IMDS 枪提供您产品的所有蓝图、技术规格和化学成分。在透露专有信息之前，请确保承包商值得信赖。检查承包商的证书并与他们的推荐人交谈，即使他们保证他们所做的。最终取决于您确保及时正确执行工作。

Once a relationship is established with a trustworthy contractor, you’ll have someone to whom you can turn at a moment’s notice for all your IMDS work. In the long run, it may pay off to have a professional with a proven track record at your beck and call.
一旦与值得信赖的承包商建立了关系，您将有一个人可以立即求助于您所有的 IMDS/CAMDS 工作。从长远来看，拥有一位具有良好业绩记录的专业人士随时为您服务可能会有所回报。

The IMDS/CAMDS isn’t going away, no matter how cumbersome or unnecessary you may think it is. As the world becomes more environmentally responsible, more and more automakers will be looking for recyclable components for their products.
IMDS 不会消失，无论你认为它多么繁琐或没有必要。随着世界对环境的要求越来越高，越来越多的汽车制造商将为其产品寻找可回收的部件。

Decide in advance how you are going to handle IMDS requirements. Don’t wait until you have a rejected shipment. While this may feel like an onerous requirement, you still have the power to control how you will meet those increasingly common demands.
提前决定如何处理 IMDS 需求。不要等到您的货件被拒收。虽然这感觉像是一个繁重的要求，但您仍然有能力控制如何满足这些日益普遍的需求。