In the automotive supply chain, approximately 75% of the value of the final product (the vehicle) is generated/produced by the suppliers. A deep sharing of work and sophisticated delivery processes are in use. Therefore, a closer integration of all involved business partners is desirable for the benefit of the vehicle manufacturers, the suppliers and the logistics service providers.

For a smooth and effective automotive supply chain operation it is essential that goods/parts arrive on time or even just in time at their destination.

However, in the current day to day business there is a gap in information flow between supplier and customer, supplier and transport service provider and transport service provider and customer. Although all three are involved in exactly the same business process different methods of information exchange (electronic messages, emails, fax, and phone) are used and a consistent monitoring of the operation is very difficult or even impossible. In addition there is insufficient ability to establish early warning systems for disturbances or to assign recovery responsibilities.

The new Ready for Shipment Advice Recommendation describes the main typical business process(es) and their business (information) requirements. It comes with an EDI message implementation guideline,so that standard EDIFACT messages can be used as a harmonised method of data exchange. This enables automated information sharing and application integration.

The implementation of the recommendation helps to provide increased control over the supply chain transport process, to have better and more reliable information for performance evaluation and to avoid disturbances in production caused by delayed transport of materials.

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