The IMDS (International Material Data System) is an online material data system for the global automotive industry. IMDS has become a worldwide standard used by many OE manufacturers. IMDS development was driven by the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive (EU Directive 2000/53/EC) and the German End-of-Life Vehicles Ordinance. The directives’ objective was to

• Minimize wastage of end-of-life vehicles through recycling, recovery, and reuse of materials.
• Minimize harmful environmental impact due to the operations involved in the life cycle of vehicles.

Through the joint venture of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (then EDS) with EU car manufacturers, IMDS an online database for archiving materials used for vehicle manufacturing came into existence. Submission of IMDS helps in keeping track of the component materials in the automotive industry.

Currently, in the automotive industry, we can see two distinct but dependent scenarios. One is conformance to the ever-changing regulatory laws on one end and the huge competition to introduce newer and better products to the automotive market by shortening the product cycle. This requires that automotive suppliers proactively submit material data to IMDS. Though the intent of IMDS was to help identify any hazardous / banned substance in automotive components for eco-friendly disposal and reuse of materials, more and more automotive customers utilize the material data sheet during their Product Part Approval Process (PPAP).

• Build Customer loyalty & significantly lower economic loss: By making material data available to your customers, businesses can build a strong & loyal customer base; becoming their preferred ‘Go-to-supplier’. Customers tend to prefer suppliers who provide accurate data that is compliant with intended regulations as it supports better and informed decision-making during high-quality product purchases. This eliminates the risk of rejection once products are introduced into the market saving business from major financial loss.
• Moving towards Sustainability: Providing material information early in the product life cycle, can help manufacturers analyze their impact with the help of AI and advanced data tools. This can result in optimizing supply chains, eliminating product wastes (not to forget the huge economic loss it resulted in the EU before IMDS came into the picture) and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, IMDS has evolved to support other regulations like Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and Biocidal Product Regulation (BPR) through IMDS Chemical manager, which also focuses on the protection of both human health and the environment through the identification of chemical hazardous substances. This goes way beyond reporting as it places value on the gift of ‘life’.