Secure data exchange and automated processes in manufacturing.

Supplier certificates arrive via email, expire unnoticed, and block purchase orders in the ERP system. Tenders containing confidential calculations are sent unencrypted to bidders – without proof of access or any option for recall. During an LkSG (Supply Chain Act) or TISAX® audit, the very evidence that matters most is missing. What has been done is of little use if it cannot be proven.

If the process runs digitally and automatically with FTAPI, the expiry dates of certificates are monitored, ensuring that order blocks no longer occur. Tenders are sent encrypted with an access log, and every procurement process is documented in a tamper-proof manner by design. The effort required for audit preparation can be reduced by up to 75 per cent – and the time-to-contract by up to 50 per cent.

When design data is distributed and approved via email, there is no version control and no verifiable approval status. Suppliers manufacture according to outdated plans – and the error is only noticed when scrap is produced. Furthermore, email chains or legacy solutions like FTP fail to meet audit requirements. For IATF 16949 and AS9100, ECO approvals must be documented in a manipulation-proof manner.

There is a better way: when the process is managed via FTAPI, every recipient receives a signed proof of receipt for every ECO version. Tier-2 suppliers participate in the controlled approval process – without needing a PLM licence. ECO lead times are reduced by up to 55 per cent, approval documentation is fully auditable, and suppliers work reliably with the latest CAD revision.

Test plans and CAPA documents are exchanged with auditors and suppliers via email – without traceability or deadline monitoring. In the event of a dispute, it is impossible to prove whether external partners actually confirmed specific measures. The same applies to CSRD reporting: collecting salary data from dozens of subsidiaries manually via email ties up resources and is prone to errors.

However, when every CAPA step is automatically traceable without system breaks and every document receipt is signed with a timestamp via FTAPI, CAPA lead times are massively reduced. You can pass more audits on the first pass, and sensitive audit results (error rates, complaint statistics) are no longer sent to partners unencrypted. Furthermore, CSRD reports are completed much faster.

Personnel processes in manufacturing face a structural problem: one part of the workforce is desk-based, while the other is on the factory floor. Employees without a company PC submit leave requests on paper; errors in the approval process lead to understaffing and production halts. New employees transmit bank details and tax IDs from private mobile phones without a secure channel or any verification of completeness. This represents a fundamental data protection risk.

A GDPR-compliant channel to private devices (without the need for an app or VPN) solves both issues and is easy to implement with FTAPI: employees send, receive, and confirm documents securely in their browser. Leave requests and HR communication are handled digitally; master data is captured in a structured format and automatically checked before being transferred to SAP. Your HR team wins back up to 75 per cent of its admin time and has timestamped evidence for every step.

The BG report following an occupational accident must be submitted within 3 days. Using paper-based processes is structurally risky – according to the DGUV, around 12 per cent of all accidents miss this deadline. Added to this is the legal obligation to provide a whistleblower system (HinSchG) for companies with 50 or more employees: a simple email address is not sufficient for technically guaranteed anonymity.

Both processes can be automated with FTAPI: the BG report is processed in under 4 hours instead of the usual two to three days, with a complete data path and audit-proof documentation for ISO 45001 and IATF audits. The whistleblower system is E2E encrypted, technically guarantees anonymity, ensures deadlines are met, and can be operational in less than a week – without requiring internal IT resources.