“There are a tremendous number of industry organizations out there, and OEMs and suppliers need to concentrate their resources at the lowest common level, for the North American automotive industry, that's AIAG. AIAG can get your input into the right international standards-writing groups.”

– Craig Harmon, President, QED Systems

“AIAG has been an important part of my career at every company I've worked at. Decades ago, our industry leaders conceived AIAG to foster an environment to reach consensus for the common good of the industry. Few are aware of how influential AIAG is and how well respected it has become.”

– Larry Graham, Principle, LG AutoID, LLC.

“Although finding time to participate can be challenging, the benefits are far greater than the time spent.”

– Jonathan Urban, BUX Transportation Claims Supervisor, Chrysler Group LLC

“Every company that operates globally faces challenges with moving goods and services, but one standard set of solutions is what we need to work toward for maximum efficiency that is why we were eager to work with AIAG on the MOSS project.”

– Wael Aggan, President and CEO, TradeMerit

“AIAG provides tremendous opportunity to work with a lot of great people from other companies on matters of shared interest. It's really important work, and it's rewarding to know that you are contributing in a valuable way to your industry.”

– Brian Vautaw, Vice President Information Technology, Lear Corporation

“The value that comes from sharing problems and working on solutions is enormous. Most of us have similar processes and face the same regulatory and technical challenges. Even though many AIAG companies are competitors, when it comes to safety and health, there is much more cooperation because we all have a common mission: to protect people.”

– Tom Slavin, Global Safety and Health Director, Navistar Inc.

“Ford has been involved with AIAG since its inception. We see the value of a consortium group of volunteers working together to make our industry better. To those considering volunteering, I would say your effort will not only make your industry better, but your company as well. What's good for the industry is good for individual companies, and vice versa. ”

– Walter Lowe, Manager, North America Vehicle Logistics, Ford Motor Company

“How can we continue to achieve cost savings without an organization like AIAG to support our efforts? It's crucial that we work together in harmonizing, pulling together processes, and flowing them down to the AIAG membership. It's also very important to work toward preventing redundancies.”

– Barbara Boroughf, Global Vice President, Health, Safety and Environmental Management, Lear Corp.

“Working with AIAG staff and industry volunteers provides several benefits. The major benefit to Ford Motor Company is that by participating on the teams developing specifications, we have the opportunity to make sure our interests are protected and specifications are developed that would be the most beneficial. Personally, working with AIAG provides me the opportunity to stay connected to industry peers outside Ford. There is a symbiotic relationship developed, and we help each other solve common problems.”

– Frank Maslar, Vision Systems Technical Specialist, Ford Motor Company

“When OEMs and suppliers work together to develop standard practices, tools, and training to improve efficiency, performance and thereby reduce cost, it's possible to help the entire industry improve in a consistent manner that benefits all stakeholders, including consumers. This would be difficult to accomplish without the leadership of an organization like AIAG.”

– Dave Sakata, Vice President, Technology, Freudenberg-NOK

“Working together to gather information and understand requirements leads to a higher baseline and a healthier supply base. Being able to contribute to an end product that reduces waste and eliminates superfluous requirements for everyone results in incredible buy-in.”

– Luke Contos, Director of Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), TRW

“It's a neutral, well-known, established entity that is known for putting out high-quality product that is relevant to its members and the industry. When things are good, not too many folks try to "fix it." When things aren't so good, lots of people are looking for ways to save money, and they look to AIAG for guidance.”

– Bill Hoffman, Managing Director, Hoffman Systems LLC

“I appreciate having a place where I can have an intelligent conversation. What I've learned at AIAG and the friendships I have made over the years have made the volunteer time very worthwhile. Most importantly, I feel that AIAG and its team of industry volunteers are making a difference.”

– Mike Down, FMEA/DFM Engineer, General Motors Co.

“I've come to learn that there's a difference between a good process, a better process, and a best practice. OEMs get caught up in the proprietary nature of the business, and they are reluctant to share information they believe may give them a competitive advantage. But through collaboration, we are all provided with an opportunity to take what we believe are currently good, independent processes, develop them into better processes, and eventually establish a standard for best practices that benefits us all--especially the suppliers” encourage anyone with a desire to push themselves to learn and do more for their company and their industry to seriously consider serving on an AIAG project in 2010. You won't regret it.”

– Tyese Doby, Supply Chain Management, Ford Motor Co.

“AIAG helps us to understand where technology is moving, even in something as simple as labeling. Because we were involved in AIAG, Freedom saw all the new Ford labeling requirements long before they were implemented publicly. Obviously, this knowledge helped us with our own customers, because we made sure we were Ford-compliant before they knew what was expected of them.”

– Rick Scorey, President Freedom Technologies

“We've been with AIAG quite a while now, and although we haven't been as visible as some, we have definitely benefited from membership - especially in the areas of EDI and bar code and learning about connecting systems together. AIAG helps us fill up our body of knowledge on important issues and puts us in a better position to sift through all the information and make the right decisions.”

– Mike Malone, Director of Information Systems, Cascade Engineering

“If you don't put in your time and volunteer, then don't complain about the direction the industry takes in things that affect your business. It's easy to sit back and complain about what's going on in the industry, but I try not to let myself slip into that mindset. The AIAG committees I participate in are full of my colleagues, competitors and customers, but the common component is that we're all impact makers. We all firmly believe we can make a difference and instigate positive change.”

– Craig Williams, Director of Corporate Quality, Metaldyne

“AIAG gives me the opportunity to improve the industry instead of just sitting back and complaining about things that are not going right. The most rewarding part of my AIAG experience was the recent success of our IV&I proof-of-concept effort. We have finally found a way that will allow us to electronically connect the entire supply chain that will be affordable and effective for all involved. To know that adoption of the technology tested in this project will allow us to communicate inventory information much more quickly so that the supply chain won't have to carry excess inventory, especially at the lower tiers - that has to be the highlight for me.”

– Terry Onica, QAD