inforum
Supplier relationship management
The leading SRM software from RFQ to performance review.
inforum manages supplier relationships across the entire supplier lifecycle. Companies in automotive, machinery and plant engineering, and manufacturing keep quality, development status, and performance of their suppliers in view at all times.
SRM software that manages supplier relationships and secures supplier quality
inforum is used where supplier management gets complex and end-to-end control is required. The software connects RFQ, onboarding, certificate management, contract management, initial sample approval, and performance evaluation on a shared data foundation, across all parties and interfaces in the supply chain. Supplier relationships are not just documented as a result, but actively developed across the entire lifecycle.
- Recognize risks early, avoid escalations
Deviations, development backlogs and quality problems become visible at an early stage before they lead to delivery failures or escalations. - Keep certificates and contracts in view
Certificate management and contract status are maintained centrally. Expiring validities and missing records are flagged in time, instead of surfacing during an audit. - Supplier evaluation on a solid basis
Supplier performance, quality, and development status are evaluated against defined metrics. The results are comparable, traceable, and can be presented to management, customers, and auditors at any time. - Collaboration without back-and-forth
Supplier management, purchasing, and quality management work efficiently on a shared data foundation. This reduces follow-up questions and avoids duplicate data. - Conformity to standards built into the system
Requirements from VDA, APQP and AIAG are anchored in the processes, structured, reproducible and auditable.
Increase efficiency, reduce costs
Reduce effort
Avoid error costs
Strengthening security of supply
VDA, AIAG, and APQP in a single software solution
Supplier relationship management in manufacturing comes with demanding regulatory requirements. VDA and AIAG requirements shape the processes across the entire supplier lifecycle, and in the automotive sector, customers actively enforce them.
inforum maps these requirements in the system, from the supplier inquiry through APQP and sampling to auditing per VDA 6.x. Evidence is created as the process runs and can be presented to customers, auditors, and certification bodies at any time.
Software for the entire supplier lifecycle
Supplier management only works consistently if all relevant tasks are mapped in one system. The inforum modules cover the entire supplier life cycle and are interlinked in terms of processes. Progress, decisions and evaluations build on each other logically and remain permanently traceable.
Audit Management Software
Structured audit management plans audits across all plants, evaluates findings, and tracks corrective actions through to effectiveness verification.
Customer complaints
Continuous and digital processing of customer complaints – from recording to final documentation.
Supplier complaints
Maximum transparency and control throughout the entire change process with the software module for supplier complaints.
Activities & meetings
Structured cooperation with suppliers – transparent planning of activities, deadlines and responsibilities.
Test equipment management
APQP makes it easier to plan quality, costs and deadlines, integrate suppliers and control the entire development process transparently.
Control Plan
The Control Plan module enables centralized, digital planning and control of all quality-relevant inspection and control measures.
Component database
The component database module is at the heart of efficient product data management.
Processes and documents
The integrated management system bundles processes and documents centrally, fulfills standard requirements efficiently and controls quality, environment and occupational safety uniformly.
Change management
Control of changes and centralized management of component data for transparency and traceability.
Supplier management
Holistic supplier management – including structured selection, certificate management and sustainable supplier evaluation.
Risk management software
Targeted risk management along the supply chain: identify supplier risks at an early stage, define effective measures and consistently monitor their implementation.
AI Assistant OKI knows your processes
OKI, the AI assistant of inforum, opens up your records, processes, and documents across modules as a knowledge base and answers technical questions from it across language barriers.
In supplier management, this means: when a nonconformity recurs at a supplier, OKI surfaces the comparable cases from complaints, 8D reports, and audits, including the root causes and the corrective actions that worked. Linked documents are evaluated as well, from the inspection report to the initial sample.
We make inforum your SRM solution
inforum is the result of years of experience in the digitalization of industrial processes across supplier development, quality assurance, and adjacent areas. Behind the software stands a team that knows normative requirements, industry-specific characteristics, and the operational reality of manufacturing companies from practical experience.
Our team works with customers as equals, from process analysis through configuration to release. Industry knowledge and process expertise go into every implementation, making inforum a solution that works from day one.
Practical experience
“Since introducing inforum, there are no more breaks between systems. All information is in one place, and communication runs through the platform. Overall, we have far greater transparency across the entire sampling process.”
— Simon Paulwitz, Strategic Quality Management, Dürr Systems AG
“With inforum, all relevant content is available centrally in one place: process model, process description, and soon document control as well, instead of being spread across several tools as it was before.”
— Gunther Glawar, CIO, AVL List GmbH
„Within eight months, we had fully mapped out our core processes with inforum. We can see our strengths and our potential, and we can identify and act on them much faster.”
— Stephan Hellbrück, Vice President of Corporate Quality Management, ZIEHL-ABEGG SE
Frequently Asked Questions
inforum is a modular SRM software (supplier relationship management) for the manufacturing industry. It manages the entire supplier lifecycle: from the supplier inquiry through RFQ, onboarding, certificate management, and initial sample approval to auditing and ongoing supplier evaluation. The focus is on supplier quality and supplier performance.
inforum covers requirements from VDA, AIAG, APQP, and MAQMSR. Audit templates based on VDA 6.x, ISA, and customer-specific specifications are built into the system. Initial sample approvals follow VDA PPF or AIAG PPAP, complaints follow 8D. Evidence is created as the process runs and is available directly in the system.
inforum manages supplier quality and performance. Procurement and spend management systems cover order processing, terms and conditions, and spend analysis. inforum starts with supplier qualification, initial sample approval, auditing, and supplier evaluation, complementing existing ERP and procurement systems.
In inforum, supplier management and quality management are not separate areas. Claims, audits, initial sampling, and APQP are connected on a shared data basis. Deviations on the supplier side flow directly into quality management, without duplicate data entry or manual transfer.
inforum maps the APQP process as structured maturity level assurance, with defined milestones, integrated supplier involvement, and end-to-end documentation. Quality, deadlines, and progress are transparent at all times, deviations become visible early. The entire process runs on a shared data basis with initial sampling, auditing, and supplier evaluation.
Supplier evaluation is based on a flexible KPI tree that accounts for direct and indirect commodities. The results are visualized and remain traceable across the evaluation history. They form the basis for managing supplier development stages, including progress tracking.
inforum creates transparency across the supply chain. Certificates, contract status, and validity periods are centrally available, and supplier risks are captured systematically and tracked with corrective actions. The focus is on supplier quality and performance.
Get to know inforum
Every company has its own processes and requirements. That’s why getting started with inforum begins with a discussion in which we take time for you. Get to know inforum based on your specific processes and requirements and let our team support you from the first question through to successful implementation.
Ready when you are!
inforum can do more
Supplier management is one of several process areas covered by inforum. The modular software brings quality, supplier management, and other core management processes into a single system — connected, end-to-end, and on a shared data basis.
Processes are interlinked, information flows between departments and responsibilities are transparent across the entire company.
Current insights
Supplier Relationship Management in Manufacturing
Supplier relationships are established throughout the quality process, from the initial inquiry through to mass production.
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