National and international networking

Together with the BVL, our Logistics Department organizes the annual Forum Automotive Logistics (FAL), a conference dedicated to current and future developments in logistics that attracts more than 500 experts from the automotive industry, logistics sector, packaging industry, and IT.

One focus of the committee's work in the Logistics Department is the development of best-practice recommendations for delivery processes. Logistics service providers naturally play an important role in these processes. Together with the DSLV, recommendations are being developed (in particular for communication with transport service providers via EDI) so as to optimally harmonize the flow of materials and information and to establish standards for communication as far as possible.

The Forum was founded under the auspices of the AWV – Arbeitsgemeinschaft für wirtschaftliche Verwaltung e.V. (Working Group for Economic Administration), which is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) following a resolution of the German Bundestag. 

The forum sees itself as an independent intermediary at the interface between ministries, associations, and companies. 

Electronic invoicing procedures have been established in the automotive supply chain for decades. Through its active participation in the FeRD, the VDA supports the further integration of electronic invoices and works to ensure that the interests of its members are adequately taken into account in the development of a national standard.

 

Odette International is the European umbrella organization of national associations and organizations, and is occupied with the development of standards and recommendations for electronic data interchange (EDI) in the automotive industry, as well as for logistics processes, key figures, and performance assessments in these areas. 

The Logistics Department represents the German automotive industry in this association and, as an Odette member, also collaborates with the North American association, AIAG, and the automotive associations of Japan, JAMA/JAPIA.

Recommendations such as the Global EDI Messages and the Global MMOG/LE (logistics performance assessments) originate from this cooperation, among others. 

Together with Odette, the organization codes (Odette IDs) and digital certificates that are important for security in data transmission are also issued.