Brain of Materials transforms the traditional sampling process — including APQP and PPAP — into a streamlined, end-to-end digital workflow. The process typically follows four steps:

• Test plan configuration: Using TestIDs and digital specifications, a complete test plan can be configured in under five minutes, with every testing requirement unambiguously defined.
• Laboratory commissioning: Tests can be commissioned directly through a network of over 50 accredited testing laboratories — no separate procurement workflow required.
• Result integration: Test results are automatically fed back into the platform and mapped to the corresponding TestIDs, eliminating manual data transfer.
• Validation and reporting: Results are validated against acceptance criteria, and reports such as the initial sample test report are generated automatically for each individual OEM customer format

In principle, any OEM can be sampled through Brain of Materials!
Even where no direct partnership exists, OEM specifications can simply be uploaded to the platform and digitised by Brain of Materials. Once digitised and structured via TestIDs, these requirements become immediately usable within the TestID ecosystem — enabling suppliers to prepare and submit samples for any OEM customer without depending on a pre-existing integration on the OEM side.

Brain of Materials currently has active partnerships with Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, alongside close engagement with the VDA itself. For example, data from the material sampling of GS93016 can be transferred to the relevant department at BMW at the touch of a button via Brain of Materials; or, using the QEV number, the DBL1224 and DBL 1232 can be fully configured, checked and transferred to Mercedes.

The Brain of Materials customer base spans every Tier of the automotive supply chain — from large multinational corporations to small, highly specialised innovators. Whether a Tier-1 supplierneeds to receive material data from a raw material manufacturer, or a Tier-2 supplier needs to forward test results to an OEM, the platform supports the structured, standardised exchange of all relevant material and testing data.  Because data exchange is built on machine-readable formats and unique identifiers (TestIDs and VDA 231-301 BusinessKeys), there are no technical limitations on which Tier 1 or Tier 2 companies can participate.

Brain of Materials provides centralised access to a wide range of material and testing data, including:

• Raw material approvals from leading material manufacturers and compounders
• Test results across mechanical, thermal, chemical, and environmental property categories
• Digital delivery specifications and OEM-specific testing requirements
• Inspection plans and structured test plans for sampling and PPAP
• Initial sample test reports tailored to individual OEM customer formats
• Productdatasheets
• Historical legacy data converted from PDF data sheets, Excel files, and proprietary formats
  into structured, machine-readable form

A digital specification is a machine-readable, semantically complete description of a testing requirement that can be processed automatically across systems and organisational boundaries. It differs fundamentally from a digitised document — such as a scanned PDF or converted Excel table — because it does not merely store information in a digital format; it resolves all interpretative ambiguity at the data level.

Within Brain of Materials, every digital specification is built on the TestID. The TestID encodes the testing methodology, parameterisation, conditions, and specification references into a single unambiguous identifier. Combined with the standardised VDA 231-301 data model, digital specifications enable automated validation, cross-system integration, and audit-proof documentation of the entire testing chain — from the initial requirement definition through to final result evaluation.

The TestID (TID) is a unique, machine-readable identifier developed and maintained by Brain of Materials. It precisely defines an individual testing requirement — including methodology, parameterisation, conditions, and references to underlying standards or OEM specifications.
Each TestID is built hierarchically: it consists of one or more Methods, each containing one or more Procedures, with associated Parameters (defining requirements) and Results (defining expected outcomes). All components are reused wherever possible across the GlobalTestIDSystem to ensure consistency. Currently, a mid-four-digit number of TestIDs is maintained, with new entries added weekly. Within the VDA 231-301 framework, the TestID functions as a BusinessKey — bridging the gap between normative text and operational testing practice and ensuring that all stakeholders share an identical understanding of every test requirement.

No. Brain of Materials is not a mandatory tool for sampling. Organisations remain free to manage their sampling processes through traditional, document-based workflows.

However, as the automotive industry advances toward fully digital, machine-readable data exchange, adopting standardised platforms early offers significant competitive advantages. Brain of Materials delivers measurable benefits — including up to 45% efficiency gains in the initial phase, configurable test plans in under five minutes, and reduced pre-development and series-development timelines from approximately 50 to 25 months until SOP. Adoption is therefore increasingly becoming a practical necessity rather than a strict requirement.