ASQMS – The Quality System for the Complete Automotive Ecosystem

Many standard process frameworks were built around the needs of companies.
Some were created to help customers steer their suppliers.
Some emerged from the viewpoint of product development.
Others evolved out of necessity to support IT services.

But ASQMS is different.

The age when the OEM ruled everything, made every decision, and controlled every element is over.

The new reality—and no, I’m not just talking about SDV (Software-Defined Vehicles) or NEV (New Energy Vehicles)—is fundamentally different.
Today, the car itself is just one part of a much larger ecosystem.

Let's pause for a second.
Everyone understands what an in-vehicle software system is. That’s business as usual, right?
But even there, the lines are starting to blur...

What if an in-vehicle system uses external data or external services beyond the car?

In the traditional way of thinking, it was simple:
Software wasn’t seen as a system by itself (even though some disagreed).
Software was just a component—integrated with a processor into an ECU—and voilà, you had a system.

Even this rigid thinking faced challenges:

• What about two different software systems inside one ECU?

• What about one software system split across multiple ECUs?

• How do we handle intelligent, multimodal sensors and actuators shared across independent functions?

So, is the car the ultimate system?

Wrong.

And here's the real shift:
Off-vehicle software systems—or elements of them—exist in a vacuum if you only look at the vehicle itself.

They’re:

• Not physically in the car,

• Not flashed during production,

• Not even under direct control of the OEM.

So why should we care?

ASQMS cares.
Because ASQMS is a standard for the entire ecosystem—not just for the car.

We recognize and manage Off-Vehicle Software Systems, including:

• Cloud-side software systems (or parts of them)
  Your infotainment system? It’s not just "inside" the vehicle anymore—the car is now just a client. The service might be provided by a third party, not the OEM. Same goes for navigation, fleet management, and more.

• Road-side software systems (or parts of them)
  Toll gates, intelligent parking lots, smart traffic lights—your car interacts with these systems dynamically. Even if no formal contract exists between their providers and your OEM, quality and integration still matter.

• Field-side software systems (or parts of them)
  Battery chargers, swapping stations, but the story doesn’t end there. The ecosystem includes all touchpoints in the environment around the vehicle.

• Toolchain software systems (or parts of them)
  Why should we care about diagnostics tools or maintenance systems used outside the production line?
  Because maintenance today is no longer just about oil and grease. It’s about smart, software-driven servicing.

Can you see it now?
That is the ASQMS scope.

And still—you might be missing the most important point:

It’s not about the OEM.
It’s not about the customer (most players in this domain aren't even B2C companies).

It’s about the end-user experience.

Not just the driver, but every passenger—fully interacting with the vehicle—expects a seamless, safe, and smart experience.

This is ASQMS: the quality standard for the complete automotive ecosystem.

Want to know more?
Join me at our trainings or visit www.asqms.net

Petr