Principal TEC Analyst P.J. Jakovljevic is back--and so is his encyclopedic knowledge of all things software. In today's special report, P.J. gives you a comprehensive overview of the latest developments at PTC Windchill, and a look at what lies ahead for its flagship PLM products.
Read More
|
Retailers have caught on to the hottest industry trend since skinny jeans: private-label apparel. And for good reason. The benefits range from exclusivity and increased profit margins to the ability to offset rising raw material costs by focusing on more profitable lines. Extended product lifecycle management systems are crucial to ensuring the profitability of your private-label goods initiative. Download this white paper to find out why.
Read More
|
Line planning is vital for the development of each season’s fashion collection. Both retailers and brands must closely manage the development of their lines to ensure tight focus on the right products, key deadlines, and cost and profit margins. But many companies only scratch the surface of line planning’s true potential. Line planning is much more than you may have thought—and it's for retailers and brands of all shapes and sizes.
Read More
|
Apparel companies have to cut their lead times in half if they want to stay competitive—a difficult task without the right product lifecycle management (PLM) solution. In this white paper, you’ll discover how PLM solutions can help your company achieve faster time-to-market. And you’ll learn how integrating PLM with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system maximizes the capabilities of both.
Read More
|
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are critical to efficient operations, quality control, and regulatory compliance. Yet many recent FDA violations have focused on firms’ failure to properly use SOPs. This paper reviews best practices for the life science industry for training on SOPs. Specifically, how the latest learning management technology has the potential to improve learner retention through automated assessments.
Read More
|
Semiconductor manufacturers can work more closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and expand into new markets by using Web 2.0 technologies. Infosys' experts reveal "white spaces" in semiconductor marketing strategies that can be addressed by digital and mobile capabilities. They demonstrate how best practices in information and customer experience embedded in Infosys' Semiconductor Digital Engagement Maturity Model can deliver a competitive advantage.
Read More
|
To meet rigorous traceability requirements, pharmaceutical manufacturers must arm themselves with the right tools, processes, and insight to uncover and report every element along the supply chain—from origin, all the way to the shelf. And, the cost of all this insight can’t be a barrier to enterprise financial success. If you’re ready to take traceability to the next level, there are a few things you’ll need to know.
Read More
|
As a manufacturer your fate is tied to your ERP system. Whether you use a homegrown system, a generic, stand-alone ERP package, or a highly modified best-of-breed solution with a patchwork of third-party applications, there is a risk that your solution will become outdated and will not be able to meet the needs of your business. If this is the case, here are three major reasons to help you justify an ERP system replacement.
Read More
|
Production has stopped at your establishment due to an issue with one of your ingredients. It would be so much easier if everyone had access to the required information with a simple push of a button. As a food and beverage manufacturer, you have unique industry requirements. This white paper from Solarsoft explores why an integrated ERP system specific to your industry may be better suited than a generic ERP system.
Read More
|
For many manufacturers, traceability is a valiant goal. But, for food and beverage producers, it’s a critical requirement. No one wants to put a single person at risk, let alone tens or hundreds. Yet, incidents of food-borne illnesses show up in the news every day. If your company is ready to tackle traceability as a legitimate problem, and stop viewing it as a trendy buzzword, there are four things you’ll need to know.
Read More
|
This paper discusses the requirements for coupled structural-acoustic simulation and demonstrates the application of this technology to cell-phone
acoustic design. Due to the smaller volume sizes, the low frequency response of the cell phone is affected. The frequency response rolls off faster at low frequencies when smaller microphone back volumes are used. The present work deals with studying this effect on a simple cell phone model with the finite element package, Abaqus. The results from the simulation can be used to better design cell phone cavities for optimum performance.
Read More
|
Kraft’s brand portfolio contains many of the world’s favorite snack foods, including Oreo, Ritz, DiGiorno and Kool-Aid. Kraft’s challenge: to ensure consistent flavor and appearance by regulating production processes and measuring the flavor, color, aroma, and other attributes of each product. The solution: two new SAS-powered applications featuring SAS/IntrNet. Learn more about how Kraft get more out of its sensory data than ever before.
Read More
|
For manufacturers that lack a well-structured product lifecycle management (PLM) program, the instantaneous flow of information only speeds up confusion, duplication of effort, and poor decision making. Find out how a SaaS-based ERP solution is essential for creating an effective, comprehensive integrated PLM program that improves productivity, accuracy, and decision making—and ultimately increases company profitability.
Read More
|
In just a few short years, social media has revolutionized the way people communicate and share information. For apparel companies, going social is no longer an option; it is a strategic business element that provides them the opportunity to collect detailed information on users and their habits, elicit real feedback and suggestions, and refine their offering and messaging to better suit user demands.
Read More
|
Promoting band image, improving overall business performance, and keeping customers happy is a main concern of many businesses. This paper demonstrates how the Extended Enterprise platform can help specific verticals to promote and sell their products to external audiences. Know the value of the Extended Enterprise solution in financial services, insurance, government, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and associations.
Read More
|
Rapid implementation is key to achieving rapid benefits. How can an industry that expects a slow return on investment speed up the process? Centric believes that customers should expect to see meaningful returns on product lifecycle management (PLM) investments within a product cycle, or four to six months. Learn the principles behind Centric’s rapid implementation methodology and how one customer reaped rapid benefits.
Read More
|
Loss of strategic vision and leadership can pose a greater threat to organizations than dramatic economic downturn. Companies that invest in technology wisely will gain a competitive advantage and even prosper during hard times. Achieving financial results hinges on finding a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that delivers business benefits not only in the short-term but also long into the future. Read how now.
Read More
|
The PLM product Lectra Fashion PLM (V2R2) is now TEC Certified for online evaluation of fashion product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions in TEC's PLM Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
Read More
|
CXInsight for Electronics (v5.2.0) from Adeon Software House is now TEC Certified for online comparison of discrete product lifecycle management (PLM) software in TEC's Evaluation Centers. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
Read More
|
All too often, telecom companies try to innovate in scattershot ways that make it difficult to identify market opportunities. They dedicate valuable resources to developing services, only to see these services fail in the marketplace. That’s why telecom companies need to implement better approaches to innovation. Learn about effective processes for identifying, developing, and bringing innovative services to market.
Read More
|
For most distribution companies, managing operating expenses has a far bigger impact on the business than simply pouring more revenue into the top of the funnel. In today’s tough times, operating expenses have moved to the center of the boardroom table and the top of the agenda. Learn what the five main value drivers in distribution are, and find out how to avoid seven common distribution and wholesale “sins.”
Read More
|
Today’s businesses are operating in a global marketplace. Not only are customers and competitors located worldwide, but employees, suppliers, contractors, and partners are, too. Learn how global product development (GPD) initiatives can help your company accelerate time-to-market, reduce product development costs, maximize productivity, enhance product quality, drive innovation, and optimize operational efficiencies.
Read More
|
Selecting a product lifecycle management (PLM) system can be a challenge if a company is not aware of the options available on the market. But if an organization starts by understanding what the technology should address, and further understands the needs of its unique business and market segment, it can select a PLM tool that makes product development more efficient, and can help transform the organization. Find out how.
Read More
|
Over the past several year, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and product lifecycle management (PLM) have developed into critical success factors for manufacturers—with each bringing unique value to the enterprise. Learn how ERP and PLM, when combined, provide a wholly collaborative environment that has a major impact on successful product development performance and the ability to maintain a competitive advantage.
Read More
|
XEI Scientific Inc. was looking for a way to bring order to its product information and instill discipline to make sure it had a solid product development process in place. The company also needed a location to store and manage its product documentation. Learn how XEI chose a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that helped improve development process and provided the required data management capabilities.
Read More
|
When Edge Products’ new management team saw that the company’s manual engineering processes were not conducive to its constantly changing product design environment, they immediately sought to improve change and part control processes. Learn how a new product lifecycle management (PLM) solution helped Edge reduce rework, control change processes, decrease warranty costs, and cut product return rates by 50 percent.
Read More
|
With over 150 people in its product development teams working to deliver a number of highly customized product lines, crystal and optical component manufacturer Crystal Technology Inc. needed to revisit its product development processes, and find ways to improve efficiency. Learn how a new product lifecycle management (PLM) system helped the company reduce engineering change cycles by 16 percent and save $250,000.
Read More
|
Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems was having problems with its product development processes. The company’s home-grown system of Windows folders, Excel files, and Access databases was causing data inconsistencies that led to costly rework. Learn how Astronics chose a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that eliminated data inconsistencies, streamlined communication, and helped save the company time and money.
Read More
|
Electronics manufacturing is one of the most complex manufacturing processes. Special software functionality is required to manage information throughout the supply chain, collaborate with subcontractors, and minimize development time. Learn about product lifecycle management (PLM) and product data management (PDM) solutions that provide the right data management functionality for electronics manufacturers.
Read More
|
In today’s challenging economic environment, forward-thinking companies are looking at technology solutions that can help them weather the economic storm, and deliver long-term performance benefits. Discover four key trends that are relevant to today’s economic situation, and learn how leading retailers and brands are embracing product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions to enhance bottom-line efficiency.
Read More
|
With the promise of transforming the way products are developed, product lifecycle management (PLM) is one of the fastest growing areas of technology investment for retailers and brands alike. Best-practice experience shows that the most successful PLM implementations are initiated to support an organization’s key strategic objectives, and ultimately improve profitability through enhanced operational efficiency. Find out more.
Read More
|
This IDC Vendor Profile focuses on PTC’s FlexPLM product for the retail, footwear, and apparel (RFA) industry—a product that leverages the product lifecycle management (PLM) capabilities of PTC’s Windchill product line. Find out about PTC’s entrance into the RFA market, its acquisition of Aptavis, and its customer collaborations with companies such as Nike, Liz Claiborne, and Nordstrom for continuing product development.
Read More
|
There is an increasing acceptance among apparel brands and retailers of the fact that product lifecycle management (PLM) applications can streamline the product development process. Although the benefits are apparent, there are questions about the best approach and investments to drive PLM across the organization. This white paper discusses a phased approach for accelerated PLM adoption in an enterprise.
Read More
|
Parametric Technology Corporation's (PTC's) product lifecycle management (PLM) solution, Windchill 9.0, is now TEC Certified. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations who rely on the integrity of TEC’s research services for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this 28-page TEC report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.
Read More
|
Supplier of bearings, seals, and lubrication systems, SKF works closely with its customers to develop products. As such, accurate product data and efficient collaboration—especially in SKF’s automotive division—are crucial. Currently, SKF uses PTC’s Windchill product lifecycle management (PLM) solution suite to manage document sharing, support of internal product development processes, and more. Learn about the benefits.
Read More
|
Herstal designs, manufactures, and distributes a range of firearms, and has a long history of using product lifecycle management (PLM) and product data management (PDM) technologies. In 2002, the company implemented PTC’s product development suite for its product management needs. With PTC’s software, it reduced research and development (R&D) costs while delivering more products over a shorter period of time. Learn more.
Read More
|
SharePoint has been well adopted in manufacturing companies as a backbone for Office applications, mainly for document sharing and management. Windchill ProductPoint can enable SharePoint to understand and store complex computer-aided design (CAD) data, and extend SharePoint’s reach into product development. Learn more about the capabilities of the Windchill ProductPoint product lifecycle management (PLM) system.
Read More
|
Many of today’s product lifecycle management (PLM)-enabling technologies allow complex information to be shared by dispersed teams of people. Product data management (PDM) technology is used to organize and provide access to your intellectual assets. PLM, its collaborative Product Definition management (cPDm) capabilities, and other solutions can help you go beyond asynchronous data sharing. Find out how.
Read More
|
Developing, launching, supporting—and profiting—from new products is a challenge. You need to integrate business processes and product data across the product development, data management, design, and analysis applications that make up the extended product lifecycle management (PLM) suite. If you’re looking to identify best-in-class approaches to integrating disparate applications, this report can help you get started.
Read More
|
The need for innovation is gaining prominence on the executive agenda. But, just how do organizations identify the most promising ideas and translate these ideas into successful products? Learn the answer to this question by examining how leading companies empower their innovators with tools and strategies that allow them to leverage ideas and knowledge to develop a steady stream of new and profitable products.
Read More
|
Traditionally, change management in product development and engineering has been viewed as a way to control cost and improve efficiencies. But companies are becoming aware that better change can drive top-line benefits—and are developing processes with an eye towards improving speed-to-market. Find out why good change management is becoming more important—and how you can use it as a tool to increase product profitability.
Read More
|
Electro-mechanical design continues to gain importance, as the majority of today’s products have both electrical and mechanical components and systems. Designing and stimulating these products collaboratively across both domains is essential to producing high quality products. Learn how implementing an electro-computer-aided design (ECAD) and mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) strategy—now—can help you later.
Read More
|
Many manufacturers are incorporating embedded systems into their products to meet the growing demand. While this approach offers exciting opportunities for innovation, it also adds a level of complexity to products that have zero tolerance for bugs and must beat the competition to market. But companies that successfully address these challenges are seeing higher profitability—in spite of the current economy. Find out why.
Read More
|
Product development has never been easy, but in today’s global market, the pressures facing industrial manufacturers are even greater. With more stakeholders involved in the product development process, collaboration and communication are key to competitive advantage. Your challenge: bring all the stakeholders in the same room—in real time. Discover how to succeed by increasing innovation and speeding time-to-market.
Read More
|
Product development is a mission-critical process. And it can also be very expensive. But thanks to modern computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, many manufacturing companies now have the tools that allow better alignment of cost and value-add. This is what’s referred to as “global product development.” Learn more.
Read More
|
Design globalization—and the access it provides to new markets, talents, and resources around the world—offers many opportunities to manufacturers today. Tapping into this growing network of suppliers and partners does bring risks and challenges. You can achieve best-in-class performance in a global design environment and achieve greater profitability. Find out the product design strategies of best-in-class manufacturers.
Read More
|
Rich’s legacy IT systems could not interoperate with platforms and applications among departments, preventing a single, centralized view of the product development process and limiting collaboration. The company decided it needed a new product lifecycle management (PLM) system to integrate and accelerate PLM processes. Rich’s new system supports research and development (R&D), formula management, and more.
Read More
|
For many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, the environment is too complex to implement a new business process without upgrading the IT systems that support that process. Taking a consumer approach to upgrading can help. You need to seek out solutions that fit your CPG environment, can keep up with continual innovation, and more. But you always need to be thinking ahead. Learn more about developing an IT roadmap.
Read More
|
Efforts to improve the efficiency and maturity of a quality assurance (QA) or test organization have largely been academic exercises, and difficult to apply to real-world software development environments. Today, with newer methods such as the Testing Maturity Model (TMM), it’s easier to assess, implement, and improve test processes. Learn about fresh techniques for assessing the effectiveness of QA organizations.
Read More
|
Today’s technology and application leaders are pressured to deliver functionality that drives efficiency, innovation, and growth—while reducing costs. As a result, technology and application portfolio management (APM) are top business priorities. Learn about a framework for implementing an APM program that can enable your company to monitor and analyze the impact of application changes and reduce portfolio complexity.
Read More
|
For many projects, the transition from initiative to production is chaotic and lacks a pragmatic framework for ongoing support. Inheritance Engineering offers a means for carrying out change in a reliable fashion and retaining as much value as possible throughout the life of the software. Unfortunately, this does not occur for a variety of reasons. Find out what those reasons are, and how to address software maintenance.
Read More
|
Everything manufacturing executives thought they knew about project management and operations management is changing. Now, project managers may be connecting elements of an ongoing enterprise with a project in order to achieve certain defined goals, or use projects in a recurring way. Discover the many benefits manufacturers can realize by adopting a management-by-project approach with project-centric ERP software.
Read More
|
The global march toward making products and services more sustainable is gaining breadth and speed. No manufacturer will be left untouched by this phenomenon. To thrive in this new low-carbon world, you need to have a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of your products’ environmental footprint—from raw materials to manufacturing to distribution to end of life. Learn about life cycle methodologies that can help.
Read More
|
To reduce time to market and realize the full value of its intellectual property, Cadbury plc needed to ensure compliance with government regulations. The company launched a long-term data management strategy, which included storing all data in a central repository—a product lifecycle management (PLM) system. Find out how Cadbury not only ensured compliance but also improved its response to consumer and customer queries.
Read More
|
As consumer demand drops, many companies are being forced to lay off staff. That might help in the short term, but those companies still have to keep operations going, reduce costs, keep profits up, and produce high-quality products—only now with far fewer people. This in-depth guide offers nine product development strategies for your company to weather this downturn and prepare for the eventual economic rebound.
Read More
|
As a successful, rapidly growing apparel company with seven separate divisions, Maggy London needed to streamline its product development lifecycle, improve communications, and eliminate duplication of work. Find out how the company was able to select product lifecycle management (PLM), global sourcing, and inventory control solutions that helped it streamline daily operations and become a more efficient organization.
Read More
|
The requirements of operating in a global, just-in-time (JIT) market have made supply chains much more complex than they were 10 years ago. Much of the software meant to assist in managing this complexity has itself become too complex to use—and too expensive to cost-justify. Discover the benefits of using a less complex supply chain solution that better supports a collaborative effort along your supply chain.
Read More
|
As a contract manufacturer, Western Electronics makes assemblies for its customers. This translates into a huge volume of data being exchanged—and an exponentially greater number of engineering changes to manage. The company was challenged to take control over its processes—especially bill of materials (BOM) management—and lead its customers into following best practices. With its new change management solution, the company is confident it has an accurate history and the latest revisions.
Read More
|
Since 1996, Air International US (AIUS) has used an outsourced manufacturing strategy instead of maintaining its own facilities. For the first few years, communication between AIUS and its outsourced partners was manual, which formed a barrier preventing the company from maximizing its contract manufacturing strategy. To improve outsourcing processes, AIUS chose a change management solution with bill of materials (BOM) management and a software-as-a-service architecture. Learn more.
Read More
|
Planning to expand, Align—a medical device manufacturer—identified electronic document management as a vital component of growth. One goal was to reduce the time needed to process change orders, as its current processes were all manual. After the vendor selection process, Align chose a change management solution that offers fully compliant and redundant protection for the company’s data. Learn more about the benefits that helped Align save $250,000 (USD) in administration costs.
Read More
|
Pixel Velocity, provider of video automation systems to governments and other organizations, grew from having one supplier to having dozens with which they needed to collaborate and source hundreds of components. Knowing operations were becoming too complex to be supported on spreadsheets, the company decided that using a dedicated collaborative bill of materials (BOM) and change management solution would be the smartest choice. Learn about the on-demand solution Pixel now uses.
Read More
|
Promising to transform the way products are developed, product lifecycle management (PLM) is one of the fastest-growing areas of technology investment for retailers and brands alike. But why should your company consider PLM? Find out why successful PLM implementations are initiated to support key strategic objectives, and how PLM can ultimately improve your profitability through enhanced operational efficiency.
Read More
|
Stiff competition, declining profit margins, and changing consumer requirements have made mass customization necessary. But time-strapped customers don’t tolerate long sales cycles or unnecessary complexity. A self-service product configurator is one way to give customers what they want, and in a short period of time. Discover the three signs your product configurator may not be meeting your—or your customers’—needs.
Read More
|
MISTRAL Engines, founded in 2001, has a line of engines to meet the needs of 21st-century aviation. MISTRAL looked for a data management system that was flexible enough to adjust smoothly and on an ad hoc basis to a company in constant growth and with continuously evolving processes. Find out how its new product lifecycle management (PLM) solution helps the company throughout the full product development process.
Read More
|
To successfully meet compliance demands, pharmaceutical manufacturers must develop, implement, and track the effectiveness of a company-wide compliance strategy. Key to that strategy is to adopt industry-specific enterprise software with functionality that supports Federal Drug Administration (FDA) requirements. Learn more about the criteria and recommendations you need to achieve compliance in the pharmaceutical industry.
Read More
|
Server-based computing has been seen at best as a way to provide those within highly task-based environments with a controlled desktop environment. However, changes in software, hardware, security, and management systems are driving the shift toward server-based computing being suitable for a larger proportion of a company’s user base. Learn how client-side computing can be more tightly controlled yet provide flexibility.
Read More
|
Electronics enterprises must respond to business drivers such as reduced time to market, technological innovation, and distributed operations and cost control to remain competitive. Effective collaboration among internal engineering and manufacturing, as well as external suppliers and distributors, requires great effort. But an engineering collaboration solution can help teams work together in real time. Learn how.
Read More
|
Want to know more about distributed agile best practices for software development projects? Find out about the challenges and lessons learned from this implementation of distributed agile for teams distributed across US, Europe, and India. Discover how this large, globally distributed project for a large telecom vendor realized such benefits as better collaboration, higher quality product, and on-time delivery.
Read More
|
Today, business is driven to change per customers’ needs, and IT organizations must be strategic partners with the lines of business. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices are gaining popularity as one way to manage change. However, implementing ITIL best practices in an IT organization is not without challenges. Learn about the approaches that can be used for successful ITIL implementation.
Read More
|
Best practices in technology can help manufacturers of complex products and equipment get their offerings to market more quickly and profitably by enabling them to become more cost effective and efficient. But there are still challenges to be overcome, due to product life cycle complexity. Discover the best practices that can help you make the product and make it right, on time, and within budget—while making a profit.
Read More
|
In today’s marketplace, creating sustainable growth requires constant innovation. Innovations—in both product features and service delivery—are increasingly important as a means of differentiating yourself from the competition. Either you invest in innovations or risk losing market share to a competitor. In this webcast, you’ll find out what’s happening globally that makes investing in innovative technology important.
Read More
|
By automating and optimizing business processes, companies gain the efficiency, clarity, and flexibility they need to support the creative development of products and services. Employees in such an environment spend less time on mundane business tasks, focusing instead on generating new ideas and innovative products. Learn how integrated software solutions can help you invest and innovate to sustain your company’s growth.
Read More
|
Even in tough economic times, innovative small-to-midsized companies can still find opportunities for growth. Technology and business software solutions like enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), product lifecycle management (PLM), and supplier relationship management (SRM) can help your company ride out the global economic downturn. Find out how.
Read More
|
Today’s methods for reusing design can add needed speed to the entire product development process. By using the design of an existing part or assembly as a starting point for a newer part or assembly, you can save time while reducing the risk of making fundamental design errors. Learn how to overcome the challenges of optimizing design reuse, by building a reuse library of metadata that automates information retrieval.
Read More
|
Manufacturers know that production scrap can come from just about anywhere: from the ordered parts that don’t fit into a finished assembly, or from a physical prototype you’ve used and discarded. Whatever the case, the scrap—and any rework needed to fix the problem—costs you time or money, or both. Learn how you can overcome the most serious causes of production scrap with a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution.
Read More
|
One of the riskiest moves company stakeholders can make is to acquire and merge with another company or to divest themselves of company assets. Despite the best of intentions, many mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures produce results far below expectations. Learn why failure happens, and how to prevent it by following the overriding best practice in successful acquisitions, mergers, and divestitures: preparedness.
Read More
|
The constant launch of new telecommunications products creates stiff competition, and to manage increasingly complex product portfolios, you should ensure your processes are optimized, your data is accurate, and your solutions are integrated. The first business area you should focus on is order management. Find out how you can better address the challenges of the order-to-cash cycle, decomposition, provisioning, and more.
Read More
|
A premium aluminum boat builder struggled to fit into a standard enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. But the company found it difficult to schedule and track engineer-to-order (ETO) jobs, and it was wasting a lot of time duplicating efforts. Also, it needed effective communication between computer-aided design (CAD) and ERP systems. Read about the solution that helped the company streamline its processes.
Read More
|
Are you on the front lines of product development and project management, and tired of seeing the same project failure statistics? Are you ready to do something to change your approach to requirements management? Then read about the three most common myths (plus a bonus myth) associated with requirements management, and how you can dispel them once and for all—for more successful products and project outcomes.
Read More
|
The results of a recent industry survey shed light on the latest trends, challenges, and solutions in software product development for 2008. If you are involved in the planning and development of products, software applications, or systems, this report can help you gain insight into the biggest challenges in innovation, the top barriers to success, which metrics matter most when measuring success, and more.
Read More
|
Software developers need a powerful tool to control and plan the quality of their software applications. With a solution that offers project analysis, testing, and bug administration, you have options that can help increase the quality of your software products. Read about a software test tool that has administrative functions to help you more effectively plan, control, and evaluate your software as it’s developed.
Read More
|
Maybe you’re considering software test tools for the first time. Or maybe you have experience but think your existing software test automation process needs retooling. Whatever your perspective, there are tips and tricks you may not know about test design and development. These 10 steps to building software test automation can help you shorten your time to market, improve the quality of your products, and save you money.
Read More
|
In today’s Internet-connected global economy, the market doesn’t allow for companies to sit back and relax into a comfortable niche. Customer loyalty is ever harder to maintain, and you risk losing your business to competition if you can’t respond quickly to market change. Before you lose any more ground, find out how to replace your disconnected, redundant business processes with flexible and efficient ones integrated by IT.
Read More
|
Manufacturing industries have their own challenges to increase customer value and lower costs. How can enterprises make the most of their resources to create new market opportunities and more efficient supplier and customer networks? An enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with transparent and hierarchical manufacturing plans can offer increased accuracy, lower inventory costs, and better supply chain performance.
Read More
|
Implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system—even for small to medium businesses (SMBs)—is a smart move. But depending on the type of business, there can be many different processes to integrate—making it difficult to know what type of system to choose. For growing project-based companies faced with the challenge of managing many complex projects, the ideal ERP system should be customizable yet scalable.
Read More
|
It’s no longer acceptable for salespeople to respond to customers’ inquiries with “I’ll get back to you.” In the time it takes to respond, a competitor with stronger product knowledge, customized proposals, or better pricing will win your business. Find out how to provide your salespeople with the ability to explain complex manufacturing processes and other key factors—before you lose your sales to your competitors.
Read More
|
If you’ve ever been involved in an enterprise software implementation, you already know how challenging it can be to get it done on time and under budget. With literally thousands of technical details to keep track of, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong. In the case of product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, enterprise implementations can be even tougher. Find out how to get it done right.
Read More
|
Manufacturers’ business needs have changed significantly over the past few years, evolving the roles that technology plays within the manufacturing process. Two key technologies—enterprise resource planning (ERP) and product lifecycle management (PLM)—have developed into key success factors for manufacturers and when combined, provide a collaborative environment that adds value and helps in maintaining a competitive edge.
Read More
|
Because products ultimately define a manufacturing company’s success, product development is mission-critical by definition. It’s also expensive—in most manufacturing sectors, companies annually reinvest between 3 and 8 percent of their total revenues back into product development. Find out how to leverage global product development to gain a dramatic increase in productivity within your product development operation.
Read More
|
As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of construction and mining equipment, Komatsu has enjoyed significant growth. In fact, 2004 marked the best business performance in the company’s history. Now the company is focused on accelerating product development by making better, faster decisions throughout the product lifecycle. The solution: PTC’s ProductView.
Read More
|
When it comes to product lifecycle management (PLM), unreachable information is as expensive as excess inventory lying in a warehouse. That’s why ITT Industries, a multibillion-dollar manufacturing enterprise, needed desperately to reach its goal of a single source of data for everyone, everywhere. Unfortunately, the transition would require overcoming serious resistance and cultural issues. Find out how they did it.
Read More
|
After adopting two-dimensional computer-aided design (2D CAD) in the 1990s, Dalian Shipyard discovered that 2D technology didn’t meet the real-world challenges facing ship designers. For example, 2D CAD could not graphically reproduce real ship design challenges, such as collisions. Dalian Shipyard needed better product lifecycle management (PLM) tools. The solution: CADDS 5i—a complete 3D CAD tool for shipbuilding.
Read More
|
Asyst Technologies develops and delivers factory automation solutions for the protection, transport, handling, and management of semiconductor wafers and flat panel display glass plates. Not only did Asyst want to automate product data and document management, but it also wanted a true paperless process for tracking information and facilitating design team collaboration. Find out how Windchill PDMLink got the job done.
Read More
|
Medical device manufacturers face the usual manufacturing challenges, with the added burden of having to plan, develop, test, and produce in an environment controlled by strict regulatory requirements. With paper-based systems, product lifecycle documentation adds a huge burden to an already colossal task. Find out how you can “hardwire” compliance into product development—without short-circuiting your business processes.
Read More
|
Improving the content of technical publications is possible with a product development system (PDS). A PDS solution can automate and optimize the technical publishing process and can end publication bottlenecks caused by launch delays due to poor process. A PDS solution allows for concurrent development of products and publications—keeping your engineering and publishing departments in sync.
Read More
|
Registry cleanup is inarguably an integral component of PC maintenance. However, many PC users may be wasting time and effort cleaning their registries more often than necessary, depending on the age of their computers, as well as how often software and other utilities are installed. In order to save time and get the most out of your PC, there are a number of myths about registry cleanup you ought to dispel.
Read More
|
Reducing inventory and satisfying customer demand are high priorities in manufacturing and distribution. Being able to fill orders on time and satisfy every customer is an integral part of order commitment—and a very attainable goal. Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) can help your company become responsive and accurate—and that’s what counts in today’s “demand and supply” environment.
Read More
|
For dried fruit producer Sunsweet, a spreadsheet-based planning system just wasn’t working. After reviewing several solutions, Sunsweet selected the Zemeter supply chain planning suite to eliminate the repetitive work involved in spreadsheet management. Zemeter’s accurate forecasting and planning process ended up saving Sunsweet money by increasing production line efficiency and reducing overruns by 18 percent.
Read More
|
Industry today demands more quality of manufacturers, and as such, ISO 9001—the yardstick by which quality products and services are measured—is forcing more and more companies to become ISO-certified. However, companies can use a browser-based tool to help bridge any information gaps they may encounter during the process—and to give them the head start they need to intelligently manage their ISO certification.
Read More
|
For a lot of companies, making the decision to replace an existing business software system can be a difficult one. The process can be so unpleasant that many organizations may be reluctant to even get started, coming up with a number of reasons why they could probably get by with the systems they already have. If your company is struggling with this tough decision, you may want to ask yourself these ten basic questions.
Read More
|
Carefully tracking components and assemblies throughout the manufacturing process can prevent costly production and sequencing errors, but executing these procedures can be difficult. While bar codes provide accurate, efficient product identification, they are not viable in many common industrial processes. Specialized RFID tags, however, are optimized for use on or around metal, and are an effective and viable alternative.
Read More
|
Radio frequency identification (RFID) has been around for more than thirty years, and today’s manufacturers are using this technology to help connect trading partners and align supply chains. But just as businesses need to look beyond the manufacturing supply chain to see the benefits of investing in RFID, they need to look beyond the tag to understand how RFID will create value and provide a return on investment (ROI).
Read More
|
Technology has fundamentally changed the way industrial and manufacturing companies manage their businesses. Sophisticated solutions like warehouse management and enterprise relationship management (ERP) systems—with their advanced data capture and wireless networking tools—enable companies to squeeze more efficiency out of their operations by providing real-time data to all interdependent parts of the supply chain.
Read More
|
In today’s global market, providing quality products and services is essential for any manufacturer’s continued growth—but maintaining a competitive edge is not always easy. For success, quality awareness must begin at the conception of the product and continue throughout the various stages of its development. To improve in this area, many manufacturers are now adopting the total quality management (TQM) approach.
Read More
|
Any organization that deploys multiple same-application servers with regularity could benefit from virtual appliances. Virtualization solutions eliminate the need to copy an operating system (OS) and application into each virtual environment, by creating a single, centrally installed master copy instead. It saves time on installation and enables greater levels of efficiency, manageability, flexibility, and resource use.
Read More
|
To be certain its materials management functions were up to par with industry best practices, a South African fertilizer plant obtained the services of an inventory optimization firm. In doing so, it was able to identify weak links in its inventory control processes, and achieved a savings of over $2 million (USD)—an impressive return on investment (ROI) considering it had invested less than 4 percent of that amount.
Read More
|
In 2004, Microsoft offered a midwestern-US-based financial services corporation a range of options to renew and replace its existing enterprise agreement. But without the right negotiating skills, how could it be certain Microsoft’s offer was the most cost-saving approach? The company engaged an independent consulting firm, and in less than three weeks recognized savings of 28 percent on a $3 million (USD) agreement.
Read More
|
Traditional business intelligence (BI) solutions are becoming a thing of the past. Companies today are moving toward business solutions that can help maintain a competitive edge while empowering business executives across the enterprise. Operational BI is an approach that incorporates traditional BI best practices with the benefits of real-time information flow, resulting in more user-directed initiatives.
Read More
|
Point of sale (POS) software was designed to speed up sales checkout processes. However, it has evolved to include many more features, and is now more commonly referred to as retail management systems (RMS). The benefits of implementing RMS are clear—they can help increase profits, improve marketing strategies, automate manual processes, manage inventory, and—most importantly—make the customer experience more memorable.
Read More
|
Small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) encounter many of the same challenges as larger companies in unlocking information from the data they collect, yet they lack cost-effective solutions. Many must choose between expensive business intelligence solutions or complicated homegrown solutions. With many hosted reporting solutions now available, SMBs have an option that may meet their requirements—at a fraction of the cost.
Read More
|
We’ve all heard the same story time and again: the project that started with such high expectations has turned out to be—like many others—mediocre at best. The product development team is asking questions—"Where did the project go wrong? Why didn’t we see the problems earlier?" Many companies are turning to product lifecycle management (PLM) for help.
Read More
|
Research shows that companies implementing product portfolio management (PPM) solutions achieve greater success in profitability because of their ability to monitor product value throughout the product selection and development processes. With the ability to evaluate this information through PPM capabilities, companies can take corrective action to maximize product value during new development—or kill projects that won’t deliver sufficient returns.
Read More
|
Products may fail to meet expectations for many reasons—most of which are self-inflicted wounds (such as unclear product definitions) by the company bringing them to market. What’s more, politics and inertia all too often win the day when it comes to making difficult product portfolio decisions. What actions can you take to rank among those companies which realize margin advantages of over 50 percent for new products?
Read More
|
All companies use some form of sales and operations planning (S&OP) to synchronize market data with production output. But most practice a planning process based on logistics rather than strategy. Taking a more strategic approach, however, the S&OP process can be designed to bring together a company’s marketing, finance, sales, and operations departments to continuously monitor—and meet—customer demand.
Read More
|
Product roadmaps can mean the difference between success and failure in product delivery. Done correctly, they can help win large customers, and guide strategic planning efforts. Unfortunately, most product roadmaps are created under pressure when company management makes a last-minute request. As a result, they don’t have the impact they should, and can be a source of product management misery.
Read More
|
Customer beta programs are critical in product success. Yet many times, they are poorly planned, and executed at the last minute with a lack of resources and focus. Effective beta programs can provide vital information, such as whether your product is truly ready to ship, which features should be in the next release, and how satisfied your customers will be.
Read More
|
“Process.” From entrepreneurs to corporate managers, the word brings up associations with running in sand, pouring molasses, or enduring water torture. But product process needn’t be a torture. In fact, if done right, it is the key to better teamwork, and less friction in your company. It is actually a tool that will help your company deliver better products—faster.
Read More
|
As competitive pressures on consumer products (CP) companies rise, the industry is reaching the limits of business as usual. CP companies must look to increased collaboration with retailers, partners, and suppliers as a way to build and improve on the core cycles of planning and forecasting. And the blueprint for expanded collaboration and increased automation? The adaptive business network.
Read More
|
Inadequacies at the front end of the product development process is one of the leading causes of product failure for consumer products companies. Many companies thus make ill-informed decisions that turn into costly mistakes. The challenge is to establish a front-end process that nurtures profitable innovation and maximizes portfolio value in light of resource constraints, portfolio balance, and strategic alignment.
Read More
|
The odds against successful product innovation are long. New products need to win over consumers and convince retailers—a challenging task for many reasons, including saturated markets, a growing variety of products and brands, and shorter product life cycles. To shorten time to market, companies need to integrate all development-related areas, within a single sphere of visibility and influence.
Read More
|
The multitude of messages and media in this interactive age contributes to a fragmented consumer goods market. Shorter product life cycles, mass product customization, and increasing supply chain complexity are all symptoms of the new project economy. The arrival of this new age must be recognized by business leaders, and the systems supporting business must change to accommodate this reality.
Read More
|
Companies spend staggering investments to make and keep their offerings competitive. By providing a centralized location to store account history and detailed contact information for every buyer and automating what had been manual tasks, sales force automation (SFA) and customer relationship management (CRM) have begun to positively impact sales efforts.
Read More
|
It may come as a surprise to you, but every organization that brings a product to market already has a product lifecycle management (PLM) system in place. And the choices as to which software tools or system an organization should employ in its initiatives should be entirely based on the review and assessment of its current PLM system.
Read More
|
Product lifecycle management (PLM) implementation strategies are in many cases unique from company to company. However, it is not uncommon for companies to encounter some of the same obstacles or pitfalls along the way. Understanding where these nasty little pitfalls lie will hopefully help you steer clear of them, and improve your chances for PLM success.
Read More
|
Technology and process upgrades at forward-thinking companies confirm supply chain excellence as a more widely accepted element of overall business strategy. To remain successful, companies need organization-wide buy-in to supply chain excellence, with key trends in mind: demand planning as an imperative; globalization; increased competition and price pressures; outsourcing; shortened and more complex product life cycles; and collaboration between stakeholders.
Read More
|
Universal Instruments Corporation, a leading capital equipment manufacturer, needed a flexible business solution to meet the challenges of globalization, and had to replace its legacy system. It used SAP for Industrial Machinery and Component, which is an integrated scalable solution and was able to enable global processes consistently throughout its geographical locations.
Read More
|
Companies are turning toward product innovation to achieve revenue growth, but to generate return on an innovation idea, the idea must be fully developed. When the concept has been fully defined, validated, and transformed into a product, it is then ready for commercial launch and execution from a sales, marketing, manufacturing, and logistics perspective.
Read More
|
Quality data in the supply chain is essential in when information is automated and shared with internal and external customers. Dirty data is a huge impediment to businesses. In this article, learn about the four critical success factors to clean data: 1- scope, 2- team, 3- process, and 4- technology.
Read More
|
Aberdeen research shows that developing innovative products is a top priority for manufacturers today. Such manufacturers must understand how enterprise resource planning (ERP) and product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, like Arena Solutions, support innovation.
Read More
|
Rapid market fluctuations; changing customer and channel requirements; pressures from shareholders, executives, and partners; and continued competition are forcing high-tech companies to re-examine not only what products and services they sell, but also their processes and tools for developing, deploying, monitoring, and managing products and services. To deal with these challenges, product managers need to leverage product management processes and tools. This white paper introduces the concept of enterprise product management and the process of requirements gathering automation; the product management continuum; and the creation of a collaborative environment.
Read More
|
GNX ProductVine is an enterprise software suite that enables retailers with private brand food programs to seamlessly integrate and manage all elements of brand integrity, regulatory and food safety compliance, and new product development and introduction, with an automated, web-based process.
Read More
|
Since our research-driven beginnings, Johnson & Johnson Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) has continually improved the new product development (NPD) process. Detailed process mapping has revealed three tiers of business metrics, starting with drivers and moving up through execution metrics to business performance metrics. When driver metrics improves, so does business performance. Six Sigma tools helps identify specific metrics at all tiers and the causality linkages among them. Each NPD process step at ASP results in a deliverable, and each deliverable relates to a trade-off triangle (cost-time-resources) and, ultimately, to investment dollars. To track performance, ASP calculates how actual NPD decisions and what-if scenarios affect deliverables, alter investment triangles, and thereby influence business results. ASP uses similar process and tools, including the investment triangles and Six Sigma QFD, to make idea management decisions. The IDweb real-time software environment enables both the NPD and idea management processes at ASP. By deploying the strategic planning, idea management, portfolio and pipeline management, process management, and resource management modules of IDweb, ASP has increased throughput by 20 percent and reduced cycle time by 40 percent.
Read More
|
Component event management promises an answer. Component event management is a methodology to systematically detect and resolve component events in the most timely and efficient manner possible. This paper will introduce the philosophy of component event management and introduce a new category of software that is being developed to help implement this concept and improve business performance.
Read More
|
When a global high tech manufacturer of desktop and portable PCs sought to reduce their inbound supply chain lead-time and costs, they came to Optum for help improving their visibility to, and coordination with, inbound suppliers, and contract manufacturers. Learn how it integrated partners and its system into the supply chain to achieve its competitive advantage.
Read More
|
In the mid-1990s Heinz was managing their product specifications, formulas, and quality information in the same manner as most companies. Their product information was stored in a variety of disparate systems, spreadsheets, text documents, and paper forms. Learn how it was able to continually leverage product information across the entire life cycle.
Read More
|