Suppliers Use PLM Tools to Meet Automakers' Development Mandates

Computerworld - As an automotive supplier, Freudenberg-NOK has been required by the Big Three and other automakers to document the completion of several predefined tasks during product development and launch.
Until recently, the Plymouth, Mich.-based supplier fulfilled this so-called Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) obligation using a process that involved manually collecting and integrating project data from various sources at multiple stages of the development process.
Aras Corp., a vendor of product life-cycle management software, last week released a software product designed to help companies like Freudenberg-NOK automate much of that process.
Designed specifically for automotive suppliers, APQP Plus software from Lawrence, Mass.-based Aras gives users customized templates and workflows for capturing information in conformance with the APQP project management requirements. The software has made it easier to comply with APQP requirements, said Tom Gill, director of computer-aided engineering technology at Freudenberg-NOK, which is an early tester of the software.
Previously, new-product development teams would define the steps necessary to accomplish their tasks and put that information in a spreadsheet. Project managers would then check off each task as it was completed. But the paper-based system was rarely up to date, and the information wasn't easily retrievable, Gill said.
Aras' Web-based software allows Freudenberg-NOK to automate the task assignment process. It provides templates for collecting and centralizing information and a color-coded dashboard system for measuring the progress of each project. "It has made everything a lot more visible," Gill said.
Although he couldn't quantify any return on investment, Gill said that in a business where being late with a product can cost a company "tens of thousands of dollars," the increased efficiency can have a real effect on the bottom line.
The software also allows users to electronically manage and submit documents related to product parts approval, engineering change requests, bills of materials and engineering specifications.
Ease of Integration
What sets Aras' software apart from other PLM products is the ease with which it can be integrated into an automotive supplier's operations, said Victor Moreno, PLM project manager at Nemak, a Monterrey, Mexico-based company that makes cylinder heads and engine blocks for automakers.
Nemak evaluated products from other vendors, including UGS PLM Solutions Inc., SAP AG and MatrixOne Inc., before choosing Aras. Its goal is to use the software to get status updates and metrics on costs, quality and schedules in accordance with APQP requirements.
Powerway Inc. in Indianapolis provides software designed to let automakers collaborate with suppliers, said Michael Burkett, an analyst at Boston-based AMR Research Inc. But its software isn'twidely deployed by suppliers, which is the market that Aras is going after, he said.
Despite the benefits, there are some caveats, Gill said. Running the bandwidth-intensive Web-based application has stressed Freudenberg-NOK's wide-area networks, he said. Moreover, Aras is still small, so due diligence needs to be observed when purchasing from the company, Gill said. Freudenberg-NOK "escrowed" the source code -- that is, ensured that it will be available through a third party in the event of Aras' collapse, he said.
Pricing for Aras' software starts at $50,000 for 10 concurrent users.

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