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Software vendor aPriori, which aims to provide early visibility of costs involved in engineering projects, has released a version of its technology with extra functionality targeted at new product development.
Julie Driscoll, vice president, strategic marketing and product management at the firm, told PE: “We've looked at the challenges of new product introduction, and how can we better support that process in providing relevant cost information. One of the challenges for the VP of engineering is that they have a cost target for a new product development project. Remaining on track to meet it can be very challenging.”
Tighter integration with existing product lifecycle management and product lifecycle management software should allow customers to “effectively leverage” data in other enterprise-critical systems, said aPriori. The company's software is designed to clearly flag up costs through colour-coding and other devices. “It's a visual guide to cost, for example red can indicate an area where a customer wants to pay particular attention,” Driscoll said. “Design engineers are looking for quick feedback.” Cost analysis is available in real time.
VMI Group, a specialist in tyre and rubber component machinery, has recently deployed aPriori software to improve understanding of custom and standard machine designs costs, respond to more RFQs quickly and accurately, and secure more business at higher margins.
A Dutch firm with sites in China and America, VMI Group designs custom-engineered production systems for manufacturers that build vehicle tyres, retread existing tyres or produce other technical rubber components and products. The company’s 750 employees engineer core products such as single-stage tyre building machines for global customers, with annual revenues of around €160 million.
VMI will now be able to model each of its manufacturing facilities throughout the world, including site specific material stock types, pricing, machine types and operating attributes, intelligent process routings, and labour and overhead costs. The aPriori system will then automatically produce highly-detailed cost assessments for VMI’s products in seconds, allowing the company to respond to more customer request for quotes with greater accuracy, driving higher revenues.
Driscoll said that defence manufacturers in the US were showing a greater interest in early visibility of cost when carrying out work for the government. “They need to be able to put together a quote and deliver on it. We have been working more closely with aerospace and defence companies and expanding our costing capabilities for really precise, machined components.”