[October 14, 2008] Best-in-Class Manufacturers Respond to Economic Conditions by Reducing Costs with Platform Approach to Global Operations Management Tweet LONG BEACH, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Apriso, a leading provider of adaptive software solutions for global manufacturers, today announced the need for an enterprise software platform for Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) to achieve Best-in-Class performance, as validated by research recently released by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE:HHS). Apriso is seeing this trend in the marketplace as its customers achieve Best-in-Class performance while lowering their total cost of manufacturing with Apriso's FlexNet(R) enterprise software platform for operations execution. According to Aberdeen Group, "Executives face numerous challenges in managing global manufacturing operations and successfully collaborating across internal groups and external partners. In today's economic environment, the number one driving force behind focusing on manufacturing operations is to 'reduce the total cost of manufacturing.' Prior Aberdeen research has found that to accomplish this objective, many executives are attempting to synchronize manufacturing operations by deploying a common platform to manage maintenance, production, quality and inventory." "We are heavily exposed to client pressure to contain costs and improve logistics excellence," explains Pascal Ober, Director of Competency Centers at Saint-Gobain Sekurit, an Apriso customer. "Our customers asked that we reduce prices by 6% while simultaneously delivering 10% improvements in productivity. To address these pressures, we have implemented a platform with both a Manufacturing Execution System and a Warehouse Management System, providing real-time visibility and control for global Manufacturing Operations Management." As an Operations Execution System, Apriso FlexNet helps customers improve performance across their global manufacturing operations, lowering cost and streamlining inventory flows between production and supply chain operations, while managing quality at all operational points. According to Aberdeen Group, Best-in-Class manufacturers: -- Leverage development of best-practice operations processes as standard processes across their global manufacturing operations -- Rely on executive sponsorship to lead the collaboration of manufacturing operations outside of the context of a single plant -- Invest in real-time interoperability across technologies to manage global operations "Holistically managing and optimizing operations across globally distributed manufacturing facilities involves aligning corporate and operational objectives, but is much more," explains Matthew Littlefield and Mehul Shah, Manufacturing Research Analysts, Aberdeen Group. "Supplier collaboration, the load balancing of factories to meet local versus global demand, break / fix versus preventative versus predictive approaches to maintenance, new product introduction and the role of quality are all examples ... highlighting the importance of a holistic approach." "Another critical process capability the Best-in-Class are standardizing is Key Performance Indicator (KPI) measurement," continued Littlefield and Shah. "This means the Best-in-Class have invested in a standard scoreboard across manufacturing operations with which to measure operational performance. In fact, two-thirds (68%) of the Best-in-Class leverage standardized metrics. This could mean, in the case of a global manufacturer, that a plant in mainland Europe measures OEE or customer service in the same way as a plant in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region." To read a complimentary copy of Aberdeen Group's research report, please go to: http://www.apriso.com/pr/globalmomreport.htm. About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen(TM) for insights that drive decisions. For more information, please go to www.aberdeen.com. About Apriso Apriso Corporation is a software company dedicated to providing competitive advantage for its customers. It does so by enabling organizations to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events. Apriso's FlexNet platform provides visibility, adaptability and real-time control of manufacturing operations across the enterprise and supply chain network. This is accomplished by integrating planning, execution and control, increasing operational efficiency and eliminating errors in the production process. Apriso serves more than 170 customers in 41 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its customers include General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, L'Oreal, Trixell, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Saint-Gobain, Novelis and Essilor. For more information, please go to www.apriso.com. Apriso and FlexNet are registered trademarks of Apriso Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]