Set to decrease sourcing cycle times, improve visibility and communication
San Jose, CA — April 30, 2004 — Intier Automotive Seating, which develops and manufactures seating systems for the global automotive industry, said today that it has deployed the Agile PLM (product lifecycle management) solution in 12 weeks. With Agile Product Cost Management, Intier said it expects to decrease sourcing cycle times, more effectively communicate with suppliers and other internal and external groups, and have greater visibility to manage product costs, sourcing selection and process status.
Jeoff Burris, vice president of purchasing for Intier Automotive Seating, said the ability to integrate bills of material, RFx (request for information, request for proposal or request for quote), engineering change management, bid packages, spend information and other sourcing data in order to automate purchasing activity and improve overall cost management is something that Intier defines as a competitive advantage.
"We were looking for the best solution in the marketplace that could support complex quoting cycles, including material, non-material, recurring and non-recurring cost analysis, as well as facilitate collaboration on the evolution of these cost models with our internal and external suppliers. After evaluating several solutions, we chose Agile PLM for its functionality, flexibility, ease of use and quick implementation time. We were up and running with the Agile solution within weeks, and look forward to extending our partnership with Agile in other areas."
Agile said its Product Cost Management enables executives to make informed sourcing decisions early on, synchronizing product cost intelligence and processes across design, sourcing, manufacturing and supplier tiers. Intier said it is able to improve its control over all sourcing processes through linkage to the most current product record, collaborative bill of material-based RFx and time-phased product cost management, visibility and analysis of the extended supply chain "co-sourcing" procurement leverage, a reusable knowledge management repository of material and non-material cost data, and measurement of actual vs. target costs and margin goals.
"In the highly competitive automotive business, companies now recognize that product lifecycle management is critical to business performance and results. Intier Automotive Seating's adoption of Agile PLM solutions is an example of this," said Ed Miller, CIMData president.
