PLM Supports OEM Business

Topspin Communications reduces time-to-market by more than 50 percent with product lifecycle management solution

Topspin Communications reduces time-to-market by more than 50 percent with product lifecycle management solution

Mountain View, CA — August 11, 2003 — Arena Solutions Inc., a provider of online product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, today announced that switched computing provider Topspin Communications has employed Arena PLM in support of its business operations.

Over the past six months, Arena PLM said it helped Topspin design, develop and deliver production-quality products, reducing its time-to-market by more than 50 percent. This efficiency gain has already helped Topspin win several significant original equipment manufacturer (OEM) deals for its products.

By centralizing Topspin's product data, the software lets Topspin engineers work concurrently from the same engineering bill of materials (BOM), reducing mistakes and lost time due to rework, according to Arena.

In addition, materials planners, accessing the same product data in Arena PLM, can source parts and evaluate their availability in parallel with engineering, thus providing real-time feedback to engineering before a part is integrated into a design.

Arena said the software also provides Topspin with a central online location for controlled sharing of product information with its supply chain. This gives Topspin's global suppliers real-time access to complete and accurate product records, reducing supplier errors.

"The software has substantially improved Topspin's design and manufacturing operations by enabling much more effective concurrent engineering and materials planning," said Gary Mueller, Topspin's vice president of Operations. "We reduced the design-release-to-prototype cycle from an average of three weeks to just six days and the 'concept-to-cash' new product introduction cycle to four months."

Mueller added that managing Topspin's product data, enabling real-time visibility throughout its entire supply chain, and keeping tight change control are critical to the company's operational success. "Spreadsheets and e-mail are not scalable and could never provide all the intelligence of a PLM solution. Without PLM, Topspin would not be able to efficiently manage its most critical competitive capability: introducing innovative products faster and better than its competition," he said.

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