Tempe, AZ November 11, 2002 Eaton Corp. is set to deploy a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution from MatrixOne across all of its business units in a bid to enable a cross-functional, enterprisewide design collaboration environment accessible by internal and external users.
Eaton is a $7.3 billion, diversified industrial manufacturer of fluid power systems, electrical systems and automotive components. The company has 48,000 employees and sells products in more than 50 countries.
The manufacturer is looking to MatrixOne's solutions to provide a common platform and environment for design collaboration with Eaton's customers and suppliers, as well as within and across all of the company's businesses. The solutions will extend to contract manufacturers, customers and joint partners.
Specifically, Eaton will be using the collaborative product development capabilities from MatrixOne to accelerate the process of design engineering. Instead of relying on in-person meetings, on-site visits, fax or mail, customers with engineered-to-order products will be able to interact with Eaton design engineers online in real-time to review, mark-up and approve designs and design changes.
"We are focused on driving unification across all of our business units and our value chain by further Web-enabling our employees, customers, suppliers and partners," said Donald Bullock, vice president of information technology for Eaton. "MatrixOne's collaborative PLM solutions are critical to achieving that goal in design collaboration and engineering."
In other news out of MatrixOne, the provider today joined with GlobalSpec, a Web-based product classification and discovery resource, to announce an enhanced offering of SpecStation for MatrixOne.
SpecStation for MatrixOne is a component supplier management application for the cataloging and sourcing of component content and supplier capabilities. First announced in March 2002, the application provides MatrixOne customers with the cataloging tools they need for their own parts, as well as real-time access to GlobalSpec's repository of searchable mechanical, electrical and optical component data.
The enhancement is the result of a strategic alliance between GlobalSpec and PartMiner, a supplier of electronic component research tools and procurement services. The agreement, which facilitates the integration of PartMiner's CAPS database of electronics content into SpecStation for MatrixOne, means that MatrixOne customers now have searchable access to more than 53 million parts from more than 3,300 manufacturers.
MatrixOne said the deal will enable a wider range of enterprises to realize the value of CSM, such as increased engineering productivity, speed-to-market for new designs and cost reduction through effective product data management collaboration.
