Tempe, AZ October 8, 2002 News today of further supply chain enablement work underway at a variety of companies. This morning's announcements highlight product lifecycle management projects at Emerson Power Transmission and BAE SYSTEMS, as well as a logistics visibility effort ongoing at Hong Kong freight forwarding company Hecny Group.
Emerson Division Targets Production Introduction Cycle
Emerson Power Transmission Corp. (EPT), a division of $15.5 billion, St. Louis-based Emerson electronics firm Emerson, has implemented a solution from Framework Technologies for product introduction decision support in an effort to better coordinate multiple projects, foster innovation and enhance product introduction results.
EPT, a producer of power transmission drives, components and bearings, is using Framework's ActiveProject to unite its extended product development teams through secure, online workspaces that serve as the central location for all information associated with each product under development.
All of EPT's internal product development teams, as well as outsourced partners, can access Web-based project workspaces created with ActiveProject. These sites serve as the communications platform on which to share and view files in their native applications and to communicate across geographic boundaries.
Framework said its ActiveProject software, part of the provider's ActiveProduct solution suite, can help companies reduce development costs and increase new product revenues by providing product introduction decision support to all levels of an organization's distributed product introduction team.
"Framework's solution will foster greater collaboration among our internal development teams and outside partners-regardless of their geographic location-by allowing everyone to have access to the same information at the same time," said Jim Porter, vice president of engineering for EPT. "As a result, we will be able to work faster and smarter in creating the right solutions for our customers."
BAE Standardizes on MatrixOne for PLM in United States
Also this week, defense industry giant BAE SYSTEMS tapped a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution from MatrixOne to be the standard PLM tool for its North American operations as part of BAE's corporate e-collaboration initiative.
BAE, which employs a total of about 120,000 people and has annual sales of $18 billion, has 22,000 U.S. employees in 30 states and Washington, D.C. The company produces an assortment of defense hardware, ranging from military aircraft and naval vessels to radar and avionics.
In today's aerospace and defense environment, customers are seeking more integrated products, requiring that suppliers such as BAE share knowledge and resources with suppliers, subcontractors and partners across the globe.
The company will use MatrixOne's product collaboration platform, eMatrix, in an effort to bring more innovative products to market faster and at a reduced cost. Using the solution, BAE is able to interact with members of its value chain both internally and externally to build integrated products.
"BAE SYSTEMS has a diverse group of business units, and we don't all do business the same way," said Bob Stow, vice president of engineering and technology for BAE SYSTEMS North America. "We need product collaboration systems that will support our diverse business base and help us build better products as well as to unify the individual businesses from a process management perspective."
Hecny Implementing Real-time Shipments Monitoring
Finally, Hecny Group, a Hong Kong freight forwarding company, is set to use software from Descartes Systems Group to implement real-time monitoring of shipments worldwide.
A top freight forwarder in the Asia Pacific region, Hecny Group moves in excess of 1.5 million tons of freight a year across multiple modes of transportation, such as ocean and air.
Hecny will deploy Descartes' 20/20 Visibility solution in order to gain real-time insight into the status of these shipments, both at-rest and in-motion. "With line-item visibility provided through 20/20 Visibility we will stay informed about shipments in transit and ultimately provide peace of mind to our customers," said Arnold Lee, vice president at Hecny.
Hecny will be implementing this system in conjunction with its U.S. partner, Global Link Logistics, the leading non vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) in moving furniture from Asia to the United States.
"As our clients' imports from Asia grow, so does the importance of information," explained Chad Rosenberg, CEO of Global Link Logistics. "Having real-time access to shipment visibility will help our clients manage inventory control and improve the overall efficiency of their company, which is our ultimate goal."
