Chicago March 18, 2002 Sun Microsystems today announced partnerships with technology services provider EDS and supply chain execution solution provider Manhattan Associations to offer new solutions and services.
Sun has teamed with EDS to offer a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that the partners say could help aerospace, automotive and high-tech manufacturing customers achieve a competitive advantage through more innovative product design.
With the new iForce offering, Sun and EDS say they can help customers reduce costs and speed new product time-to-market through a collaborative product commerce solution that can be production-deployed in manufacturing environments in as little as 90 days.
Ed Miller, president of technology consultancy CIMdata, said that while companies are seeking to apply PLM to add competitive advantage, they are also looking for rapid implementations of PLM technology. "Today's announcement from EDS and Sun reflects this demand, and demonstrates that these two major suppliers are working collaboratively to broaden their solutions and enhance the ability of their customers to gain benefit from their offerings more quickly and easily," Miller said.
This iForce PLM solution is planned for deployment in Sun iForce Centers and EDS Authorized iForce Ready Centers around the world. Deploying solutions in iForce Centers provides customers with a collaborative environment to build customized proof-of-concept demonstrations that tailor iForce Solutions to meet their unique environments.
Meanwhile, Sun and Manhattan Associates have concluded a joint marketing and business development alliance to deliver an extended supply chain execution solution to manage distribution center (DC) operations on a Sun platform
As a key component of this agreement, Manhattan Associates' PkMS supply chain execution solution will be supported on Sun's Solaris Operating Environment. Manhattan said that PkMS enables the efficient movement of goods and associated data flows through the supply chain, resulting in greater efficiency in distribution operations for customers that also require the scalability and performance of the Solaris platform.
The solution covers DC operations ranging from receiving, inventory management and order fulfillment to transportation execution and short-horizon planning, according to the partners.
"Supply chain execution is driven by flexibility, especially in today's market," explained Michael Croxton, vice president for marketing and alliances at Manhattan Associates. "Customers look to us to provide the most flexible solutions available in an environment that works best for them. This alliance will enable our joint customers to take advantage of the tremendous breadth and depth of Manhattan Associates' products and the innovative technologies offered by Sun."
The two companies already share mutual clients, including Innotrac Corp., Salant Corp., Russ Berrie and Co. and Perry Ellis International.
