According to industry analysts, the PLM market is expected to grow nearly 10 percent over the next five years, with tremendous opportunities in North America and EMEA, as well as in emerging markets within Latin America and Asia. A part of this growing interest in PLM is driven by corporate initiatives among manufacturers to improve the efficiency and timeliness of new product development and introduction processes.
To capitalize on this trend, Atlanta-based Infor recently unveiled the latest version of Infor PLM 8, its product lifecycle management (PLM) software that the company says is specifically designed for discrete manufacturing industries such as automotive, industrial equipment & machinery, aerospace, and high tech & electronics. Enhancements to Infor PLM 8, version 8.1, enable companies to improve collaboration, streamline design processes and drive visibility throughout the organization, which can help manufacturers reduce time to market, decrease costs and increase operational efficiencies.
With Infor PLM 8, the company says that manufacturers can streamline the engineer-to-order production model by leveraging real-time data-sharing, providing visibility into the design and product development process. Customer-driven enhancements, such as improved product data management, enterprise content management, lifecycle analysis, and CAD integration, provide an end-to-end tool for multi-site collaboration. Additionally, Infor says its customers will benefit from seamless integration to Infor and third-party ERP systems, enabling manufacturers to experience a lower total cost of ownership, rapid implementation and quicker return on investment.
Rodgers Instruments LLC, the worlds largest manufacturer of stereo-imaged church organs and pipe-digital organs, has already seen significant benefits from the CAD integration in the latest version of PLM 8. Coupled with improved data exchange from Infor PLM to its existing Infor ERP Baan IV c4 system, the company has improved its ability to meet the customized requirements of its customers, reducing the time from order to completion from four months to only four days.
Enhancements to Infor PLM 8
Improved holistic check-in operation enables validation and version confirmation for drawings, formulas, bills of material, and engineering change orders. This feature furthers collaboration by alerting departments when changes to an open document are made and improves data accuracy in CAD workstations, R&D and ERP systems
eCAD integration provides support for electronic component design, such as GPS for the automotive industry, with Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT), a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions
Greater Enterprise Content Management functionality provides enhanced data transparency by centralizing critical product information that can be shared across the extended enterprise
Improved lifecycle analyzer usability reduces the steps required to identify the impact of proposed changes to product information through classification and expanded user-defined fields
For more information, visit http://infor.com/product_summary/plm/plm8
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