Thru-Put Expands Software Suite

Thru-Put Technologies is no longer a single-application company with software for production scheduling. The company recently released Thru-Put Manufacturing 5.0, which not only synchronizes orders in production, but also makes supply-chain information available throughout the enterprise with a host of applications aimed at improving decision support. There is a tremendous amount of data locked up in these systems today that can be used for decision support, says Cameron D. Crowe, vice president for business development at the San Jose, Calif. software company. A key aid to decision making in the latest release of the software, formerly called Resonance, is its Strategy Planner, a feature that allows what-if planning to improve asset utilization and product-mix decisions. Another application, Performance Analyzer, offers continuous improvement for production scheduling. A Customer Service Workbench enables planners and salespeople to look across the supply chain, so they can quote a firm product delivery date. Yet another module, Strategy Planner-SC, helps create what-if scenarios across the supply chain. In other words, if the company is expecting explosive 60% growth next year in a particular product line, the software offers ways to satisfy demand using current capacity. Or, the system can help managers anticipate which plants will need further investment to meet demand. The new manufacturing release is available now, but some of the add-ons, such as Performane Analyzer and Strategy Planner SC, will be released in the first and second quarters of the year, respectively.