Engineering Collaboration Platform Targets Smaller Manufacturers

ByTim Stevens Small and midsized manufacturers can gain the time-to-market and cost-savings advantages of collaborative engineering with a new system from Fullscope Inc. Offered on an applications service provider (ASP) basis, this product life-cycle management platform provides a framework for enterprise-wide engineering collaboration within the company as well as with suppliers and customers. It is tailored for manufacturers of highly engineered products (automotive, heavy equipment, and PC components) and is built from "plug-in" applications covering solutions managing engineering from the birth of an idea through post production, field service, and sales support. These include time and expense management, project management, CAD visualization, file storage, engineering change order, document management, sales force automation, and help-desk. A company's legacy applications also can be snapped into the platform to integrate with additional functionality such as reporting, human resources, project Web sites, and other collaboration tools. The system is typically deployed in 30 days or less, and annual costs start at $60,000.