Category

PLM

Mar 27

I-Cubed Acquires Akoya, Adds Cost Analytics Capabilities

By IT Strategy, Manufacturing, Mergers & Acquisitions, PLM One Comment

Cost Analytics Helps Getting More From PLM Data

I-Cubed, a product lifecycle management (PLM) and data migration services company headquartered in Raleigh, NC, announced today the acquisition of Akoya, a provider of cost analytics and supply chain optimization software for an undisclosed sum (both companies are privately held).

Akoya, based in Chicago, provides patented product cost analytics software that helps manufacturers reduce product cost and optimize purchasing and inventory decisions. Akoya’s analytic software uses 3D CAD information coupled with extensive financial and purchasing data to estimate parts cost and identify cost-savings opportunities before the design is frozen.

The software helps manufacturers make smart design/cost tradeoff decisions, reduce product costs by identifying pricing inefficiencies in the suppliers’ network, improve accuracy of manufacturing quotes, and similar manufacturing and supply chain related decisions.

Most manufacturing companies undertake periodic cost optimization and supplier rationalization efforts. These business-critical activities tend to use manual processes using financial, quality and supplier information, typically involving multitude of spreadsheets and data sources. Although the analysts performing these tasks are very experienced, manufacturers find it increasingly difficult to apply the cost optimization process consistently throughout  the elongated and fragmented supply chains of the global economy. Furthermore, as the experienced workforce is slowly retiring, manufacturing companies will have to rely on analytic and decision support tools to replace some of the diminishing expertise.

Akoya offers a good mix of packaged analytic tools, access to raw material information and historical cost data, and high level of manufacturing and supply chain expertise. The process of tapping into a manufacturing company product development process and supply chain planning is highly consultative, and requires deep understanding of CAD model data and the PLM/PDM tools that manage it, which is I-Cubed’s core expertise.

Through the acquisition, Akoya will get the necessary resources and experience to grow its business from the small initial base of a handful of customers that include Caterpillar, John Deere and American Axle. Akoya’s customers should expect to get an experienced resource-rich company that will not only scale as needed, but can also offer additional product management and software integration services.

The acquisition is a logical expansion of I-Cubed’s PLM-related service offerings. The company currently provides an array of services focusing on product data quality, especially for PLM software upgrades and migration, and the additional analytic capabilities from Akoya will give existing and new customers a richer set of product data related services.

 

Jun 14

Why is This Still Funny Today?

By PLM No Comments

Practically everyone who has been in industry long enough has seen this cartoon, depicting the inadequacies of product design, engineering or customer service, which hung on many cubical walls in the 1970s and 1980s. The origins of this cartoon are uncertain and may date as far back as 1950’s. It was appeared in the context of quality management in 1989 in John Oakland’s book Total Quality Management. You can visit businesballs.com to read more about the history of the tree swing cartoon.

The cartoon shown here dates back to 1972. Forty years ago! A quick history lesson. In 1972, mainframes still dominated the computing space.  The first video game – Pong – was just invented, and Bill Gates was busy writing a BASIC interpreter for the first 8-bit microprocessor. It would take another 5 years before Steve Wozniak designed the Apple II.

So even though this cartoon dates back to the stone age of technology, we still use it as a symbol of our project management incompetency and find it funny. Have we not made any progress over the last 40 years? More importantly, can modern software tools, specifically PLM and PDM, make us better planners, designers, or engineers?

I have some theories and far fewer solutions to the challenge, which I will share in a future blog post. In the interim, I invite you to share your opinions and ideas.

Jun 03

On Design Reuse

By Automotive, Aviation and Aerospace, Design Reuse, PLM No Comments

For years I have been preaching for higher level of design reuse in the automotive industry — an industry that inexplicably insists that every bolt, bracket and belt has to be unique to each model. And from time to time, a part used in one model year does not fit other model years.pReusing parts is not only helping reduce manufacturing and dealer inventory, but can also accelerate product design, improve quality and reduce manufacturing cost.

The automotive industry is slowly coming to the realization that it needs to do a much better job in focusing on meaningful and differentiating innovation and reuse existing design whenever possible. Two OEMs that I often single out as leading the pack in designing multiple models based on a single platform that allows high level of reuse are Ford and Volkswagen. But recently I found out first hand that VW does not always follow what it preaches.

My brand new Passat had a minor pressure leak in the fuel system that was probably caused by a faulty fuel filler cap. The dealer’s service department had a Passat cap in inventory, but, as it turned out, Volkswagen engineeres decided to use different fuel caps in cars equipped with 2L engine and in models using larger engines; it did not fit my car with a 3.6L V6 engine.

I am really curious to understand why VW engineers were not able to use the same fuel filler cap on all 2012 Passats (actually, why not the same cap in all VW and Audi models?)

The solution was to commandeer a cap from one of the new cars in inventory.  The new cap seems to have solved the problem. Thanks for asking.

 

Jun 03

Is Dassault Systèmes’ Target Zero Defect a Realistic Goal?

By Design Reuse, PLM No Comments

Dassault Systèmes announced the launch of “Target Zero Defect,” an industry solution for the automotive industry the company argues will “enable zero defects across the entire product development process”, although it offers no details as of how this “industry solution” actually works.  While a noble ambition, it is an impractical goal.
It’s not that the auto industry is incapable of building much higher quality products. The problem stems from the fact that 70% or so of a car value is delivered by multitude of large and small suppliers, and the automotive supply chain is complex and fragmented. Couple these with the pressure to get new cars to market faster and at low cost, and you realize that “zero defects” is an unattainable goal. Read More