aPriori CEO Frank Azzolino Urges ETO Manufacturers to Get it Right the First Time

Concord, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/24/2006 --Manufacturing Journalist Thomas R. Cutler profiles in the current issue of Cadalyst the fact that, “Today's enterprise technologies pair with CAD so manufacturers can compete effectively in the world of engineered-to-order.” The complete article can be read at http://manufacturing.cadalyst.com/manufacturing/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=373711.

Frank Azzolino, CEO of aPriori Technologies discusses how important it is for ETO (Engineer-to-order) manufacturers to get it right the first time. "With ETO, the key is to get it right the first time through, since there is often no long production cycle in which to redesign and get the product and cost right over time. A critical element of ETO is to discern very early on what the costs will be. This drives margin. In an ETO environment, you currently have two choices: Bid aggressively to win the deal and accept the risk of very low (or negative) margins, or bid conservatively to account for the risk of not fully understanding the impact of the customer's choices on cost -- and risk not getting the deal. The new third choice: Know the costs before you bid the job, thereby preserving margins while more effectively managing risk."

MCAD and PLM have historically focused on the engineering and design aspects of product delivery. The language of engineering as spoken by MCAD and PLM is based on physical attributes of the product and technological capabilities of the software solutions used. The result is a series of conversations about features, rounds, fillets, and chamfers.

Major PLM and MCAD providers long for acceptance and penetration outside of engineering departments at the same time the major ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendors strive to enter the engineering and product delivery arena.

In each of these application platforms, PLM and ERP, cost can be managed. On the ERP side, costs are always historical; these costs are available to be managed only after production. While it is more difficult to manage costs on the PLM side of the house, it is often potentially more valuable. The need for real- time, predictive costs are essential to allow design and manufacturing teams to avoid and eliminate costs early in the process (when critical cost-driving decisions are made.) Currently the array of MCAD, PLM, and ERP applications do not allow for the ability to generate this early cost knowledge.

The aPriori v4.0 Cost Management Software Platform provides real-time, predictive cost assessments throughout the entire product development and delivery process. aPriori v4.0 enables designers and engineers, manufacturing engineers and planners, purchasing and sourcing professionals, cost managers, and program/project management to make better decisions to reduce, avoid, and recover product costs. aPriori's solutions enable manufacturing companies to measurably reduce their Costs-of-Goods Sold (COGS) by whole percentages by identifying quantifiable savings in material, tooling, labor and overhead while evaluating alternative designs, manufacturing processes, and vendor sources.

About aPriori
Based in Concord, MA, aPriori is the technology leader providing innovative cost management solutions to the discrete manufacturing industry. aPriori’s Cost Management Software Platform enables manufacturers to better understand product cost decisions early and throughout the product lifecycle. aPriori’s Cost Management Platform empowers manufacturers to lower cost-of-goods sold (COGS), provides real-time visibility to “cost-critical” decision information, and builds critical cost knowledge to go on the business “offensive.” aPriori’s patented cost management platform allows companies to assess, control, and reduce cost of goods sold by whole percentages. The aPriori Platform truly enables “Cost Knowledge Before it Matters.”

“aPriori has customers in a variety of industries including High Technology, Industrial Equipment, Automotive, and Heavy Machinery. Recent customers include John Deere, Panasonic, Thomas & Betts, Flextronics, JLG, and Dana Corporation.”