Anaheim, CA — April, 29, 2003 — EDS this week made two announcements at the PLM World conference: First, the company said that H.B. Fuller has selected Teamcenter, EDS' product data management software suite, as its knowledge management solution. The agreement marks the initial chemical industry sector client for EDS in product lifecycle management (PLM), according to the provider.
Second, EDS said it has joined A.T. Kearney in the decision to launch a new e-sourcing software solution providing purchasing professionals input to design data earlier in the product development process. The providers commented that the solution has the potential to provide companies with cost savings of up to 20 percent.
As for EDS' services to H.B. Fuller, the chemical company said it would use Teamcenter to manage the design of chemical formulations associated with processes in raw materials management, formulated materials management and lab project management. Teamcenter will provide a digital enterprise backbone that will enable H.B. Fuller to get new products to market faster and reduce the cost of new product development.
"The company's selection of Teamcenter was an essential component of the overall e-business strategy in managing chemical formulations while helping to rapidly quote and configure products for chemical production," said Mark Brewer, global vice president of information technology at H.B. Fuller. "Teamcenter's open architecture and XML standards enable it to integrate within H.B. Fuller's overall e-business strategy while sharing mission-critical data with customers and production."
Kevin Eustace, vice president, Teamcenter Business Strategy and Marketing, said, "In the last year, EDS has secured contracts for PLM in consumer packaged goods, retail and apparel and now the chemical industry sector. EDS continues to enable business transformation by delivering PLM solutions for all industries."
With regard to its partnership with A.T. Kearney, the "Design by Cost" solution from the providers integrates the new 5.0i version of the eBreviate eSourcing suite of technologies from the A.T. Kearney Procurement Solutions unit into Teamcenter, EDS PLM Solutions' product lifecycle management solution, thereby creating a linkage between the engineering and procurement functions.
Incorporating purchasing earlier in the process could help companies achieve cost savings of up to 20 percent, according to Tim Minahan, vice president, Aberdeen Group, a leading IT market analysis and positioning services firm.
Global companies spend more than $13 trillion on purchasing direct materials every year, according to the Aberdeen Group. Coupled with the fact that 80 percent of a product's cost is fixed by the time the design process concludes, the opportunity for savings is significant, Minahan said.
"Our most recent E-Sourcing Index (ESI) study found sourcing managers are getting involved in the design process too late to have maximum impact on product costs, quality and time-to-market cycles," Minahan said. "When sourcing managers are involved earlier in the product design cycle, companies are able to drive greater cost savings of up to 20 percent. By pulling together the eBreviate eSourcing suite and EDS PLM technologies, companies are offered a platform to accelerate the integration of procurement and development operations, which positions them to drive product and cost improvements for competitive advantage."
