Intelligent Manufacturing € October € 1996 € Vol. 2 € No. 10

News in Brief

Oracle Acquires Datalogix
Oracle Corp. (Redwood Shores, Calif.), a supplier of information management software, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Datalogix International Inc. (Valhalla, N.Y.), a provider of client/server software solutions for process manufacturing in a cash merger transaction valued at $94 million. Datalogix's process manufacturing applications include the Global Enterprise Manufacturing Management System (GEMMS) and Computer Integrated Manufacturing for Process (CIMPRO) product lines.

Oracle has distributed and supported the GEMMS process manufacturing software as Oracle GEMMS since September 1994. Oracle GEMMS is integrated with Oracle Applications, a suite of client/server business applications for the enterprise, providing over 30 modules including manufacturing, human resources, financial, distribution and sales force automation. Oracle plans to extend the best-in-class manufacturing and supply chain management functionality in its software as a result of acquiring Datalogix.

IMI Wins $5M Contract from CUB
Industri-Matematik International Corp. (IMI) (Tarrytown, N.Y.), supplier of the System ESS demand chain management solution for manufacturers, has been awarded a $5 million contract for software and services by Carlton and United Breweries Ltd. (CUB) (Melbourne, Australia), brewer of Foster's Lager. CUB will use IMI's System ESS as a central component of its $20 million Project Genesis, an open systems initiative designed to improve customer responsiveness throughout the enterprise.

CUB will implement IMI software throughout its five Australian breweries to create an integrated order fulfillment environment that will maximize order throughput and accuracy while facilitating value-added contact with its customers. The company will deploy System ESS to handle an order flow that amounts to over 8 million order lines per year, with a peak order rate of 12,000 order lines per hour. This high transaction volume consists, on average, of seven line items per order, requiring software that can support vast order quantities while retaining, and speeding access to, the details of each order.

In addition to supporting heavy order volume, CUB will use System ESS to coordinate all pick, pack and ship activities among its 47 warehouses.

IntelliCorp Joins CAD/CAM Consortium
IntelliCorp Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.), a vendor of knowledge-based live modeling software, has joined PDES Inc., a global consortium working to accelerate the development and deployment of the Standard for the Exchange of Product Data (STEP). STEP is designed to enable users of different computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) tools to exchange data easily and completely. As a member of PDES, IntelliCorp will participate in activities related to both development of the STEP standards and their deployment.

Using software and expertise provided by IntelliCorp and other companies, PDES members have collaborated to produce PreAMP, a concurrent engineering software system. The first application of PreAMP is expected to be in printed circuit assembly product design, manufacturing and manufacturing process design. PreAMP reduces routine activities and enables developers to concentrate on value-added activities, while providing timely information on product or process changes. It was developed with the support of a pre-competitive grant from the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

PDES consists of 27 major industrial companies and government agencies, including Boeing, Ford Motor, General Motors, IBM, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.

MDIS Partners with Radley
McDonnell Information Systems (MDIS) (Los Angeles, Calif.), a provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software applications for the manufacturing industry, has formed a strategic partnership with Radley Corp. (Southfield, Mich.), a developer of automotive EDI products. The two companies will provide an advanced software solution to automotive suppliers as part of the MDIS Chess CIM Plus program.

MDIS Chess gives suppliers better management control throughout the enterprise, including the supply chain. The CIM Plus program provides a strategic framework composed of three solution components: departmental, common tools and industry-specific applications. Radley's Chess integration module automatically loads customer requirements on the front-end and manages the shipping, inventory and accounting transactions on the back-end.

AIWare Forms Alliance with Pegasus
AIWare Inc. (Beachwood, Ohio), a developer of manufacturing software utilizing AI and other advanced computer technologies, and Pegasus Technologies (Mentor, Ohio), vendor of the NeuSight supervisory control system for coal-fired utility boilers, have formed a strategic alliance to advance the use of neural network control technology in the utility industry. AIWare will provide and support neural network technology to Pegasus, which will enhance and adapt it for process control in utility power plant operation and other applications.

Pritsker Forms Alliance with EMS
Pritsker Corp. (Indianapolis, Ind.), a supplier of production planning and scheduling software, has formed a strategic alliance with Effective Management Systems Inc. (EMS) (Milwaukee, Wis.), a provider of pre-integrated manufacturing software. This partnership will join Pritsker's OrderLinX manufacturing scheduling product with the real-time data collection capability of EMS's Time Critical Manufacturing software.

Standard Motor Opts for Supply Chain Planning
Standard Motor Products (Long Island City, N.Y.), a manufacturer of replacement products for cars and trucks, has selected Supply Chain Planning software from American Software (Atlanta, Ga.) (see Intelligent Manufacturing, August 1996). Standard Motor sells ignitions, emission control, engine management and related auto parts to major retailers and program distributors, as well as to traditional warehouse distributors who sell to jobbers.

Standard Motor supplies approximately 100,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) to its customers. Some of these parts are highly seasonal, while demand for others varies from state to state, depending on local ordinances and the weather. Demand for parts for older cars declines gradually as newer models are introduced. Some products move slowly, while others have extremely high turnover rates.

The Supply Chain Planning software will help Standard Motor accurately analyze sales and forecast demand, while adding new capabilities. For example, Standard Motor sells the same part number to multiple brand-name and private-label customers, using a pack-to-order technique. The software will allow the company to see forecasts by individual customers, helping it forecast new products more effectively.

Better forecasts will also enable Standard Motor to keep inventories lower because of improved inventory planning and faster access to data concerning product lines and individual SKUs. The company plans to use its improved forecasting data to help implement vendor managed inventory (VMI) programs with some of its customers.

American Software has also signed Real Software Ltd. (Antrim, Northern Ireland) to provide supply chain planning and management solutions in Ireland.

Documentum Teams Up with ConsenSys
Documentum Inc. (Pleasanton, Calif.) and ConsenSys Software Corp. (San Jose, Calif.) have formed a partnership to integrate the Documentum Enterprise Document Management System (EDMS) with the ConsenSys RapidPDM (product development management) system. The two companies will collaborate on developing, marketing and jointly selling integrated off-the-shelf solutions that combine robust enterprise document management with product development management for discrete manufacturers.

The first product to result from this partnership is ConsenSys Open for Documentum, an integration of ConsenSys' core product with Documentum Server. It will enable discrete manufacturers to manage their product release and engineering change process more effectively.

Tecnomatix Signs Deals with Mazda and Wisne Design
Tecnomatix Technologies (Novi, Mich.), a supplier of computer-aided production engineering (CAPE) software for virtual manufacturing applications, has received a $2 million order from Japan-based Mazda Motor for its CAPE software, primarily the Dynamo and Valisys products. Mazda will use Dynamo for digital mock-up and assembly modeling, and Valisys to define, predict and measure product tolerances. The order also includes several ROBCAD seats to be used for automotive body assembly.

Tecnomatix has also received a $1 million order from Wisne Design, the engineering division of Progressive Tool and Industries Corp. (Southfield, Mich.), a manufacturer of automatic body weld, trim and final assembly equipment. The order is for the ROBCAD line of products for manufacturing processes.

Xilinx Selects Demand Planning from Manugistics
Xilinx Inc. (San Jose, Calif.), a manufacturer of programmable logic devices, has selected Demand Planning software tools from Manugistics Group Inc. (Rockville, Md.), a provider of supply chain management software. Xilinx will use the software to help increase demand forecasting accuracy for its line of integrated circuits.

Wonderware Inks Pact with Yokogawa
Wonderware Corp. (Irvine, Calif.), a supplier of industrial automation software, has signed a global OEM licensing agreement with Yokogawa Electric Corp. (Tokyo, Japan), a manufacturer of automation, test and measurement systems. Yokogawa will market the InTouch for DARWIN (Data Acquisition and Recording Windows) system worldwide, incorporating a customized run-time version of the Wonderware InTouch factory automation software. InTouch is a man/machine interface (MMI) used for creating supervisory control and data acquisition applications for discrete manufacturing and continuous or batch process operations.

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