July 1997, Volume 3, No. 7 News In Brief

AMD Purchases AutoSimulations' Software Semiconductor manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) (Sunnyvale, Calif.; http://www.amd.com) has purchased the Real Time Dispatcher (RTD) and the AutoSched family of software - a suite of simulation, scheduling and reporting tools - from AutoSimulations (Bountiful, Utah; http://www.autosim.com). AMD plans to use the AutoSimulations software in its semiconductor manufacturing facilities worldwide. The AutoSched productivity family consists of three major components: the Simulator, the Real Time Dispatcher and the ISS Reporter. The three components are linked via a common repository, which contains a temporal (time-based) representation of the state of the factory. Using highly integrated interception techniques, each transaction made in AMD's manufacturing execution system (WorkStream by Consilium) is logged in the repository. This repository provides a way of providing the current factory state or the factory state at any point in the recent history of the system. The ISS Reporter can then access this historical and/or current data to quickly build ad hoc and production reports to provide time-based analysis. With RTD, AMD intends to deploy custom dispatching rules that execute against the repository. AMD will be able to author and test the rules using simulation and then use the exact same rules in production with RTD. As every transaction made in the manufacturing execution system is intercepted in real time, RTD is capable of dynamically re-calculating dispatch lists on the basis of the most recent state of the factory. The dispatch lists are presented within WorkStream in a fully integrated dispatch screen. AMD's business plans include implementation in five existing wafer fabs, new fabs scheduled to come on line and all sort, assembly and test facilities. The first installation of the AutoSched productivity family has already been completed at AMD's Fab 25 in Austin, Tex. SynQuest Acquires Bender SynQuest (Norcross, Ga.; http://www.synquest.com), a vendor of supply chain synchronization software, has acquired Bender Management Consultants (Washington, D.C.), a provider of supply chain management solutions. SynQuest will leverage the Bender applications, optimization technology, logistics expertise and worldwide client base to expand the scope of its supply chain solutions and enter new vertical markets. The Bender organization will operate autonomously as Bender Consulting, and will continue to provide customers with supply chain consulting services and become the supply chain software development center for SynQuest. All Bender personnel have joined SynQuest. Bender applications include optimized supply chain network design for determining the best location of plants, warehouses and other company-owned or outsourced operations. Its tactical planning applications determine optimized demand allocation throughout a global network, simultaneously taking into account transportation, distribution, manufacturing and material sourcing activities. These real-time decision support applications allow companies to optimize overall financial performance based on revenue, profit, response time, delivery reliability and other business objectives while considering capacity, materials, people, financial and other resource constraints. Marcam Collaborates with Informix Marcam (Newton, Mass.; http://www.marcam.com), a provider of open enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for process industries, and Informix Software (Menlo Park, Calif.; http://www.informix.com), a supplier of database technology, have formed a joint sales and marketing relationship. Marcam will deliver Protean and Avantis, its flagship products, with Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server, providing a highly scaleable solution for enterprise customers. In the future, Marcam plans to leverage the additional capabilities of Informix-Universal Server by integrating one or more DataBlade modules. Customers will gain the ability to intelligently store, query and retrieve the attached data objects. Informix-Universal Server will leverage the object-oriented design of Protean, adding further functionality and differentiation to the solution. Protean attachments are OLE-compliant files which provide implementation flexibility unique to each customer. Currently attachments are stored as blobs ("unsearchable" binary large objects). With Informix-Universal Server, attachments are stored as intelligent data types, and customers will be able to do a single search across their Protean data as well as attachments. For instance, customers who capture bills of lading as attachments to the customer order could query information from both the order and the attached documents, regardless of where they were stored. Informix will work collaboratively with the Marcam sales force in process manufacturing market segments such as food and beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical with product availability expected later this year. Fujitsu and MDIS Spin Off Glovia Fujitsu (http://www.fujitsu.com), a Japan-based computer manufacturer, and McDonnell Information Systems (MDIS) (Los Angeles, Calif.; http://www.mdis.com), an information technology provider, have formed Glovia International (Los Angeles, Calif.; http://www.glovia.com), a joint venture software company. Glovia will provide a global enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution combining Fujitsu's and MDIS' distribution, technology, industry expertise and support resources. Glovia is being formed as the result of an on-going relationship between Fujitsu and MDIS in which Fujitsu is a key distributor and co-development partner of the Chess ERP product suite throughout Asia-Pacific. MDIS retains majority interest in Glovia, which is managed by Bill Engel, current president of MDIS' Chess business. Glovia will develop, market and support client/server ERP software designed to help organizations manage their supply chain operations more effectively. Fujitsu will contribute $29 million to Glovia and will apply its expertise in global manufacturing and its own experience in deploying MDIS' Chess in 12 of its factories worldwide. Fujitsu will further its role as a development partner and serve as the primary Asia-Pacific support center through its subsidiary, WeServ, in the Philippines. Glovia's first product release, scheduled to ship in the second half of 1997, will provide ERP capabilities for discrete manufacturers, project and contract driven industries, and service-centric ERP buyers. J.D. Edwards Inks Integration Pact with Camstar J.D. Edwards (Denver, Colo.; http://www.jdedwards.com) and Camstar Systems (Campbell, Calif.; http://www.camstar.com) have teamed up to integrate J.D. Edwards' WorldSoftware ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution with Camstar's manufacturing execution system, MESA. The combined functionality will facilitate information sharing between the manufacturing shop floor and the planning departments, helping companies to handle the entire manufacturing process from sales order entry to product delivery. Camstar's MESA product tightly interfaces with J.D. Edwards' WorldSoftware, providing decision makers with shop floor data in real-time for a complete view of the manufacturing process. MESA is designed for industries that have high volume items, complex manufacturing processes and a need for high traceability, such as the electronics, textiles and food and beverage industries. Quality Semiconductor (Santa Clara, Calif.) has already tested the integrated solution, which has allowed them to reduce inventory, increase yield and improve delivery performance to its customers. The WorldSoftware/MESA solution allows Quality Semiconductor to extract pertinent data from both systems using AS/400 tools, which allows the company to offer management plant floor-based production information with which to make business decisions. Mitsubishi Begins Virtual Manufacturing Project Japan-based Mitsubishi Electric (http://www.mitsubishi.com) has installed a supercomputer produced by Cray Research (Eagan, Minn.; http://www.cray.com), the supercomputing subsidiary of graphics workstation manufacturer Silicon Graphics, to serve as its core computer system for advanced virtual manufacturing research. The company also installed four Silicon Graphics Indigo2 workstations to assist in the virtual manufacturing effort. Mitsubishi's researchers will use the Cray J932se system to develop virtual manufacturing environments and study effective total manufacturing processes. IMI Partners with Metasys Industri-Matematik International (IMI) (Tarrytown, N.Y.; http://www.imi.se), a supplier of demand chain management solutions for manufacturers, and Metasys (Charlotte, N.C.; http://www.metasys.com), a provider of transportation management software, have launched a strategic partnership to develop solutions making it easier for manufacturers to manage the complete demand cycle, from order entry to delivery of goods. The companies will integrate IMI's System ESS demand chain management solution and the full life-cycle transportation management functionality within the Metasys Enterprise Transportation Management (ETM) software. Interoperability between Metasys ETM and System ESS will provide companies with forward integration through a rules- and constraint-based transportation solution within a demand chain management application for manufacturers of high-volume, fast-moving goods. Currently, the Metasys/IMI solution is being implemented by Skyway Freight Systems as part of its Concerto product, which is designed to coordinate sourcing, manufacturing and distribution of products from raw materials through consumer goods. Along with the third-party logistics market, the solution is also targeted at consumer and industrial products, business equipment and wholesale/retail industries. Numetrix Teams Up with Baan Numetrix (Toronto, Ont., Canada; http://www.numetrix.com), a developer of integrated, intelligent supply chain management applications, has signed an agreement to integrate its supply chain management solution with enterprise software solutions from Baan (Menlo Park, Calif.; http://www.baan.com). The initial joint development effort ties together Baan IV and Numetrix 3D. Baan IV is an integrated family of manufacturing, distribution, finance, transportation, service and project software applications. Numetrix 3D offers integrated procurement planning, production planning, dynamic deployment planning and scheduling, and vehicle loading in one software component. 3D is designed to execute the optimal business model formulated in Linx, a model-based strategic and tactical optimizer, and determine the dynamic sourcing of orders, level of shipments and inventory required on a location-by-location basis to optimize the enterprise's ongoing business process. Wonderware Forms Alliance with Base Ten Wonderware (Irvine, Calif.; http://www.wonderware.com) has formed a strategic alliance with Base Ten Systems (Trenton, N.J.; http://www.base10.com) to jointly market manufacturing software solutions for industries regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and similar regulatory agencies. The new arrangement provides for joint programs for Base Ten's manufacturing execution system (MES), Pharmasyst, and Wonderware's FactorySuite of industrial automation software. Hitachi Signs Deal with DataWorks Hitachi Telecom USA (Norcross, Ga.; http://www.hitachi.com), a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, including PBXs, has signed an agreement with DataWorks (San Diego, Calif.; http://www.dataworks.com) for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. DataWorks supplies open systems, client/server-based ERP software for mid-sized, discrete manufacturing companies. Hitachi intends to use DataWorks' DataFlo product to streamline operations and become more responsive to our customers. Sterling Forms E-Comm Pact with QAD Sterling Commerce (Dallas, Tex.; http://www.stercomm.com), a provider of electronic commerce software products, has formed an alliance with QAD (Carpinteria, Calif.; http://www.qad.com), a supplier of supply chain management and ERP solutions, to deliver an end-to-end e-comm solution for QAD's MFG/PRO customers. The two companies will integrate MFG/PRO with Sterling's Gentran family of e-comm messaging products.

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