Infor launch new version of Infor PLM

Enhancements Deliver Enterprise-wide Collaboration and Operational Visibility

Infor has unveiled the latest version of Infor PLM 8, its comprehensive product lifecycle management (PLM) software specifically designed for discrete manufacturing industries such as automotive, industrial equipment & machinery, aerospace, and high tech & electronics.  Enhancements to Infor PLM 8, version 8.1, enable companies to improve collaboration, streamline design processes and drive visibility throughout the organisation, which can help manufacturers reduce time to market, decrease costs and increase operational efficiencies.

Manufacturers face constant pressure to innovate and take products to market faster than their competitors challenges that mandate comprehensive, up-to-the-minute  information during product development, said Rory Granros, Infors director of product marketing for PLM solutions. Infor PLM 8 allows stakeholders from R&D, marketing, purchasing, and production to make informed decisions regarding design changes, raw material sourcing and production resources to determine the market viability and cost-benefit of each product.  This enables companies to invest in products with true market sustainability and substantial profit margins.

According to industry analysts, the PLM market is expected to grow nearly 10 percent over the next five years, with tremendous opportunities in North America and EMEA, as well as in emerging markets within Latin America and Asia. A part of this growing interest in PLM is driven by corporate initiatives among manufacturers to improve the efficiency and timeliness of new product development and introduction processes.

With Infor PLM 8, manufacturers can streamline the engineer-to-order production model by leveraging real-time data-sharing, which provides deep visibility into the design and product development process. Customer-driven enhancements, such as improved product data management, enterprise content management, lifecycle analysis, and CAD integration, provide an end-to-end tool for multi-site collaboration.  Additionally, customers will benefit from seamless integration to Infor and third-party ERP systems, enabling manufacturers to experience a lower total cost of ownership, rapid implementation and quicker return on investment.

Rodgers Instruments LLC, the worlds largest manufacturer of stereo-imaged church organs and pipe-digital organs and a long-time Infor customer, has already seen significant benefits from the CAD integration in the latest version of PLM 8.  Coupled with improved data exchange from Infor PLM to its existing Infor ERP Baan IV c4 system, the company has improved its ability to meet the customised requirements of its customers, reducing the time from order to completion from four months to only four days.

With Infor, we are able to support a feature-centric development process to set ourselves apart from our competitors and provide more value to our customers. Infor PLM is playing an instrumental role in helping us collaborate more effectively with our customers and suppliers to achieve new levels of product customisation, which has resulted in a 50 percent reduction in time to market, said Tony Williams, director of engineering, Rodgers Instruments. We view Infor as a partner with solutions that continue to evolve to meet our needs as our business and customers demands change, not just a technology vendor.

Enhancements to Infor PLM 8:

• Improved holistic check-in operation enables validation and version confirmation for drawings, formulas, bills of material, and engineering change orders. This feature furthers collaboration by alerting departments when changes to an open document are made and improves data accuracy in CAD workstations, R&D and ERP systems
• eCAD integration provides support for electronic component design, such as GPS for the automotive industry, with Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT), a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions
• Greater Enterprise Content Management functionality provides enhanced data transparency by centralising critical product information that can be shared across the extended enterprise
• Improved lifecycle analyser usability reduces the steps required to identify the impact of proposed changes to product information through classification and expanded user-defined fields 

Additionally, the enhanced 2D and 3D CAD integration provides a straightforward exchange of product drawing and model information with select CAD software including SolidWorks 2006 & 2007, Auto Desk: AutoCAD 2006 & 2007, Mechanical Desktop 2006 & 2007, Pro/Engineer Wildfire 2.0, and Unigraphics: NX Series.

Infor PLM 8 is available in English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, and simplified Chinese.

About Infor PLM 8      

Infor PLM 8 provides an integrated, comprehensive lifecycle view of product design data and definition, giving discrete manufacturers greater control over the execution of product-related tasks and overseeing review and approval across the internal and external supply chain.  With Infor PLM 8, companies can shorten cycle times for changes and approvals, minimise scrap and rework, and boost productivity. 

About Infor

Infor delivers business-specific software to enterprising organisations. With experience built in, Infors solutions enable businesses of all sizes to be more enterprising and adapt to the rapid changes of a global marketplace. With more than 70,000 customers, Infor is changing what businesses expect from an enterprise software provider.