APRISO’S FLEXNET FOR MILL PRODUCTS HELPS ENHANCE PROFITABILITY; PROVIDES 100% SUPPLIER VISIBILITY, INTEGRATED QUALITY, AND GREATER CONTROL OVER ENERGY COSTS
New Solution Leverages OSIsoft and Greycon Capabilities to Replace
Monolithic, Paper-Based Systems with Adaptive Operations Execution Platform
(Long Beach, CA, May 15, 2006) – Apriso® Corporation has announced the availability of FlexNet® for Mill Products, a software platform designed to help mills operate more profitably and with greater agility. FlexNet helps mill products manufacturers seize control over the rising costs of energy, raw materials, machine maintenance, labor, quality assurance – as well as constantly changing business drivers – and other factors eating into their margins and productivity.
FlexNet addresses those issues by managing multiple mission-critical areas on a single software platform built on a unified data model. Such a system provides complete visibility into work in progress, raw materials, equipment maintenance, and other areas. Armed with such information, mills personnel can make timely decisions and take fast corrective action when needed, helping to lower costs in a number of areas:
- Energy efficiency – FlexNet provides 100 percent visibility into equipment usage, enabling front-line personnel to make informed decisions for more efficient allocation of energy resources;
- Quality assurance – FlexNet integrates quality processes into its Production module, enabling mill operators to ‘make it right the first time,’ and avoid costly returns and recalls;
- Inventory visibility – Because it provides complete supplier visibility, FlexNet helps mill products manufacturers identify possible supplier shortages in time to seek out other sources of materials, thereby avoiding stock-outs and missed delivery dates;
- Adaptability to change – Unlike the inflexible, monolithic systems of other vendors, FlexNet lets mill operators change their production processes to meet shifting customer specifications in a matter of hours, without enlisting outside IT support or bringing their systems down. The ability to adapt quickly and cost-effectively to new business drivers provides a significant advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
The solution is ideally suited to both primary and conversion operations in Pulp & Paper and Metals industries.
“The modern mills industry needs a new kind of solution – one that enables quick response to market changes and helps keep operating costs under control,” said Jim Henderson, president and CEO, Apriso. “FlexNet’s adaptability, the visibility it provides, and its fit with most ERP systems make the software ideal for mills that want to operate profitably and with a competitive edge.”
FlexNet is both an adaptive operations execution platform and a suite of software modules that tie together production (MES), warehouse (WMS), quality (QMS), maintenance, time & labor and supplier visibility into a single solution. Working with market-leading technology partners, Apriso’s software supports specific requirements such as capacity planning, trim optimization, production control, quality data management, converting, warehousing and shipping.
Since 1992, Apriso’s solutions have powered the operations of leading manufacturers around the world. The company has helped metals and pulp & paper industries and their suppliers improve efficiency and quality, while reducing costs associated with warranties, raw materials, regulatory compliance and energy consumption. Apriso delivers adaptive manufacturing solutions to such mills leaders as International Paper, Novelis, Johns Mansville, Weyerhaeuser and Masonite.
A Perfect Fit with SAP, Other Systems
Unlike competing Mills MES offerings, FlexNet integrates with SAP, Oracle and other leading enterprise systems with little to no overlap – the solution provides robust functionality only where the customer needs it, ensuring a high return on IT investment. Apriso is one of SAP’s closest manufacturing partners. In December 2005 Apriso achieved “Powered by SAP NetWeaver® for Industry Standards” status, one of only a handful of vendors to do so in the MES space.
Highly scalable, FlexNet modules can replace or work with existing software, helping customers avoid too many solutions in their operations. FlexNet modules can be installed individually or as a suite, further reducing IT costs by consolidating systems to a single platform, or providing a common interface to multiple applications.
Advanced Technology for Mill Operations, Combined with Best-of-Breed CapabilitiesApriso has worked with leading software solution providers to develop the Mills industry’s most advanced operations solution to date. FlexNet incorporates X-Trim® from Greycon, a world-class trim optimization system developed and fine-tuned over many years. Working within the FlexNet interface, X-Trim seamlessly combines leading-edge optimization performance with detailed functionality that addresses real-world problems with intuitiveness in its graphical user interface.
In addition, FlexNet for Mill Products incorporates OSIsoft’s PI System, a critical productivity resource used in more than 10,000 enterprises across a broad range of industries. PI provides added visibility into operations, unlocking the potential for timely analysis, fueling critical, informed and profitable actions. PI’s features help FlexNet customers reduce costs, boost productivity, avert errors, and enable smart decisions.
The First BPM/SOA Solution for Mill Operations
While the demand for manufacturing software systems incorporating BPM (business process management) functionality grows, few vendors have stepped up to answer the call. FlexNet is the only BPM solution targeted at mission-critical manufacturing processes.
Once installed, FlexNet can be easily reconfigured by the user. At the heart of the platform is Process Builder™, a process-authoring tool that enables the solutions’ adaptability. Using a drag-and-drop interface, process owners can author Web-enabled electronic “flows” that become available to workstations within the four walls of their operations, or out to their extended enterprise through thin client access – all without coding.
Apriso is one of the first software companies to bring SOA (service-oriented architecture) into the Mills industry. FlexNet is based on a true Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), giving organizations the ability to seamlessly integrate data between the plant floor and business system, where it can be analyzed and used to more precisely measure production levels and other key performance indicators.
Pricing and Availability
FlexNet is sold directly by Apriso and through certified resellers. Pricing is based on the number of applications purchased and company size. For further information, call (888) 400-7587.
About Apriso Corporation
Apriso Corporation is a software company dedicated to providing competitive advantage for its customers. We do this by enabling organizations to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events; providing end-to-end, real-time control of manufacturing operations across the entire enterprise; lending visibility across the entire supply network; tightly integrating planning, execution, and control; increasing operational efficiency; and eliminating errors in the production process.
Apriso operates in nine countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company serves more than 140 customers in 35 countries and powers more than 400 installations worldwide. Its customer base includes such global companies as General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, Microsoft, L’Oréal, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Baker Hughes, International Paper, Rubbermaid, Matsushita Avionics Systems, Saint-Gobain, Novelis, and Essilor. For more information, visit www.apriso.com.
Apriso and FlexNet are registered trademarks of Apriso Corporation. NetWeaver is a registered trademark of SAP. X-Trim is a registered trademark of Greycon. OSIsoft is a trademark of OSIsoft. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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