Latest newsletter from PROSTEP AG
Edition 2/2010
Editorial
Dear customers and friends of PROSTEP AG,
Germany has taken third place at the World Cup - a fantasic result for this young team which showed enormous potential throughout the competition.
The economy is also on the upswing. We are seeing more and more positive news, which means we can look to the next six months with a positive attitude. Of course competition in the global marketplace will continue to pose a significant challenge. Efficient processes provide a solid foundation for your business success. PROSTEP can help you optimize your processes - with the new versions of OpenPDM and OpenDXM, which we will be delivering to our customers in the coming months, playing an important role. The new versions include a number of new features that will allow you to optimize your processes even further.
With Mahle, we have gained another customer for our portal solution OpenDXM GlobalX. Over the past few months, we have also been able to convince several new customers in new branches of industry of our PLM consulting competence. We will be reporting on a few of these projects in the next editions of the newsletter.
We know that fast response times are important. The opening of PROSTEP's new branch office in Cologne enables us to provide you with even more efficient support in this region. And all this means that PROSTEP AG can also launch into the summer months on a positive note.
In this spirit, I wish you a wonderful summer!
Martin Holland
Events
Shipbuilding Forum 2010
7 September 2010 in Hamburg, Germany
Volkswagen Event for Partner Companies 2010
14 September 2010 in Wolfsburg, Germany
Siemens PLM Europe
18-20 October 2010 in Linz, Austria
You will find more information on our Website.
SKF uses PROSTEP's OpenDESC®.com for data communication
The Automotive Division of SKF develops bearings, seals and mechatronic products for leading automotive OEMs worldwide. Time and cost pressures are enormous in this hard-fought global automobile market.
The cost drivers at SKF Automotive Division include maintaining and operating a number of different CAD systems as well as organizing data communication with customers and suppliers. This also involves providing support for different, to some extent country-specific, protocols and customer-specific data exchange procedures.
To make data communication more efficient, SKF Automotive Division was looking for a uniform solution for all application areas and development sites. Compared with the competition, PROSTEP's Web-based OpenDESC.com portal offered the advantage of providing both data conversion and the organization of the exchange processes with OEMs and tier-1 suppliers from a single source. "Data communication was an important reason for choosing PROSTEP. We were looking for a partner for all the process steps so that, if possible, we wouldn't have to develop our own competencies", says Leo Potjewijd, who is responsible for selecting and implementing IT solutions that support the innovation processes in the Automotive Division. Other advantages that OpenDESC.com offered were the low level of implementation effort required and the solution's cost advantages, which promised a ROI of less than three years. This expectation was ultimately exceeded: "With regard to cost savings, we now lie above the break-even point", says Mr. Potjewijd.
Today, the OpenDESC.com portal solution is being used at almost all the relevant development sites. Almost 100 exchange relationships, together with the corresponding conversion requirements, have currently been stored. According to Mr. Potjewijd, the solution is now being used for communication with almost 50 OEMs at nearly 90 different sites and with five tier-1 suppliers. The solution is highly appreciated by users at SKF because it signifcantly reduces the amount of time and effort they need to spend on data communication.
MAHLE places its trust in OpenDXM® GlobalX
MAHLE GmbH is one of the leading suppliers of engine systems and engine components, as well as industrial filtration and engine peripherals, worldwide and maintains more than 100 manufacturing sites. Over 43,000 employees manufacture components for small and large engines that are used in a variety of areas, as well as filtration systems for a number of different industries. For over 10 years, MAHLE has been using PROSTEP's OpenDXM solution for CAD data processing and for data exchange with its customers and partners via OFTP.
In order to respond even more flexibly to the demands of the global markets in the future, MAHLE is now extending its OpenDXM solution to include OpenDXM GlobalX, the portal solution for encrypted, automated data exchange via the Internet. Mahle will be using OpenDXM GlobalX to exchange CAD data with its manufacturing sites and partners in the USA and Asia. Thanks to OpenDXM GlobalX's multi-thread technology, the transmission of large volumes of data does not pose any problem. This means that employees at MAHLE can send their data as usual with OpenDXM or via the SAP user interface.
OpenDXM GlobalX provides flexible and scalable encryption functions for the internal, encrypted exchange of confidential documents that are only to be opened by authorized persons. In addition, it is also planned that OpenDXM GlobalX be used in the purchasing department where it will make sending requests for quotations to potential suppliers easy and transparent.
The planning phase for rolling out OpenDXM GlobalX at MAHLE is currently under way. Live operation is scheduled for the end of the summer 2010.
Fit for E-Discovery with PROSTEP
Ever since the 2006 revision of the US American Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), companies in the USA are required, in the event of a legal dispute, to produce all electronically stored information that might be relevant to the case. This so-called “e-discovery” creates new challenges for companies and has a far-reaching impact on almost every department in a company including, for example, the legal department, the development departments and the IT department, as well as the organization as a whole.
PROSTEP helps leading German companies adapt not only its business processes and rules but also its IT systems so that they satisfy requirements relating to e-discovery. This involves finding answers to questions such as, for example:
- How should a company regulate its handling of electronic information? (Organization)
- What kinds of new processes are needed to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure? (Legal)
- How can a company successfully carry out the changes needed? (Development)
- To what extent do the IT systems involved in the creation and management of electronic information have to be adapted? (IT)
PROSTEP can also help you ensure that document management in your product development process complies with e-discovery rules.
Our Customer information center will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Even greater customer proximity - new branch office opened in Cologne
The new branch office in Cologne was opened on 1 June 2010. PROSTEP is thus responding to the need of its customers in the automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering and other industries to further improve their product development processes. In this context, personal support plays an especially important role.
With its new branch office in Cologne, PROSTEP AG continues to implement its corporate philosophy involving close proximity to the customer. "Cologne provides us with an ideal location within North Rhine-Westphalia, a region heavily involved in technology, research and industry", says branch manager Dr. Martin Strietzel. "From our new office in Cologne’s Technology Park (TechnologiePark), we can be on site at our customers within a very short time, thus allowing us to provide them with optimum support."
The address of the branch office in Cologne is:
PROSTEP AG
im TechnologiePark Köln
Josef-Lammerting-Allee 16
D-50933 Köln
OpenDXM® GlobalX now available for iPhones and iPads
OpenDXM GlobalX, the unique next generation data exchange solution, can now also be used on iPhones and iPads. PROSTEP AG’s new OpenDXM GlobalX app is available for downloading from the App Store free of charge.
The OpenDXM GlobalX app allows the use of OpenDXM GlobalX functions such as, for example, secure data access via unique authentication and the display of available and newly received files, including detailed information, by an authorized user. It is also possible to open and display files such as Office documents, 3D graphics, PDFs and many other types of file directly on an iPhone or iPad.
Wherever you are in the world, the OpenDXM GlobalX app allows you to keep track of data exchange operations and receive important information and messages – even highly confidential data is transferred securely, reliably and quickly. The wide variety of functions offered by the OpenDXM GlobalX app provides you with an important information advantage that will help you safeguard your company’s market position.
We hope you found the information in this newsletter interesting, and we would welcome your feedback. What could we do better? What did you like? Send an e-mail to the editorial team.
Your editorial team
Joachim Christ
Karin Braun
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