Apriso Releases New Version of FlexNet -- Extends Global Manufacturing Reach

Latest Version Solidifies Apriso’s Product Leadership in Global Manufacturing Solutions

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apriso Corporation today announced a new version of FlexNet®, an adaptive software platform for global manufacturing operations execution. This product enhancement is designed to provide greater visibility and control for single- and multi-site manufacturing operations, facilitating improved operational efficiency across production lines and manufacturing locations. This new release includes FlexNet Global Performance Manager, FlexNet Dispatching Board as well as the new functionality of FlexNet Quality, as announced last week.

“As manufacturers become increasingly distributed and their supply networks are more geographically dispersed, it is challenging to remain agile and profitable,” said Chris Will, chief technology officer. “This release of FlexNet includes extensions to our Global Manufacturing Suite that now offer enterprise-wide quality execution, manufacturing visibility and plant level dispatching.”

“A prime product differentiator that has emerged during our discussions with manufacturers that have recently selected Apriso in competitive sales cycles is the product’s ability to provide global coordination of production processes and policies with local execution of material movements and data collection, like labor and process parameters,” said Simon Jacobson, Allison Smith and Colin Masson in the August 31, 2006 AMR Research article entitled Manufacturing Snapshot 2006: What About Those MES Vendor Predictions We Made?

Global Performance Manager

Designed to help manufacturers identify and prevent operational issues early, Global Performance Manager executes and sustains continuous improvement programs to identify and deploy best practices that improve manufacturing efficiency.

Apriso’s Global Performance Manager goes beyond simply offering visibility through a collection of dashboards, charts and gauges, to providing a “single version of the truth” that can be acted upon to impact production and achieve operational efficiency. Working within a single operation, a work cell, a plant or across the entire manufacturing enterprise, Global Performance Manager offers real-time functionality delivered through the following key features:

* Actionable -- Production personnel can now drill down through highly graphical “monitoring” screens to manage all the elements of product supply operations, including personnel, equipment, containers, suppliers, tooling and product lifecycle data
* Global -- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) may now be visualized in real-time across the enterprise, from the shop floor operator to senior management; KPIs can be managed centrally, deployed locally and easily rolled up into corporate and divisional performance displays
* Embedded -- Manufacturing, quality, maintenance and warehousing personnel can now have personalized visual controls within their work stations that provide real-time status updates, enabling improved performance

Dispatching Board

As the newest addition to the FlexNet platform, Dispatching Board lets authorized plant personnel adjust their production schedules to unplanned events, in real-time, through an easy to use Graphical User Interface (GUI). Dispatching Board is designed to implement production plans generated by advanced planning and scheduling applications, allowing quick changes to address real-time events in the plant, such as key equipment requiring unscheduled maintenance. By simply dragging and dropping the graphical depiction of tasks within the production flow, it is possible to make immediate modifications, easily adapting to changing production schedules and customer demands. As an integrated component of the FlexNet operations execution suite and its unified database, not only can Dispatching Board be used to manage production tasks, but can also be used to manage Quality, Warehouse, and Maintenance schedules, each adjustable in real-time.

Quality Management

FlexNet Quality is completely interoperable with the operations modules of the FlexNet platform -- it can perform inspections and return results for standalone quality functions, or those integrated within production or warehousing activities. FlexNet Quality leverages all of the benefits of the FlexNet global platform, extending quality’s reach across the manufacturing enterprise, delivering a redefined system for managing quality assurance. Leveraging the FlexNet Global Manufacturing Suite, FlexNet Quality enables best practices to be learned and deployed enterprise-wide, contributing to more consistent quality control and assurance programs while sustaining continuous improvement programs.

Pricing and Availability

This new FlexNet release is now available for deployment. If you are interested in learning more about a specific implementation or in obtaining a price quote, please contact Apriso through www.apriso.com, or call +1 (562) 951 - 8000.

About Apriso

Apriso Corporation is a software company dedicated to providing competitive advantage for its customers. It does so by enabling organizations to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events. Apriso’s FlexNet platform provides visibility, adaptability and real-time control of manufacturing operations across the enterprise and supply chain network. This is accomplished by integrating planning, execution and control, increasing operational efficiency and eliminating errors in the production process. Apriso serves more than 150 customers in 39 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, powering more than 550 installations worldwide. Its customers include General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, Microsoft, L'Oreal, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Rubbermaid, Saint-Gobain, Novelis and Essilor.

Apriso and FlexNet are registered trademarks of Apriso Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.