CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

9 September 2009

Product News

Aras and Lixto Accelerate Online Data Exchange in the Automotive Industry

Aras® and Lixto Software, a leading manufacturer of Web Intelligence solutions, announced the two companies are offering an application for automated data exchange between the Aras Innovator PLM software solution installed at automotive suppliers and the Web portals of their customers in the vehicle industry. The Lixto “Web Process Integration” solution extracts product-related information from Web-based automotive OEM portals quickly and reliably ensures the integration of the data into the PLM business processes at suppliers running Aras.

In the automotive industry data exchange is particularly intensive and automating the process offers significant cost, speed, and accuracy advantages. Manufacturers require that their suppliers provide up-to-date quality data, problem reports, purchasing data and business-critical supplier evaluations (PPM) for quality management, logistics, sales and procurement. With the integrated solution from Aras and Lixto suppliers can ensure that the relevant data from OEM manufacturers, such as GM, Ford, BMW and others, are available within the supplier’s Aras PLM solution in a timely manner for personnel in engineering, quality and product planning.

Application Examples

Product development processes at the supplier that are managed in Aras PLM software solution, such as Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Engineering Change Management (ECM), connect to Lixto where the results are transferred automatically and accurately to the relevant OEM portal. During volume production, OEM problem reports and quality alerts that result from supplier deliveries are posted within the manufacturer portal and identified by Lixto. Then, Lixto seamlessly transmits the data to Aras where the appropriate process is initiated and escalation occurs at the supplier.

Environmental compliance requirements, including ELV, RoHS and REACH, for new product programs published in OEM Web portals are automatically transmitted to Aras for product development personnel to utilize enabling secure and efficient compliance processes.

The combined offering from Aras and Lixto delivers a number of advantages for automotive suppliers including:

•  Faster supplier problem resolution for greater customer satisfaction

•  Significant cost reductions on annual warranty costs and associated penalties

•  More effective and accurate information on supplier evaluations, such as PPM metrics

“The combined solution from Aras and Lixto leads to substantially greater process automation at our customers in the automotive industry,” explains Martin Allemann, Vice President EMEA for Aras. “The merging of data between the OEM Web portals and a supplier’s PLM software solution means that data move quickly and accurately. The supplier eliminates error-prone manual input, improves their service level, and minimizes response time thereby increasing customer satisfaction and winning new business.”

“The collaboration with Aras allows our customers to integrate the Web-based processes of the many automotive OEM supplier portals into their existing PLM processes in the simplest manner possible,” said Christian Koestler, Managing Director at Lixto. “With Aras and Lixto automotive suppliers are in a position to realize savings very quickly.”

Details on the Aras-Lixto solution are available in an eBook download at: http://www.aras.com/PLM-Software/100136.aspx

About Lixto Software GmbH

Lixto Software offers Web-based solutions for search, aggregation and integration of Web-based data in real time to businesses and end users enabling better decisions and competitive advantage for complex supply chains. Lixto solutions and services include Web process integration connectors, application Metasearch, and market intelligence. Companies benefit from the Lixto Web-based business processes to automation. Lixto Software GmbH is headquartered in Vienna Austria and was founded in 2001 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Vienna. Lixto customers include ZF Friedrichshafen, Voss Automotive, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, hotel.de, the German National Tourist Board (DZT) the Verbund AG and SAP.

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