CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
16 February 2010
Implementation Investments
Aras Selected by PCC Structurals for Enterprise-wide Product Lifecycle Management
Aras® announced that PCC Structurals, a division of Precision Castparts Corp., an international supplier of industrial castings to the aerospace & defense, power generation, industrial equipment, automotive and medical industries, has selected Aras for product lifecycle management. The Aras implementation provides PCC Structurals better visibility into product information across the lifecycle and drives advanced product quality planning (APQP), while integration with the ERP system will strengthen global vendor management.
Before selecting Aras, PCC Structurals evaluated a number of PLM offerings against its extensive requirements. “The PLM solution we chose had to adapt to our needs and processes, not the other way around. If it wasn’t flexible, it wasn’t going to work for us,” said Dave Rajkumar, IT Applications Manager at PCC Structurals. “We looked at SmarTeam, Oracle Agile and other PLM systems, but believe that Aras would be easier to customize and integrate to our existing applications. Aras meets our business needs. The Aras PLM software suite is extremely flexible, so we can easily tailor it to our specifications, and Aras scales up really well.”
PCC Structurals’s initial implementation initiative features automation of engineering change processes; CAD file management of SolidWorks, NX, CATIA and other CAD systems; and integration with the existing ERP system. In the future, PCC Structurals will implement stage-gate project management and quality management processes. Deployment will be rolled out in stages, extending to more than 3,000 PCC employees across 10 locations.
The ability to prove out Aras without buying PLM licenses was also a plus for Rajkumar. “Being able to download Aras, test its capabilities and see how it will work in our environment made a big difference,” said Rajkumar. “We knew Aras would work for us.”
“Companies like PCC Structurals are the reason we moved to an open source format,” said Peter Schroer, President of Aras. “They recognize the value of the Aras enterprise open source model and the power of our PLM architecture, and they know how to make it work for their unique environment. Out of the box or highly custom; implemented on your own, by Aras or by a partner; Aras is all about providing options so that you can get exactly what you need – no more, no less.”
When asked what advice he would give other companies evaluating PLM systems, Rajkumar said “Don’t buy based on brand name. Don’t buy a PLM system because Oracle makes it or PTC sells it. Before you commit, you need to know that the PLM solution will work for your company’s specific requirements from both a technical and business case standpoint.”
Become a member of the CIMdata PLM Community to receive your daily PLM news and much more.
Tell us what you think of the CIMdata Newsletter. Send your feedback.
CIMdata is committed to your privacy. Your personal information will never be sold or shared outside of CIMdata without your express permission.