Position Papers

PROSTEP AG recently became a member of the Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM). The leading PLM consulting and software company is thus underscoring its readiness to become involved in the work performed by committees in new business areas like autonomous driving and help develop the necessary standards. All standardization-related activities for the digital validation of autonomous driving functions converge at national level in ASAM. The standards provide the basis for uniform methods and tool chains for the validation and verification of highly automated (Level 4) and autonomous (Level 5) vehicles in urban environments, which are being developed in the sponsored projects V&V and SET Level 4to5. PROSTEP is playing a key role in both projects as a mediator between industry and the research community. ASAM is a non-profit organization comprising leading OEMs, system suppliers and engineering service providers in the automotive industry as well as renowned

CIMdata had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Todd Earls, Vice President of Information Technology at Eaton, a global power management company doing business in over 175 countries. Mr. Earls leads an enterprise-wide digital design and manufacturing team that supports thousands of global users, including over 18,000 users of their core engineering data and process management systems and over 25,000 users of various mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD), simulation, application lifecycle management (ALM), virtual reality (VR), and the Internet of Things (IoT) tools, to name just a few categories of managed solutions. His team also supports over 300 manufacturing plants and various tools used by them. This interview was conducted by telephone and edited for clarity. What are some of the key product development/innovation issues faced by your company? Connectivity relates to two major pillars of Eaton’s strategy, commercial IoT and Industry 4.0. This makes it a huge issue for Eaton. All of our

The automotive industry is motoring ahead of its peers in terms of smart factory adoption and is set to increase investment by over 60% in the next three years, resulting in productivity gains of more than $160bn, according to a new research report from The Capgemini Research Institute. The “How automotive organizations can maximize the smart factory potential”report tracks deployment of smart factories by automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers in 2019, compared to equivalent research from 2017/18. It found that both projected investment levels and productivity gains relating to smart factories are significant, but that only a minority of automotive firms are fully ready to take advantage through deployment at scale. Capgemini’s analysis ranks 72% of automotive firms as ‘novices’[1], compared to just 10% being ‘frontrunners’[2] who are ready to realize the full potential of smart factories at scale (18% of OEMs were frontrunners vs. 8% of suppliers). Key points

SAP SE announced a maintenance commitment for SAP S/4HANA until the end of 2040. At the same time, SAP will provide mainstream maintenance for core applications of SAP Business Suite 7 software* until the end of 2027 followed by optional extended maintenance until the end of 2030. “Our customers show us that SAP S/4HANA is their future direction and that they expect a long-term commitment from SAP to this platform,” said Christian Klein, Co-CEO and Member of the Executive Board, SAP SE. “We know that our customers have deep business transformations underway using the unique capabilities of the solution. Our user groups confirm this. A recent survey from the Americas’ SAP Users’ Group did not show a single customer not planning to migrate to SAP S/4HANA. In addition, the German-Speaking User Group indicates in their lately published survey that customer investments in SAP S/4HANA are increasing significantly. In response to

Lectra is proud to announce that Vilmers has chosen to add a second Furniture On Demand by Lectra solution to its suite of Lectra technology. Gains in time savings due to direct integration between the ERP system and the cutting room, as well as improvements in efficiency and waste reduction were key factors in the company’s decision. Founded in 1997, Vilmers initially mass-produced leather furniture. The company’s decision to transition to producing modular, fabric sofa systems has yielded tremendous success, with annual revenue growth of 25%. Vilmers’s customers—primarily in the Scandinavian, Benelux and French markets—can choose from over 85 modular sofas, and more than 250 fabrics and colors. They can customize the dimensions, armrests, stitching, and number of seats to create a sofa that is uniquely theirs, and delivered in only 3 to 6 weeks. “Currently, we produce 170 seats per day, 85% of which are for customized

ebebek, the Turkish mother-and-baby retailer, has selected Centric Software®‘s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution, marking Centric Software’s expansion into Turkey. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to fashion, retail, footwear, outdoor, luxury, consumer goods and home décor companies to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals. Based in Istanbul, ebebek covers all the needs of mother and baby with quality products, friendly staff, high service standards and affordable prices. ebebek sells clothing, food and drink accessories, skincare, toys and more through its e-commerce site and chain of 150+ stores across Turkey. ebebek is growing rapidly, with the majority of growth coming from its textile department. The company needed a new system to support employees. “Our staff faced challenges with their workload,” explains Alper Tekin, CIO at ebebek. “The system we were using didn’t suit our needs, so we wanted to adopt a PLM solution that would empower our

According to preliminary figures, the Nemetschek Group had an extremely successful 2019 financial year with marked double-digit revenue growth and over-proportional increase in earnings. The ambitious revenue and profitability targets (EBITDA margin) for 2019 were even exceeded slightly. In the 2019 financial year, Group revenue rose by 20.7% to EUR 556.9 million (2018: EUR 461.3 million). Group revenue was thus slightly higher than the forecast corridor of EUR 540 to 550 million. Currency-adjusted, it was possible to increase total revenue by 18.0%. Throughout all four quarters, the software group demonstrated its capacity for sustainable growth with double-digit rates of increase. The rise in revenue is attributable to dynamic organic growth of around 16% (currency-adjusted: approximately 13%) as well as to the strong business development of the newly acquired Spacewell brand. The operating Group earnings before interest, tax and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased over-proportionally to revenue in 2019. With a plus of 36.6% compared to the previous year (EUR 121.3 million),

Net sales increased by 2 per cent to 1,058.9 MEUR (1,043.0). Using fixed exchange rates and a comparable group structure (organic growth), net sales decreased by -2 per cent Operating earnings (EBIT1) increased by 2 per cent to 277.0 MEUR (270.7)  Earnings before taxes, excluding non-recurring items, amounted to 271.1 MEUR (265.4)  Net earnings, excluding non-recurring items, amounted to 222.3 MEUR (217.6)  Earnings per share, excluding non-recurring items, amounted to 0.60 EUR (0.60)  Operating cash flow, excluding non-recurring items, decreased to 234.4 MEUR (267.6)  The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of 0.62 EUR (0.59) per share, an increase of 5 per cent To view the original press release, please click here. Search for Hexagon on CIMdata.com

Fujitsu announced that it has been named to FORTUNE Magazine's 2020 list of "World's Most Admired Companies" for the second year in a row. This year, 680 companies were nominated from 30 countries as the "World's Most Admired Companies," of which 330 were selected (15 of which were Japanese companies). Fujitsu was selected in the category for the IT Services industry and was highly-evaluated in areas including Global Competitiveness, Social Responsibility and Innovation. Conducted through a partnership between Fortune Magazine and Korn Ferry(1), the annually published "World's Most Admired Companies" list is determined based on a survey of a combined 15,000 executives, directors at global companies, and analysts. Companies are evaluated based on nine categories: Innovation, People Management, Use of Corporate Assets, Social Responsibility, Quality of Management, Financial Soundness, Long-Term Investment Value, Quality of Products/Services, and Global Competitiveness. Companies that receive high evaluations in these categories are selected for inclusion

Infor announced that an affiliate of Koch Equity Development LLC, the investment and acquisition subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining equity stake in Infor held by Golden Gate Capital. At the close of the transaction, Infor will become a standalone subsidiary of Koch Industries, and will continue to be operated by the company’s current management team from its headquarters in New York City. In addition to being a key enterprise customer, Koch has been an investor in Infor since 2017. With the strength of its balance sheet and a AA corporate credit rating, Koch intends to quickly position Infor as one of the most well-capitalized companies in technology. Koch companies have made more than $26 billion in technology-related investments in the past six years, transforming a global portfolio of businesses spanning multiple industries. “Koch’s decision to acquire Infor is a strong