Web-enabled product development

The latest e-business enterprise application from MAPICS provides an integrated engineering change-control solution that allows all members of a product development process to collaborate remotely via the Internet.

The offering, Product Development Collaboration MAGIK (PDCM), creates an online environment to support the entire product life cycle, from art to production, with interaction between design and product engineers, purchasing and manufacturing departments, suppliers and customers.Approved users can securely collaborate on changes; obtain, view and redline CAD drawings (both with and without CAD software); create engineering bills of materials; enter new items or raw material requirements.

PDCM also maintains an automated central repository for all change history, managing the change control process by time stamping, routing, creating electronic approvals and reporting the current status of each change.

MAPICS claims early users of the system have reported reductions in engineering change time ranging from 10% to 30%, with corresponding decreases in cost. Users have also experienced substantial drops in scrap costs, which have diminished by as much as 80% as the result of viewing status changes and new part requirements online.