Diebold Selects aPriori for Product Cost Management

aPriori, a provider of product cost management software solutions, today announced that Diebold, Incorporated has selected the aPriori Product Cost Management software platform to provide real-time product cost assessments throughout its product development lifecycle. The aPriori software will provide Diebold’s engineering and sourcing teams with detailed cost analysis in real-time as they consider options in product design, manufacturing process, materials and suppliers.

“Diebold has selected aPriori’s product cost management solution to help our engineering and sourcing teams effectively implement a design-to-cost process for new product introductions,” said Jon Washington, director, product sourcing, Diebold. “aPriori can provide us with nearly instant cost impact feedback on many design, manufacturing or sourcing alternatives we are considering. We believe that this new capability will help us improve the overall value our products provide to customers, while maintaining and improving profit margins for our company.”

aPriori’s Product Cost Management software platform provides Diebold with detailed product cost analysis throughout the entire product development process. With this real-time information, Diebold’s design, engineering and sourcing personnel can identify quantifiable savings when evaluating alternative designs and supply chain sources and make more informed decisions– both pre- and post-production.

“Diebold conducted a comprehensive on-site evaluation of our technology before deciding to move forward,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “They discovered through this process that aPriori could deliver precise cost assessments in a fraction of the time they had previously experienced, and that the system was flexible enough to accommodate their unique requirements. We are working closely with Diebold to help them successfully implement their Design-to-Cost initiative, and are confident it will deliver the benefits they expect.”

aPriori Announces G.A. of Latest Version of its Product Cost Management Platform

New release expands industry applications and increases customer ROI with high-precision machining, new manufacturing process coverage and greater ease of use.

CONCORD, Mass - aPriori, a provider of product cost management software solutions, today announced the general availability of the latest release of its software platform. aPriori 2011r2 offers new functionality and enhancements that expand the platform’s cost optimization capabilities for companies with high tolerance machining requirements in the automotive, oil & gas, semi-conductor equipment manufacturing and aerospace/defense segments. In response to the growing market need for better methods to estimate the costs of hard tooling (e.g., capital investments to support part production) that can be used by both experts and non-experts, aPriori has also significantly upgraded its capabilities to generate highly detailed tooling cost estimates for components.

“Aberdeen research has found there are undeniable benefits to improving engineering decision making: reduced product costs, better product quality, increased innovation and faster time to market,” said Michelle Boucher, senior research analyst, product innovation & engineering, Aberdeen Group. “Improving visibility to product cost drivers is a top strategy for those who are most successful with this and Product Cost Management is a key enabler for that. This latest release from aPriori continues to make this easier with its support for key manufacturing processes and providing tools that are usable by all who impact product costs.”

aPriori’s Product Cost Management software platform is a flexible and powerful costing engine that is able to instantly and precisely determine the cost of a part or product from a CAD model, based on the manufacturing process, materials to be used and the factory or region where it will be produced. aPriori is used by designers, cost engineers, sourcing professionals and suppliers to get precise, real-time cost assessments that help companies attack cost at the point of origin. As design changes are made, or new product specs are introduced, aPriori automatically re-assesses and provides an updated product cost quickly and easily. Using this new level of cost knowledge, companies can make more informed design and production decisions and significantly reduce product costs throughout the entire product lifecycle.

“Premium product manufacturers whose customers have historically not been overly price sensitive are now increasing their priority on controlling costs,” said Julie Driscoll, vice president of marketing strategy and product management for aPriori. “For example, companies involved in manufacturing oil & gas equipment are finding that new government safety regulations are driving significant product cost increases. Their customers have demonstrated that they are not willing to shoulder all of these additional costs through price increases. This trend is forcing companies to analyze opportunities to control costs in the design and sourcing of components. In response to this market need, aPriori 2011r2 includes significantly enhanced high tolerance machining capabilities that will allow these companies to quickly and easily calculate cost throughout the entire design, sourcing and manufacturing process, and understand the financial implications of each and every tradeoff decision they make.”

New Capabilities in aPriori’s 2011r2 Product Cost Management Platform

Enhanced Machining - aPriori 2011r2 introduces new costing capabilities for companies with high tolerance machining practices that machine components from stock. Users in automotive, oil & gas equipment, semi-conductor equipment, aerospace & defense will benefit from aPriori’s ability to accurately automate the costing of parts with precision machining requirements. New baseline cost models in aPriori 2011r2 include Mill/Turn, 5-Axis Milling, Deep Bore/Trepanning, Deburr and Inspections.

New and Expanded Baseline Costing Processes - aPriori 2011r2 continues the company’s commitment to expanded manufacturing process costing and baseline cost modeling with the addition of the following modules:

Powder Metal — estimates material mixing, forming and sintering which can optionally be followed by heat treatments, machining and surface treatments.
Packaging — adds cost models for the following packaging processes: Carton Forming, Pack & Load and Carton Sealing including support for semi-automated packaging of small and medium sized parts and manual packaging for parts of all sizes.
Rapid Prototyping —enables manufacturers to estimate costs at the prototype stage without the expense of tooling. Specific processes include SLA, SLS and 3D Printing.
Tandem Die — estimates costs of stamped parts made via automated transfer of parts between multiple presses. It is part of aPriori’s Sheet Metal II process group designed for higher volume die requirements in industries such as automotive. This group also includes progressive die, transfer die, stage tooling and standard press.
Blow Molding — this new process includes the ability to calculate cost for plastic products such as simple tanks, ducts and bottles.
Roto Molding — improves geometry recognition and adds support for containers with non-round openings; e.g., ovals, rectangles, etc. This provides more detailed and accurate costing and enables fact-based negotiation with suppliers.
Injection Molding — incorporates improved models for baseline cost and revamped tooling. Users benefit from accelerated cycle time calculation and more accurate estimates, access to more detailed tooling estimates for plastic components, and the flexibility to meet the needs of users with or without advanced tooling knowledge.

Detailed Tooling Estimates for Plastic and Stamped Parts - aPriori has extended its out-of-the-box costing capabilities to generate detailed tooling estimates that include information about the physical attributes of the tool (e.g., mold size, actions, lifters, etc.), materials and purchased items (e.g., core & cavity plates, ejector box etc.) and labor and machine times (design, machining, assembly, tryout etc.). Each time a component is cost, a tooling cost is automatically generated, providing non-tooling experts quick access to precise estimates. As manufacturers are requesting more detail in quotes from their vendors this solution can also provide suppliers a means to quickly and accurately generate quotes, allowing them to respond to more RFQs and drive increased revenue.

Tools to More Efficiently Cost Components and Leverage Cost Data - With aPriori 2011r2, aPriori users can now access new pre-configured views for parts and rollups, saving time and enabling greater self-sufficiency. For example, users have the option to view a summary, process detail report, or should-cost analysis for any part. Default roll-up views include outlier analysis, should-cost analysis and process detail reports. Users can also continue to create and save their own table views. Other additions include user-defined defaults for production information settings, saving time when initializing parts specific to a project.

Expanded Platform Support - aPriori 2011r2 continues to expand its support of existing customer infrastructure with certification for Solidworks 2011, Inventor 2011 and Solid Edge ST3 CAD systems as well as Oracle 11g database.

For more information on aPriori 2011r2, visit http://www.apriori.com/product/apriori-2011-r2.htm.

Ford Motor Company Selects aPriori for Product Cost Management

Automotive leader to leverage real-time cost analysis software to help reduce product and tooling expense.

aPriori, a provider of product cost management software solutions, today announced that Ford Motor Company, one of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world, has selected the aPriori software platform to help drive down product and tooling costs. The software will provide Ford’s engineering and sourcing teams with detailed cost analysis as they consider options in product design, manufacturing and process. Ford selected aPriori after a six month evaluation.

“aPriori enables users to generate detailed cost estimates from a 3D solid CAD model in seconds with minimal input from the end user,” said Stephanie Feraday, president and CEO of aPriori. “This capability is becoming more and more critical for manufacturers like Ford that are looking to provide their customers with the highest possible value in their products. Providing design and tooling engineers with visibility to potentially expensive design or manufacturing challenges early on, reduces the need to re-engineer products late in the design cycle when it is much more costly.”

aPriori software and services generate hard-dollar product cost savings for discrete manufacturing and product innovation companies. Using aPriori’s real-time product cost assessments, employees in engineering, sourcing and manufacturing make more-informed decisions that drive costs out of products pre- and post-production. With aPriori, manufacturers launch products at cost targets, maximize savings in re-work projects and never overpay for sourced parts.

Ingersoll Rand Expands aPriori Product Cost Management Deployment to All Business Segments

aPriori, a provider of product cost management software solutions, today announced that after only eight months of use, Ingersoll Rand, a world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and efficient environments, has chosen to significantly expand its deployment of aPriori’s software platform to all businesses within Ingersoll Rand. The aPriori software provides Ingersoll Rand with detailed product cost visibility throughout its entire product development process.

According to a recent report by Aberdeen Group, Using Cost Analytics to Keep Engineering on Schedule and Budget, best-in-class manufacturing companies enjoy significant advantages over their peers when it comes to reducing product costs, meeting product quality targets and releasing products on time. Aberdeen attributes this advantage primarily to increased visibility to cost drivers within engineering and beyond in these companies and the improved decision making that results from it.

aPriori’s Product Cost Management software platform provides Ingersoll Rand design, engineering and sourcing personnel with real-time product cost information at a detailed level. This helps them identify quantifiable savings when evaluating alternative designs, manufacturing processes and supply chain sources so they can attack cost at the point of origin where it yields the greatest possible impact on product cost reduction.

“The rapid success of aPriori at Ingersoll Rand is clear evidence of the extremely strong return on investment that our product cost management platform delivers,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori’s president and chief executive officer. “Most users find that aPriori is very intuitive, and they can be productive in a matter of days or weeks. As the product cost savings start adding up, the management team quickly realizes that they can save significant sums of money if they get the tool in the hands of everyone that makes decisions impacting product cost.”

Fueling Product Innovation by Reducing Product Costs

aPriori, a provider of product cost management software solutions, today announced a new series of executive roundtable events focused on product innovation and cost management. Titled Fueling Product Innovation by Reducing Product Costs, the series will kick off October 18th in Houston, with additional events in Detroit, London, Chicago and San Diego over the next five weeks.

Effective product cost management can save manufacturers millions each year. These savings can be re-purposed to fuel new R&D programs that yield more innovative products that increase revenue and drive up market share. The Fueling Product Innovation by Reducing Product Costs roundtable events are designed for senior engineering, cost engineering and sourcing executives to discuss and learn new strategies for reducing product cost. Each is limited to 15 executives to allow each to participate fully in the discussion with his or her peers. The sessions will be moderated by Michelle Boucher, senior research analyst, product innovation & engineering, Aberdeen Group. The discussion will be highly interactive and include:

Benchmarking your cost management strategies with peers
Implementing a product cost management culture without slowing product design or manufacturing down
The perils of flying blind on product cost
How executives can save millions for their company

Each session will also feature guest speakers from leading manufacturers who will share their own learning and best practices in product cost management.

Dates and Locations

Houston -- October 18th, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
Detroit -- October 26th, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
London, U.K. -- November 9th Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry
Chicago -- November 10th, Four Seasons Hotel
San Diego -- November 16th, Location to be announced

Who Should Attend: Senior executives focused on implementing cost reduction strategies to drive new product innovations, including vice presidents and directors of engineering, cost engineering and sourcing.

Agenda
Each session will run from Noon – 5 p.m. and will start with complimentary lunch. The moderated roundtable discussion with attendees will include:

Establishing Cost Reduction Goals - Where to start; different approaches; fast time to value
Cost Management for Design/Engineering Programs – Visibility to cost throughout the entire design process
Design Cycle Time Compression – Accelerating cost estimate cycle times internally and externally
Deployment & Success Strategies – The impact of different approaches to product cost management
Driving Adoption of Cost Management – Effective implementation practices and key considerations

To Register
To register, please click here and complete the form. Please note that attendance is limited to 15 qualified executives at each event.

http://www.apriori.com/33d82140-99bb-409e-b167-6fc8a589bb04/http//productcost.apriori.com/LP=48

ThyssenKrupp Elevator Selects aPriori for Product Cost Management

aPriori to be Used to Control Costs Across the Entire Product Development Lifecycle.

CONCORD, Mass - aPriori today announced that ThyssenKrupp Elevator, has selected the aPriori Product Cost Management software platform to provide real-time product cost assessments throughout its entire product development lifecycle, including cost management use cases in Design, Engineering, Sourcing and Manufacturing. ThyssenKrupp Elevator is one of the world’s leading elevator companies. Their range of products includes passenger and freight elevators, escalators, moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair and platform lifts as well as quality service for all products.

“ThyssenKrupp has selected aPriori’s product cost management solution based on the system’s ease of use, and flexibility to be deployed against a wide variety of cost management use cases,” said Patrick Bass, Senior Vice President of Engineering. “aPriori is a highly automated system, so our users do not need to be cost experts to effectively leverage the system. All they have to do is open a 3D CAD model, enter a few basic inputs, and they can generate an accurate cost estimate in seconds. We are planning to integrate aPriori cost reviews into our standard product development process, conduct make versus buy analyses, streamline process routings in our manufacturing facilities and use aPriori to determine if we can standardize common changes across product platforms. By taking this broad-based approach, our goal is to attack cost at the point of origin, and maximize the potential to discover significant cost savings for our company.”

“Some companies adopt a strategy that places specialized cost management tools in the hands of a few, highly trained individuals, and we believe that approach limits the potential impact on a company’s profitability,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that ThyssenKrupp Elevator is going to be extremely successful with aPriori, because they are willing to take a more modern approach, and attack cost across the product development lifecycle. By empowering everyone on the product development team with a tool like aPriori, they will discover enormous potential for cost savings they were never able to uncover before.”

aPriori Completes the Most Successful Quarter in Company History

Concord, Mass – aPriori announced today that it has recently completed the most successful financial quarter in the young company’s history. aPriori provides discrete manufacturers and product innovation companies with the most technologically advanced and comprehensive product cost management software and service solutions available on the market today. These software and services solutions fundamentally change the way companies calculate and manage product costs, enabling more informed design, manufacturing and sourcing decisions that drive significant cost out of products, both pre- and post-production.

“Historically, our fiscal third quarter can be challenging because of the end of year holidays,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “However, over the past 3 months, we set all types of new benchmarks for our company’s performance. There are 3 key metrics that we are particularly proud of this quarter, including:

* Total Bookings increased by 208% over Q3 fiscal year 2010; and, total bookings increased quarter over quarter by 108%,
* Customer base increased by more than 21%,
* Secured several large, multi-year subscription renewal and expansion contracts. ”

New Customer Growth

“The strong growth in new customers is very satisfying” explained Feraday. “Each of the new customers signed in Q3 represents penetration or early stage growth in new industry verticals outside our traditional agriculture and construction equipment stronghold. BISSELL for example, is one of the world’s top manufacturers of household vacuum cleaners. Nearly everything they sell is made up entirely of plastic. This is a great new customer for us, and validates our ability to generate accurate costs for products made using plastic molding manufacturing processes.”

Customer Expansion

“We are also quite pleased with the multi-year renewal and expansion contracts, with Polaris being the most notable,” added Dick Underwood, Vice President of Sales for aPriori. “When a customer initially buys your product, they test it on a variety of projects over an extended period of time, using personnel with different levels of cost knowledge. If they then come back and want to dramatically expand the number of users, and extend the contract for 3 to 4 years, that is concrete evidence that the product delivers as promised, and is driving great ROI for that customer.”

Enterprise Cost Management Platform versus Point Solution

“One of the reasons for aPriori’s recent success has been our enterprise platform approach”, said Underwood. “As aPriori has dramatically accelerated the expansion of its product line, it has truly become an enterprise class product cost management platform that spans multiple departments and use cases. Unlike other commercial software applications that are designed only for use by professional cost estimators, aPriori can be used across the entire product innovation, detail design, sourcing and manufacturing spectrum.

While aPriori is certainly powerful enough to be used by the most sophisticated cost engineers, the system has been purposefully developed so that it is highly automated, and can also be used by a novice engineer right out of college or a supply chain specialist that is a trained negotiator, not a product development specialist. This broad-based appeal is why we believe aPriori will continue to see success across a wide range of discrete manufacturing markets.”nessier

Polaris Makes 4 Year Commitment to aPriori Product Cost Management

Real-Time Visibility to Product Cost Provides Significant Financial and Strategic Advantages.

Concord, Mass – aPriori today announced that Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII), has renewed its commitment to the company’s Product Cost Management software platform for another 4 years. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER™, snowmobiles and Victory motorcycles for recreational and utility use. Polaris recently introduced a new on-road electric powered neighborhood vehicle.

“Polaris made its first major investment in aPriori in 2007,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Over the past 4 years, Polaris has gained a great deal of experience with our product. They have used nearly every single manufacturing process cost model we have ever developed, across a wide variety of product lines. This experience has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that providing engineers with real-time visibility to cost delivers significant financial and strategic advantages for their company. This new 4 year subscription commitment is evidence of that fact. We are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with Polaris far into the future. ”

With annual 2010 sales of $1.991 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER(TM), snowmobiles and Victory motorcycles for recreational and utility use and has recently introduced a new on-road electric powered neighborhood vehicle. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry; and one of the largest manufacturers of ORVs in the world. Victory motorcycles established in 1998 and representing the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years, are rapidly making impressive in-roads into the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII," and the Company is included in the S&P MidCap 400 stock price index.

Paramex DTC To Become European Reseller & Certified Service Provider for aPriori in Europe

CONCORD, Mass - aPriori today announced the signing of its first reseller agreement with Paramex DTC (Design to Target Cost) of Warwick, England. This effectively provides aPriori with a sales and certified service provider that will market and implement aPriori’s entire product line throughout the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

“Paramex has a wealth of experience providing engineering service solutions for Automotive OEMs and Tier 1 supply chain companies throughout the UK and Europe,” said Stephanie Feraday, aPriori’s President and CEO. “Their expertise and reputation for delivering high quality engineering services is a perfect match for us,” continued Feraday. “aPriori has had great success selling and supporting our product cost management solution with Fortune 500 companies based in North America. Now, with Paramex as part of our team, we are looking forward to the same level of success in Europe.”

Phil Hands, CEO of Paramex Group Limited, commented “aPriori’s Product Cost Management solution is exactly what the Automotive and Aerospace industries need right now. They are struggling to rapidly identify ways to reduce product costs, and there are simply no other technologies out there that match aPriori’s speed and accuracy in generating product cost estimates. We believe that aPriori is an exceptional complement to the CAD and Engineering services we have delivered to companies such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata Manufacturing and Engineering Technical Centre, Aston Martin and Magna to name a few. By adding aPriori to the mix, we can now help these same companies launch new products to market at or below target cost, maximize cost savings on redesign projects, and ensure that these companies are not overpaying for outsourced parts.”

aPriori v6 Reduces Product Costs and Direct Material Spend for Discrete Manufacturing Organizations

CONCORD, Mass — aPriori today announced the availability of aPriori v6, the newest version of its market-leading Product Cost Management software platform. With innovative capabilities that provide real-time, predictive and precise product cost assessments, aPriori v6 empowers manufacturing organizations to significantly reduce product costs and direct material spend by identifying quantifiable savings in material, tooling, labor and overhead while evaluating alternative designs, processes and sources.

“When your employees know the cost impact of the product decisions they make as they make them, they drive more costs out of the products you manufacture. aPriori is designed to provide real-time cost feedback to everyone in the enterprise – from engineering to manufacturing to sourcing and more – so that employees can make faster, more-informed decisions that ultimately result in lower product costs,” said Eric Arno Hiller, Founder and Chief Product Officer at aPriori. “With support for additional 3D CAD formats and manufacturing processes, aPriori v6 will help even more manufacturing organizations achieve their internal product cost targets and external spend reduction goals.”

Support for Additional Manufacturing Processes & CAD File Formats

Enables More Organizations to Automatically Cost Their Parts & Products

aPriori v6 features support for additional 3D CAD file formats with integration to CATIA® v5, and Siemens PLM NX®. Combined with its existing integration to Pro/ENGINEER® Wildfire and enhanced support for industry standards including STEP, aPriori v6 significantly extends its ability to cost parts and products automatically and instantly from solid model files. By extending CAD file support, aPriori v6 enables both CAD-users and non-CAD users to cost parts and assemblies in real-time.

aPriori v6 also introduces the ability to cost parts and products manufactured through Bar & Tube Fabrication processes. The new Bar & Tube process group module adds automated costing capabilities for bar, tube, angle and channel stock using numerous cutting, sawing, punching, bending and forming processes. The Bar & Tube process group module joins the aPriori library of supported processes that includes Sheet Metal Fabrication, Sand Casting, Die Casting, Injection Molding, Machining, Stage Tooling, and Welded Assembly.

In addition to CAD file support and new process support, aPriori v6 includes a number of new capabilities and tools to help sourcing, manufacturing and engineering users know how much a part or product will cost to produce. Select improvements include:

* One-Click Costing – When evaluating alternative designs, materials, manufacturing processes and/or manufacturing locations, users can generate an up-to-the-second cost assessment with a single mouse click.
* Enhanced Welded Assembly Costing – aPriori v6 makes it even easier to assess the costs of a welded assembly. From within the aPriori interface, users can apply various weld types directly to an assembly and aPriori will automatically determine the costs to apply the weld and add it to the rolled-up assembly cost.
* Factory Data Maintenance Tools – To ensure cost assessments are as accurate as possible, aPriori uses a customer’s (and/or their suppliers’) individual material, labor and overhead rates. aPriori v6 adds capabilities to allow customers to easily update the system to reflect the most current rates as well as create new factories and/or suppliers.
* 3-D Assembly Visualization – aPriori’s new CAD model viewer allows all users – regardless of whether or not they use a CAD application – to view and manipulate the costs of parts and assemblies.
* Usability Enhancements – aPriori is designed to be used by everyday business users, not just cost experts. With customizable screen layouts; tools and controls; flowchart-style process routing editors; and more, aPriori v6 continues to revolutionize how employees across multiple business functions can reduce product costs with better access to product cost information.

About aPriori

aPriori software and services generate hard-dollar product cost savings for discrete manufacturing organizations. Using aPriori’s real-time product cost assessments, employees in sourcing, manufacturing and design engineering make more-informed decisions that drive costs out of products pre- and post-production. With aPriori, manufacturers launch products at cost targets, maximize savings in re-work projects and never overpay for sourced parts.

To learn more about aPriori and its product cost management solutions and services, or to see an online demonstration, visit www.apriori.com or call 1.978.371.2006.

aPriori and aPriori Technologies are registered trademarks of aPriori Technologies Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.

aPriori v6 Reduces Product Costs and Direct Material Spend for Discrete Manufacturing Organizations

aPriori v6 Extends Integration to Leading 3D CAD Systems; Real-time "Should Cost" Assessments Enable Engineering, Manufacturing and Sourcing Departments to Make Better Decisions that Reduce Product Costs

Concord, Mass: aPriori today announced the availability of aPriori v6, the newest version of its market-leading Product Cost Management software platform. With innovative capabilities that provide real-time, predictive and precise product cost assessments, aPriori v6 empowers manufacturing organizations to significantly reduce product costs and direct material spend by identifying quantifiable savings in material, tooling, labor and overhead while evaluating alternative designs, processes and sources.

"When your employees know the cost impact of the product decisions they make as they make them, they drive more costs out of the products you manufacture. aPriori is designed to provide real-time cost feedback to everyone in the enterprise – from engineering to manufacturing to sourcing and more – so that employees can make faster, more-informed decisions that ultimately result in lower product costs," said Eric Arno Hiller, Founder and Chief Product Officer at aPriori. "With support for additional 3D CAD formats and manufacturing processes, aPriori v6 will help even more manufacturing organizations achieve their internal product cost targets and external spend reduction goals."

Support for Additional Manufacturing Processes & CAD File Formats
Enables More Organizations to Automatically Cost Their Parts & Products

aPriori v6 features support for additional 3D CAD file formats with integration to CATIA® v5, and Siemens PLM NX®. Combined with its existing integration to Pro/ENGINEER® Wildfire and enhanced support for industry standards including STEP, aPriori v6 significantly extends its ability to cost parts and products automatically and instantly from solid model files. By extending CAD file support, aPriori v6 enables both CAD-users and non-CAD users to cost parts and assemblies in real-time.

aPriori v6 also introduces the ability to cost parts and products manufactured through Bar & Tube Fabrication processes. The new Bar & Tube process group module adds automated costing capabilities for bar, tube, angle and channel stock using numerous cutting, sawing, punching, bending and forming processes. The Bar & Tube process group module joins the aPriori library of supported processes that includes Sheet Metal Fabrication, Sand Casting, Die Casting, Injection Molding, Machining, Stage Tooling, and Welded Assembly.

In addition to CAD file support and new process support, aPriori v6 includes a number of new capabilities and tools to help sourcing, manufacturing and engineering users know how much a part or product will cost to produce. Select improvements include:

• One-Click Costing – When evaluating alternative designs, materials, manufacturing processes and/or manufacturing locations, users can generate an up-to-the-second cost assessment with a single mouse click.

• Enhanced Welded Assembly Costing – aPriori v6 makes it even easier to assess the costs of a welded assembly. From within the aPriori interface, users can apply various weld types directly to an assembly and aPriori will automatically determine the costs to apply the weld and add it to the rolled-up assembly cost.

• Factory Data Maintenance Tools – To ensure cost assessments are as accurate as possible, aPriori uses a customer's (and/or their suppliers') individual material, labor and overhead rates. aPriori v6 adds capabilities to allow customers to easily update the system to reflect the most current rates as well as create new factories and/or suppliers.

• 3-D Assembly Visualization – aPriori's new CAD model viewer allows all users – regardless of whether or not they use a CAD application – to view and manipulate the costs of parts and assemblies.

• Usability Enhancements – aPriori is designed to be used by everyday business users, not just cost experts. With customizable screen layouts; tools and controls; flowchart-style process routing editors; and more, aPriori v6 continues to revolutionize how employees across multiple business functions can reduce product costs with better access to product cost information.


About aPriori

aPriori software and services generate hard-dollar product cost savings for discrete manufacturing organizations. Using aPriori's real-time product cost assessments, employees in sourcing, manufacturing and design engineering make more-informed decisions that drive costs out of products pre- and post-production. With aPriori, manufacturers launch products at cost targets, maximize savings in re-work projects and never overpay for sourced parts.

To learn more about aPriori and its product cost management solutions and services, or to see an online demonstration, visit www.apriori.com or call 1.978.371.2006.

aPriori and aPriori Technologies are registered trademarks of aPriori Technologies Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.