SAP and Aspect team up to reduce manufacturers' procurement costs and time to market
WALLDORF, GERMANY (Feb. 20) BUSINESS WIRE -Feb. 20, 1997--
SAP to sell Aspect's entire product line
SAP AG and Aspect Development Inc. today announced that starting
immediately, SAP's sales force will market Aspect's Component and
Supplier Management (CSM) system throughout the world, enhancing SAP's
R/3(TM) supply-chain management capabilities in design, engineering and
procurement.
The SAP-Aspect integrated solution provides companies' engineering and
procurement departments with a consolidated view of technical and
business information for component parts and suppliers, significantly
reducing design-to-manufacture time, optimizing supply-chain
relationships, and increasing return on information.
Under the agreement, the two companies will integrate Aspect's CSM
solution, including decision support software (Explore) and a content
reference database (Very Important Parts, or VIP), with SAP's R/3
client/server enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to optimize
the specification and purchasing of component parts. The agreement was
driven by customer demand within electronics and other discrete
manufacturing industries, in which most component and supplier
decisions are made by design engineers.
"We estimate that for every 1 percent improvement in component
selection and procurement, we save $200 million a year," said Bjorn
Andersen, director of IBM Corp.'s strategic business applications.
"Given this kind of payback, we consider CSM a critical system, and it
only makes sense that this be tightly integrated into our SAP
manufacturing system so that there's a seamless flow of information
between the two systems. We're delighted that the world leader in ERP
has teamed with the world leader in CSM." Powerful Engineering and
Procurement Decision Support
Combining technical component and supplier information from Aspect's
CSM database with business information from SAP's ERP solution provides
a bridge between engineering and procurement departments. The joint
solution enables engineering and procurement to select and purchase
parts most appropriate to a design based on both technical part and
supplier data (Aspect) and business information on lead time, supplier
reliability, volume pricing and logistics (SAP). In addition, design
engineers can rapidly evaluate tradeoffs between technical and business
requirements, and classify, manage and reuse existing design knowledge
to further shorten the design cycle.
"The integration of Aspect's Explore product with R/3 will
significantly improve SAP's support for the procurement end of the
supply chain," said Jim Shepherd, vice president, Advanced
Manufacturing Research Inc. "While outbound distribution gets most of
the attention in supply-chain management discussions, for most
manufacturers the real supply-chain opportunity lies in better
management of purchased materials." Supply-Chain Consolidation
The SAP-Aspect solution will enable manufacturers to cross-reference
multiple part-numbering systems and increase the supply-chain
efficiency by consolidating purchases to a minimum number of strategic
suppliers at the lowest available prices. This supply-chain
consolidation can significantly reduce the costs of purchased
components and those associated with supplier development, management
and logistics.
"This powerful combination has been endorsed by our joint customer base,
" said Paul Wahl, CEO of SAP America Inc. "This is the only solution
available that provides real competitive advantage in reduced time to
market, supply-chain consolidation, and the use of optimal components
and preferred suppliers." Global, Comprehensive Parts and Supplier
Data
Aspect's CSM solution provides a unified, enterprisewide repository of
all information about components, suppliers and designs. Aspect's VIP
reference database is the world's largest database of electronic and
electromechanical components and suppliers, with detailed information
on nearly 2 million parts from nearly 700 suppliers worldwide.
Aspect's CSM content "factory" has the capacity to create and publish
detailed information about 20,000 new components per week. SAP's
manufacturing customers' requirements will provide additional input to
Aspect's CSM content factory. Aspect's offering also includes Explore,
a search engine that provides unmatched power and speed for identifying
components and suppliers.
"Our Fortune 500 worldwide customer base has validated the benefits of
the Aspect CSM solution. It serves as the bridge between design and
procurement," said Romesh Wadhwani, chairman and CEO of Aspect. "Now,
through the SAP partnership, we will leverage these benefits into
manufacturing, production planning and logistics for hundreds of
customers around the world." About SAP
SAP is a market and technology leader in client/server enterprise
application software, providing comprehensive solutions for companies
of all sizes and all industry sectors. Cultivating innovative
technologies on a solid foundation of business experience, SAP delivers
scalable solutions that enable its customers to continually improve
upon best business practices. SAP products empower people to respond
quickly and decisively to dynamic market conditions, helping businesses
achieve and maintain a competitive advantage. |
