Chicago-based provider of extended enterprise solutions and services SSA Global has announced a new product life cycle management (PLM) application designed to help users lower their total cost of ownership through integration with other enterprise systems.

PLM 8.0 brings together all of the current needs of the industry with regard to design anywhere, manufacture anywhere (or multi-site) environments, according to Melissa Ries, senior director of PLM solutions management for SSA Global. “It also provides flexibility in the retrieval of information related to any attribute in the product structure,” she adds.

Version 8.0 focuses on three main areas of enhancements: integration, regulatory compliance and workflow. It offers expanded integration with SSA ERP and with various CAD applications by supporting a multi-site architecture. It addresses specific regulatory requirements established by the European Commission, U.S. government and international standards-setting organizations. And it makes detailed product information easily accessible throughout the enterprise.

Although typically the engineering department controls all data related to product structures, Ries has noticed an ongoing trend to make that data more visible to the entire company. SSA PLM provides enterprise users with a Web client portal to manage and review engineering documents and bill of materials, approve and contribute to new product introductions, source goods through suppliers or share designs with customers, she says. As a result, companies are once again beginning to embrace the old buzzword, TQM, or total quality management, she adds.

Through the use of PLM, engineering changes, for example, are proactively communicated and available for implementation by quality control in the shop floor inspection. Engineers can take advantage of PLM’s impact analysis tool to enable the selection of items at the lowest cost and in the shortest available time, Ries says.

SSA Global says this release will allow for a more flexible environment to work with other applications. “Product information is stored in disparate environments, and SSA PLM provides an interoperable layer for a seamless flow of product information through its life cycle,” Ries says. The product is currently being used by companies with multiple CAD/CAM systems, Microsoft Office and multiple ERP and CRM applications.

Pricing varies depending on the number of users. A mid-market company with revenues of $200 million can get started with PLM 8.0 for approximately $75,000. The product is sold in bundles or modules as needed.

For more information, go to: www.ssaglobal.com