Special Edition for DSC Software AG, Karlsruhe
Closing Ranks with SAP

WALLDORF, February (bv). The PLM Alliance has invited customers to a March 1 event at SAP’s corporate headquarters. At the heart of the “Info Day” will be expert reports on the use of SAP™ PLM, on the direct integration of CAD systems into engineering processes as well as solutions for process optimization in product development. In a CADplus interview, the spokesman of the PLM Alliance, Horst Heckhorn, explained why participants will find it worth their while to attend the event.

Now well over two years ago SAP development partners Cenit AG Systemhaus (Stuttgart), Cideon AG (Bautzen), DSC Software AG (Karlsruhe) and Riess Engineering GmbH (Karlsbad, Baden), signed a cooperative agreement on the joint development and implementation of special solutions in the SAP-PLM environment. Under the name PLM Alliance, the four companies have made it their explicit goal, to compliment SAP standard engineering solutions with their own products and services to provide integral support for the entire product development process. The PLM Alliance consolidates the experience gained in more than 350 successfully completed PLM integration projects. For the first time, companies representing all sectors of the manufacturing industry have the option to implement a SAP-PLM project with a minimum of risk and at optimized costs where the product creation process actually begins – i.e. in product development – all thanks to this never before available bundling of competencies . The name stands for planning and investment security throughout the entire lifecycle of an IT project - from project roll-out to the successful productive start-up. SAP embraced the concept; after all, the Alliance is indeed in a position to standardize its portfolio within the PLM environment of the Walldorf-based software conglomerate and to offer it to customers at fixed prices.

Customers benefit in a variety of ways. During an interview with this magazine, Horst Heckhorn, the spokesman of the PLM Alliance, explained how customers benefit from the Alliance: “Any customer who starts a project with one of the member companies gains access to the resources of all four partners.” Carefully coordinated solutions, all with deep integration into the SAP backbone, are in place. These solutions support all key high end CAD systems: Catia V 5 by Cenit, Inventor by Cideon, NX by DSC and Pro/Engineer by Riess Engineering. The CAD integration solutions available from these providers are included in SAP’s price list. Moreover, each of the member companies has developed additional solutions that either aim at filling specific niches in the SAP-PLM environment or integrate other applications into the SAP environment. In recent years, the four partners have attained a market share of more than 50 percent in Europe and produce revenues of in excess of EUR 100 million with PLM solutions – thanks to the know-how of 550 experts.

However, the PLM Alliance is much more than that: it is also a marketing association. “We have done a lot to communicate the fact that we have closed ranks,” comments Heckhorn, who is successfully pushing Cenit’s digital factory portfolio business into the North American market. He reports that the Alliance attended all central PLM events in Europe and in the United States. Last year, these events included the ASUG/Sapphire in Orlando, Florida, USA. The SAP Insider Conferences for Logistics and Supply Chain Management, PLM and Manufacturing is currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain and will make an appearance in Orlando shortly thereafter. According to the PLM Alliance spokesman, all past activities, such as joint exhibition booths or presentations, were embraced by the attendees.

Despite all of this harmony the question arises: Is there no competition between the four members? After all, the CAD systems they represent are definitely vying to increase their market shares. “Within the PLM Alliance, all four companies play the same role. Depending on the leading CAD system chosen by the customer, one of the members assumes the function of project leader, integrates the solutions of the remaining partners, if applicable, and aligns them with the overall solution,” clarifies the executive. Heckhorn confirms that the members do indeed compete with each other, and asserts “We have no intention of doing away with it either, as it is in the best interest of the customer.” For all cases involving an integral CAD topic, such as a concept that provides a solution for document management in combination with SAP, the Alliance has established a steering committee in which representatives of all four companies resolve related issues. “In the committee we have developed guidelines for decision-making we adhere by whenever necessary.” It is a kind of code that determines who will take on the role of project leader under which conditions.

What can attendees of the March 1 “Info Day” expect in terms of an agenda? “The program includes a number of synopsis presentations by Alliance members and SAP. Frank Spiegel of SAP will deliver the keynote speech “SAP PLM Drives Intelligent Lifecycle Innovation”. Spiegel will inform the audience on the direction the system provider intends to take in connection with PLM. After his speech, Uwe Kiel of Gottwald Port Technologies will share insights on the development and production of port logistics facilities, i.e. deliver a presentation on the SAP™ PLM in everyday business applications.

Among the driving forces that led to the establishment of the PLM Alliance were the development and marketing of new solutions. Heckhorn explains the process: “In both cases, one company assumes the role of project leader while the others provide services when needed.” Accordingly, several solutions have been launched in this fashion in the past, including EnterpriseConnector with Cenit as the project leader. This multi-CAD-data-exchange solution combined with SAP™ PLM as the data backbone allows complete integration into the digital supply chain. The tool can also be used for data migration from Legacy systems. Another great example is the EngineeringControlCenter, which was developed under the direction of DSC. This tool makes complex PLM processes in the SAP environment more transparent by granting access to PLM objects that are networked with each other via a condensed user interface. “EngineeringControlCenter makes it possible to execute all project control activities from a single cockpit,” explains the PLM expert. One of the presentations planned for the Walldorf event will not only highlight these solutions, but will also provide information on the PLM Alliance conversion server. Cideon is at the helm of the conversion server project. The solution is based on the SAP content server and facilitates the access to large volume CAD data. The topics mentioned in this article obviously only represent a small selection of the topics guests of the “Info Day” can look forward to.