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Updated Costing Tool Targets Manufacturers Sign Up to receive Daily News Alerts in your E-mail Inbox
Posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 4:10:54 PM |
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Manufacturing cost estimating software provider MTI Systems today released version 9.0 of its Costimator OEM product, which, officials said, contains several enhancements for the assessment, identification, and reduction of product costs throughout the product development lifecycle.
Costimator OEM 9.0 contains an expanded set of feature-based cost models, including ones for prismatic and cylindrical machined components, sheet metal fabrication, and secondary non-machining operations.
“Understanding early in the product development lifecycle how new and alternative product designs affect cost allows companies to cut significant costs out of their products before reaching production,” said David LaJoie, MTI’s vice president of sales, in a statement.
The manufacturing data library in Costimator OEM includes more than 200 process cost models; 2,500 work centers; 3,500 parametric models; 2,400 materials; 3,400 labor and machine handling standards; and work center shop rates for more than two dozen countries. The vast majority of the data in the Costimator library comes from MTI’s customer base of approximately 1,000 suppliers and OEMs across a range of manufacturing sectors, including automotive (General Motors, Nissan), aerospace and defense (Boeing, Bombardier), electronics (Apple, IBM), heavy equipment (Caterpillar, Ingersoll-Rand), and consumer products (Black & Decker, Maytag). The data is validated during system implementation and then added to the Costimator OEM database library. The information is then shared with users on support contracts through regular software updates, MTI said.
Costimator OEM 9.0 also includes a new Cost Modeler development tool, which enables users to develop unique process or feature-based cost models based on individual requirements, the company said. Customers can also use the Cost Modeler tool to import Excel-based cost models into the Costimator OEM software.
Costimator OEM uses three types of estimating methods: feature-based, bottoms-up, and parametric. Feature-based estimating, used by design engineers, helps manufacturers estimate the cost of various designs based on part features. Bottoms-up, or activity-based estimating, is used by procurement personnel to help determine accurate manufacturing times and cost information used during negotiations with suppliers. Parametric cost models, based on historical cost data, are generated through regression analysis tables within Costimator’s parametric engine, called IQBuilder. Models can be developed for single- or multiple-level parts and assemblies.
According to a recent report by PLM research firm CIMdata, effective product design cost estimating is an important factor in determining whether a company should commit to building a product, because failure to accurately estimate the cost of a design can have a significant negative impact on a company’s market success and profitability.
“Cost has always been an issue,” said CIMdata’s Ken Amman today, “but as companies try to run tighter and leaner, and face growing competitive pressure, the interest in cost estimating products is growing.”
In addition, underestimating the cost may require an additional expenditure of resources, cause delays in bringing the product to market, or result in having to charge a price higher than the market will support, the research firm reports.
A growing number of companies are looking to implement product lifecycle management technologies, such as cost estimating software, said AMR Research in a December 2007 research note, as non-engineering staff, such as procurement officers, increasingly become involved in product design — a domain historically dominated by engineers. In addition, AMR says, both end users and PLM software providers are striving to better link product design with product launch to effectively predict demand and product performance, as well as to simulate supply and manufacturing capacity.
MTI recently recertified Costimator for integration with four ERP systems, including Rapid Response Manufacturing 7.5 from ProfitKey International; Shoptech’s E2 Shop System 7.1; Exact JobBOSS 10.1; and Infor’s ERP VISUAL 6.5.
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