ACE 2014 kicked off the annual ACE series of global conferences with a bang! The energy at the conference was fantastic. Everywhere I looked collaboration was taking place, new connections were being made and cool new solutions were being designed.
I want to personally thank everyone for joining us and for your commitment to the Aras Community. Your enthusiasm is what makes events like this so special… and productive.
I'd also like to give a special shout out to all the people that presented – thank you for sharing your perspective and experiences with others. Your presentations and demos were fantastic! In addition thank you to the round table hosts who did a phenomenal job encouraging open discussions.
Last but certainly not least, I'd like to thank our sponsoring partners: Microsoft, 3D PDF Consortium,BigLever Software, Broadway Consulting Services, CMII, CMPIC, Crucis Technology, CycleOp,Fisher/ Unitech, I-Cubed, IHS, Integware, ITI Transcendata, Kisters, Minerva, NorthRidge Software,Plural Technology, PSC, Razorleaf, SofTech, T-Systems, xLM Solutions and xPLM. Without your continued support the event wouldn't be what it is today.
The theme this year was RIGHT NOW because ‘right now' is the time to plan for the future and because you can take your PLM strategy to the next level with Aras ‘right now'.
This year the days were chock full of user stories, product demos, round tables and more… and the evenings with music, drink and discussion.
Download all the slides from ACE 2014 (warning it's 50 MB)
Aras Keynote – Peter Schroer, CEO
Aras CEO and Founder, Peter Schroer got the show on the road with the community update where he announced several things including:
- The Aras Community for Automotive Innovation with a new Aras office in Detroit
- Dr. Martin Eigner, founder of Eigner & Partner, joins the Aras Advisory Board
- A strategic partnership with Altium
Peter also discussed the importance of PLM scalability as the value of PLM is in wide usage across departments globally, as well as suppliers, outsourced manufacturing partners and customers.
He provided an overview of the industry's largest independent testing which validated optimal performance and resource utilization of Aras Innovator 10 on SQL Server 2012 with over 125,000 concurrent users. You can read the full PLM scalability report to learn more.
He went on to explain how further testing was done with Aras Innovator 10 on SQL Server 2014 which scaled to over 1 Million named users and 250,000 concurrent users. Stay tuned for the results in this upcoming paper. Both of these tests were done by independent validation firm Logic 20/20 with the help of Microsoft and HP.
He also issued a PLM Community challenge: How can we all make PLM fun... engaging, productive? He suggested Simpler User Interfaces, more Mobile, iterative & agile deployments that ensure that end-user enhancement requests are answered quickly, and Integrating PLM within the everyday tools like Office, CAD, Dashboards and other systems that make it easy for users.
He ended with "Just Simply Works" because as he puts it, "PLM only works if the end-users want to use it."
Guest Keynote – Microsoft
Simon Floyd, Director of Business Development & Strategy for PLM Solutions, got us all thinking about the future of PLM in his presentation on Product Development & Manufacturing Technology Trends. He covered everything from Enterprise Mobility and 3D Printing to Cloud, Social, Business Intelligence and more. His conclusion is that the drive for greater productivity is pushing people to rethink PLM for the future. We agree.
Engineering Definition & Supply Chain BOM Management for Complex Configurations – General Electric
"EBOM to MBOM, how hard can it be?" That's the question GE Aviation posed and their answer may surprise you. EBOM = MBOM +/- changes over time. GE Aviation migrated 43,000 BOMs, 171,000 Global Items and more into Aras. Now Aras is the master of their MBOM or Supply Chain Planning BOM as they call it, and represents the key to accurate information for precision manufacturing. Take a look at the slides to see a great explanation of the complexity of the EBOM to MBOM conversion along with screenshots of BOM Compare, complex Parts lists with Explode and MCO.
Overcoming PLM Challenges to the Licensee Business – MAN Diesel & Turbo
Find out how MAN Diesel & Turbo, the world's leading ship engine manufacturer, extended their PLM footprint across the lifecycle by integrating Aras PLM with Siemens Teamcenter. This allows MAN to create a single version of the truth by eliminating data silos and creating an interconnected environment globally.
Building a PLM Skyscraper – Schrader Electronics
Everyone looks at implementing a PLM system slightly differently and for Schrader, implementing PLM is like building a PLM skyscraper. Before you begin building (or implementing) you need to build a solid foundation with a strong team, requirements, and partner to work with. Then construction starts from the ground up. For Schrader this meant a basic Part Master, BOM Management, Document Management, and ERP integration. They have more floors coming on their PLM skyscraper and are confident Aras was the right choice.
PLM from Product Development to Field & Back Again – CNH Reman
CNH Reman changed the game for its users. Before implementing Aras PLM, they were managing by spreadsheet which provided no visibility, no data integrity and no accountability. And while users were initially skeptical about having a full PLM solution, they have seen the positive impact Aras has made on the business and have turned into feature junkies and are now addicted to PLM.
Critical Capabilities for Future Success in the Manufacturing Industry – IDC Insights
Bob Parker of IDC Insights went over recent research regarding the future of manufacturing and really keyed in on four areas where companies must develop critical capabilities to succeed: Speed, Quality, Innovation and Resiliency.
We talk a lot about Resiliency at Aras and it really clicked when Bob explained a Resilient System is simple at the core and diverse at the edges. Think about Aras Innovator; at its very core its simple which gives you the power to adapt and customize it to fit your needs easily and enables upgrades without impacting your customizations. Then at the edges, think User Interfaces and APIs for integrations, its diver
Collaborate & Contribute Awards
The winners of this year's Collaborate & Contribute award were:
Hitachi – Japanese enterprise search with recommendation engine
Sandia National Laboratories – Smart file extension handling for file check-ins
Minerva – New form layout for advanced search on PolyItem
Let's congratulate the winners again and thank them for their contributions to the Aras Community!
Right Now you can participate to get new ideas, new applications and move your PLM initiative forward. You might even see your name listed above next year. You can be nominated for an award by actively participating in the Aras Community. Some examples include:
- Submitting ideas
- Making requests
- Commenting in the Aras Forums
- Contributing specifications
- Form designs
- Use cases
- Workflows
- Business rules
- Data models
- Collaborative development
- Prototyping
- Developing solutions & add-ons
- Scripts / methods and code samples
- Doing interfaces & integrations
- Testing & verification
- Creating documentation
- Doing translations
- Sharing Your Story
Solution Showcase
This is one of the most popular sessions at ACE, with the 5 minute rapid fire demos. This all software / no slides session brings out the true innovators to show off their new solutions and is a really great time for audience members to see how other people are using Aras.
Some of this year's Solution Showcase participants included:
Aras Developer Documentation Tool – GETRAG Ford Transmissions
Issue Management in Aras on Win8 App – Razorleaf
Learning Activities Solutions – Nidec Motor Company
CRM for Aras – ED2
ERP Integration Data Mapping – CycleOp
...and many more
Download ACE 2014 SLIDES
Download all the slides from ACE 2014 (warning it's 50 MB)
Main Session
Product Development & Manufacturing Technology Trends – Microsoft
Engineering Definition and Supply Chain BOM Management for Complex Configurations – GE
Overcoming PLM Challenges to the Licensee Business – MAN Diesel & Turbo
Building a PLM Skyscraper – Schrader Electronics
PLM from Product Development to Field & Back Again – CNH Reman
Critical Capabilities for Future Success in the Manufacturing Industry – IDC Insights
What's Ahead: Aras Vision & Roadmap
Basic Track
The Business Value of CAD Connectors
An Agile Implementation for PLM
FX MEILLER's CATIA V5 Migration to Aras
Keeping the Implementation Momentum Going
Technical Track
Tuning Aras Innovator for Scalability
PDM Process Configuration for CAD
Mobile Application Development
Self-Documenting Aras Innovator
Customizing Aras Program Management
Customizing Aras Product Engineering
Implementing Aras Conversion Server
SharePoint Web Services Integration
Business Track
Document Management and Office Connector
Aras Community for Automotive Innovation
Preparing CAD Data for Migration from Legacy PLM / PDM
A Medical Devices Journey to Fewer Systems & Greater Consistency
Enterprise Search for PLM & More
We look forward to seeing you at some of the other conferences in this year's global ACE series including ACE Japan and ACE Europe.
And stay tuned for other local and regional ACE sessions. We'll post them in the newsletter and on the web site throughout the year as dates and locations are announced.
Also, if you'd like to host your own mini-ACE session at your company, get in touch and we can help!
