Under the Hood

Greenpoint: Solving Challenges with Emerging Tech

Greenpoint Technologies is a Boeing Business Jet Completion Center, which provides high end interiors for private individuals and Heads-of-State. In business for 27 years, they manage the design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of their products, from start to finish. When Greenpoint went looking for a PLM tool, they had grown a whopping 200% in just a year and a half, and found it difficult to track and manage the enormous amount of data, as well as to coordinate their team, and foster collaboration. 

Now a happy PLM 360 customer, Greenpoint didn't just stop with an in-the-cloud PLM tool. They continue to explore new technologies as solutions to commonly-faced challenges. Tighter security constraints driven by their parent company led them to Jitterbit Harmony. Expensive aircraft reference data for Boeing aircraft brought them to investigate Autodesk Recap. Lastly, inefficiencies in their design and engineering have turned them on to Fusion 360, our cloud-based CAD/CAM tool.

Check out their PLM 360 Customer Story below, and come hear how they are solving real-world challenges with emerging technologies at Accelerate 2015, happening in Boston, MA Sept 1-2nd. Register for your free pass before they run out!

 

Accelerate 2015: Getting PLM Buy-in from the Bosses

There's less than 4 weeks left until Accelerate 2015, our 2nd annual PLM conference with a focus on the Future of Making Things. Each week we've introduced one of the customer-led breakout sessions available to attendees - you can check out the first four here.

SureTank, Ltd. has been in business for 20 years, and is a leading manufacturer of Cargo Carrying Units for the offshore oil industry. As a global supplier, with manufacturing and sales offices all over the world, they face the challenge of managing their engineering and quality processes, when employees are spread across the globe. Cloud PLM helped them to move from a manual re-entry process, to a single system that can be used from any location.

Initially Suretank’s management vision was to optimize the use of their ERP tool for document management, but as the company grew to over 600 employees across multiple continents, sharing information efficiently through repeatable processes had become an enormous challenge. Learn firsthand how they were able to convince both management and internal teams that implementing a PLM solution could solve a lot of their day-to-day business problems. Also, how they have continued to expand their usage of PLM 360 and get internal buy-in.

Get a peek into SureTank's story below, and register for your free pass to Accelerate 2015 soon - time is running out!

 

 

 

QFC: Managing Organizational Change at Accelerate 2015

QFC has been manufacturing quality furniture for the last 22 years. They have found success by completing product design in-house, and working closely with customers to ensure that they're staying ahead of design trends, priding themselves on making the ordinary extraordinary using new designs and shapes. Manufacturing an average of 7,000 sofas per week, QFC went looking for a software to help them manage New Product Introduction - as a believer that the cloud is the way of the future, they found their way to PLM 360.

Change is never easy, and implementing PLM requires teams across the organization to adopt new habits. At Accelerate 2015, QFC will share how they’re managing organizational change to ensure success with PLM. In the meantime, get a glimpse into their story below. We're just a little more than a month out from the event, so register for your free pass now!

 

- Kim Stout, Community Manager

Igniting the Spark at Accelerate 2015

Most everyone has heard of Ember, a high-resolution 3D printer from Autodesk that is capable of producing detailed parts at a high speed, and complex objects with a level of detail that extrusion printers can't match. Ember is powered by the Spark open 3D printing platform, learning over time, and continuing to improve print preparation and optimization each time you print. An open platform, Spark allows printing directly to Ember from any Spark powered 3D design application.

Along with the development of Ember, Autodesk created the Spark Investment fund - $100 million with the goal of fueling the new industrial revolution by nurturing innovative startup companies who are working to solve the challenges facing additive manufacturing. This effort not only helps to bring their ideas and products to market, but creates successful businesses that are "sparking" the Future of Making Things.

Although a part of Autodesk, development of the Ember printer has worked more like a hardware startup company, and therefore faces many of the same challenges that other hardware startups do. The Autodesk Spark team turned to PLM 360, using the software to keep track of ECOs and variances as well as approved manufacturers and documentation related to compliance, certifications etc. It helps the team to create documentation that is easy for their CM to accept as well as keep track of their overall manufacturing. They continue to add in more functionality and use more features.

Come hear the Spark Team's story at Accelerate 2015, September 1-2 in Boston, MA. This is a free event with limited seating - reserve your pass before they run out!

- Kim Stout, Community Manager

 

Business Intelligence from PLM Data at Accelerate 2015

We're now only 6 weeks out from Accelerate PLM 2015, and we're busy putting the finishing touches on what we know will be a great event. Over the next few weeks, I'll be introducing some of the customer-led classes that will be available to attendees. Each customer comes with their own unique PLM experiences, and have their own message to share with current or potential users. Last week I introduced Club W, who will share their story of staying on track in a rapidly growing business, and lead a discussion around designing processes with a focus on the business.

The next customer I would like to highlight is TSM Control Systems, a company that provides blending and automation solutions to the global plastics industry, which enables companies to achieve the level of precision that their production processes demand.

Engineering Manager David Keeley is using PLM 360 to ultimately reduce manufacturing cycle time - the focus of his session will be process optimization and using PLM processes and data to drive their Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards. He will show how metrics for these processes can be easily manifested in a BI platform using the PLM API, which can be setup in just a matter of days! Attend his class to find out how PLM and BI tools can help your business to make quick and smart decisions.

Want a sneak peek? Check out this interview of David Keeley by Jim Brown of Tech-Clarity. If you haven't yet registered for your free pass to Accelerate 2015, Sept 1-2 in Boston, you still have time! Sign up here.

 

We hope to see you there.

- Kim Stout, Community Manager

Wine and PLM at Accelerate 2015

In the 7 weeks left leading up to Accelerate 2015, our 2nd annual PLM event, I will be introducing a few of the classes that will be available to attendees, along with the customers who will be leading them. If you haven't yet registered for your free pass, I encourage you to do so here.

The first class I would like to highlight involves two of my favorite things: Wine and PLM. This class will be led by KJ Carlson from Club W, a very cool company, and the world's only personalized wine club that delivers exceptional wines right to your door (or the door of your mom, friend, or whomever you'd like).

How can a start-up winery go from producing zero wines a year to over 100, while adding zero headcount and keeping it brain damage free? By not over thinking the process and giving the team a simple, single source of the truth for all of their work. Implementing PLM 360 very early into their process, Club W laid the foundation for their product team to work error free in a collaborative environment, avoiding the normal pain of excel and email-based work. Hear Club W's story of going from 10 employees in the company and needing to ramp up to 100,000 cases of wine and over 100+ SKUs, followed by a discussion with a focus on the business vs. designing processes for process sake.

Want a taste? Check out this interview of KJ by Jim Brown from Tech-Clarity. Keep an eye out for future class highlights - we look forward to seeing you in Boston!

 

- Kim Stout, Community Manager