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In the current issue of The Insider found at www.accountingsoftware411.com, FrankAzzolino, CEO of aPriori Technologies discusses how the business operations focus ison financially related concerns such as margin, contribution, and profit. Thelanguage of the business is time and money. It is no secret that the profit motiveis what drives critical company decisions. It is also no secret that the ability forthe product to achieve the expected financial goals is driven by design andmanufacturing decisions that occur very early in (and continually throughout) theproduct delivery process.
MCAD and PLM have historically focused on the engineering and design aspects ofproduct delivery. The language of engineering as spoken by MCAD and PLM is based onphysical attributes of the product and technological capabilities of the softwaresolutions used. The result is a series of conversations about features, rounds,fillets, and chamfers.
Major PLM and MCAD providers long for acceptance and penetration outside ofengineering departments at the same time the major ERP (enterprise resourceplanning) vendors strive to enter the engineering and product delivery arena.
In each of these application platforms, PLM and ERP, cost can be managed. On the ERPside, costs are always historical; these costs are available to be managed onlyafter production. While it is more difficult to manage costs on the PLM side of thehouse, it is often potentially more valuable. The need for real- time, predictivecosts are essential to allow design and manufacturing teams to avoid and eliminatecosts early in the process (when critical cost-driving decisions are made.)Currently the array of MCAD, PLM, and ERP applications do not allow for the abilityto generate this early cost knowledge.
The aPriori v4.0 Cost Management Software Platform provides real-time, predictivecost assessments throughout the entire product development and delivery process.aPriori v4.0 enables designers and engineers, manufacturing engineers and planners,purchasing and sourcing professionals, cost managers, and program/project managementto make better decisions to reduce, avoid, and recover product costs. aPriori'ssolutions enable manufacturing companies to measurably reduce their Costs-of-GoodsSold (COGS) by whole percentages by identifying quantifiable savings in material,tooling, labor and overhead while evaluating alternative designs, manufacturingprocesses, and vendor sources.
About aPrioriBased in Concord, MA, aPriori is the technology leader providing innovative costmanagement solutions to the discrete manufacturing industry. aPrioriÂ's CostManagement Software Platform enables manufacturers to better understand product costdecisions early and throughout the product lifecycle. aPrioriÂ's Cost ManagementPlatform empowers manufacturers to lower cost-of-goods sold (COGS), providesreal-time visibility to  cost-critical decision information, and builds criticalcost knowledge to go on the business  offensive. aPrioriÂ's patented costmanagement platform allows companies to assess, control, and reduce cost of goodssold by whole percentages. The aPriori Platform truly enables  Cost KnowledgeBefore it Matters.Â
 aPriori has customers in a variety of industries including High Technology,Industrial Equipment, Automotive, and Heavy Machinery. Recent customers include JohnDeere, Panasonic, Thomas & Betts, Flextronics, JLG, and Dana Corporation.Â
