Apriso Expands Quality Management Across Supply Chain.

Ricoh Manages Quality at Supplier Plants with Apriso FlexNet; Expanded Visibility Helps Confirm 'As-Built' Specifications Match 'As-Planned', Avoiding Shipment and Receipt of Poor Quality Parts

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Apriso, a leading provider of adaptive software solutions for global manufacturing operations management, today challenged the concept of where responsibility for the execution of product quality management should reside. The firm recently sponsored a white paper entitled "MES: Achieving Real Quality through Virtual Products," written by Dr. Michael Grieves, a world-renowned author and speaker. The paper explains how the ownership of product quality can be extended into the supply chain allowing 'as built' quality metrics to be identified, measured and authenticated through a manufacturer's global manufacturing operations management solution, such as Apriso's, as a criterion to accept or reject supplier orders prior to shipment.

Ricoh, a widely recognized major office appliance manufacturer with a substantial presence in the digital copier, laser printer and electronic device markets, has taken this approach with their Apriso FlexNet implementation to extend visibility and quality control out to third party suppliers. Based on the system's flexibility, ease of deployment and global visibility across multiple production and supplier facilities, Apriso FlexNet has been an ideal fit for Ricoh, which has maximized production capacity and improved supply chain operations performance.

"Ricoh managers now have real-time data at their finger tips, readily able to view WIP, even at a subcontractor's plant," explained Akira Matsushima, Senior Specialist, Electronic Devices Company, Ricoh Company, Ltd. To learn more about how Ricoh has leveraged FlexNet as a solution for supply chain visibility, please go to: www.apriso.com/pr/ricoh.

"Inspecting a virtual product in advance of the physical product's shipment is critical to quality manufacturing within an organization. It also has tremendous advantage when applied to the supply chain," explains Dr. Grieves. "If a manufacturer has complete control of the parts it manufactures, but receives components from suppliers that are not of the required quality, their entire product suffers. By the time substandard components physically arrive at the loading dock, it is too late to avoid the delays and costs of dealing with the problem."

Virtually Connecting Distributed Operations 

As physical quality inspections within the receiving processes have become increasingly impractical and costly, the need exists to integrate supplier production with manufacturing operations. The FlexNet Manufacturing Execution System can perform a comparative analysis of 'as-built' physical components and products from a supplier with 'as-designed' specifications from a manufacturer, confirming the appropriate quality metrics have been achieved. Under this new model, responsibility for product quality validation is now shared between manufacturers and their suppliers, necessitating the delivery and acceptance of virtual 'as-built' product specifications prior to physical shipment.

An advantage to suppliers is fewer returns for sub-standard shipments, improving customer satisfaction while lowering costs. Manufacturers benefit by reducing the likelihood of delay, improving and accelerating operational efficiency as well as elevating overall product quality. Both manufacturers and suppliers benefit from greater supply chain velocity - removing supply chain friction - to reduce costs in scrap, re-work, freight and inspection.

Real World Application

The Apriso FlexNet system implemented at Ricoh has enabled real-time visibility of work-in-process (WIP) at warehouse, subcontractor and supplier locations, allowing for better WIP management. Benefits from this increased visibility across locations and processes include:

* Increased reaction time, if WIP falls behind plan at any process or location

* Improved flexibility, to better manage processes and plan maintenance

* Fewer resources, from ease of monitoring production and warehouse process to collaborating and synchronizing data with existing systems

To download a free copy of this new white paper, please go to: www.apriso.com/pr/virtual_quality_whitepaper.

About Apriso

Apriso Corporation is a software company dedicated to providing competitive advantage for its customers. It does so by enabling organizations to adapt quickly and easily to market changes and unexpected events. Apriso's FlexNet platform provides visibility, adaptability and real-time control of manufacturing operations across the enterprise and supply chain network. This is accomplished by integrating planning, execution and control, increasing operational efficiency and eliminating errors in the production process. Apriso serves more than 170 customers in 41 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, powering more than 650 installations worldwide. Its customers include General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, L'Oreal, Trixell, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Saint-Gobain, Novelis and Essilor. For more information, please go to www.apriso.com.

Apriso and FlexNet are registered trademarks of Apriso Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.