Configuration Solutions Adds Three New Automotive Customers As Demand for Program and Product Lifecycle Management (PPLM) Solutions Heats Up.

PPLM application helps drive revenue acquisition process: Interactive modules help improve cost estimating accuracy, manage program launches and control margins.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Configuration Solutions, a leading provider of enterprise-wide product configuration and selling solutions announced today that with costs soaring and margins shrinking, automotive suppliers have virtually no room for error in the quote to launch to production lifecycle. This is a key driver for the surge in new customers for the company. Configuration Solutions added Guilford, McKechnie Vehicle Components, and Florida Production Engineering as new customers.

Guilford, a North Carolina-based designer and developer of automotive interior textiles, recently selected and implemented CS-PMP (Program Management Process) - one of the six interactive modules in the CS-PPLM software suite - to streamline and unify their product development, program management and product rollout process. According to Kurt Kushner, Guilford's Vice President of Engineering & Program Management, "Each of our customers has its own process we need to support, but trying to manage every program differently creates confusion and disarray. CS-PMP helps us time key dates to our internal process deliverables. Planning, control and communication are the essential ingredients to launching a quality product on time and profitably, and we know that with CS-PMP we will get the results that will help build our business."

"Automotive suppliers realize that their short- and long-term business success depends on their ability to perfectly align every aspect of their internal processes with customer requirements. Recognizing how fragmented and incompatible existing IT applications were, we developed our CS-PPLM solution set specifically for automotive suppliers, so they would have the necessary software tools to systematically and cost-effectively manage program and product lifecycles," said Dale Colosky, President and CEO of Configuration Solutions, Inc.

Michigan-based McKechnie Vehicle Components completed implementation of CS-PMP, and expects measurable results, ranging from a three to five percent reduction in the amount of time between program kick-off and customer submission to a 50-75 percent reduction in engineering change lead time.

"CS-PMP allows us to manage and monitor our active programs in ways we were unable to previously, or unable to do as efficiently. With CS-PMP, we reduce errors and improve accuracy because everyone views the same documentation. In addition, global 24/7 access to all files, documents and CAD drawings means we maximize our productivity across the enterprise," said Eric Jensen, Program Management Director at McKechnie.

Configuration Solutions' CS-PPLM is a web-enabled suite of interactive application software modules connecting technology and business strategy to address the entire lifecycle of the quote-to-award business process, real-time program management, and ongoing product lifecycle management. The suite streamlines and automates workflows and procedures, from cost estimating, engineering, Bill of Material and manufacturing process generation, through quoting, financial review, documentation and submission of bids in the unique format required by each company's OEM customers, as well as new program rollouts and ongoing engineering changes to existing business.

About Configuration Solutions

Configuration Solutions (CS) is a leading provider of knowledge-based process and product configuration software and solutions for manufacturing, automotive and business service organizations. For more than 15 years, the organization has worked with leading organizations--from Global 2000 to small and midsize companies--providing enterprise-wide solutions across all facets of the business, from front-end sales and order management, to more sophisticated engineering and factory floor operations.