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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Systems/Enterprise:
IBM PROVIDES NEW PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT SERVICE
IBM announced that Lam Research Corp, a supplier of semiconductor fabrication
equipment, is the first client to select a new, Web-based product lifecycle
management (PLM) service from IBM to help improve efficiency in product
lifecycle processes.
The service is the first utility offering of its kind for PLM. Under the terms
of the agreement, IBM plans to provide Lam with a comprehensive, network-based
solution for managing and archiving product design documents and processes,
including knowledge management and collaboration features, in a
security-enhanced environment.
"The new on demand service from IBM will help Lam streamline processes and
enable collaboration with our customers and suppliers," said Steve Newberry,
Lam's president and COO. "Utilizing IBM's services will allow for faster
realization of business value and maximum ROI on this IT investment, in
addition to responsiveness and flexibility to move with the market."
IBM's new on demand PLM service facilitates standardization of design
practices and enables collaboration throughout the Lam value chain, helping
increase product quality, improve market responsiveness and lower cost of
production. Lam will tap into the service on an as-needed basis, paying only
for the resources used. The service allows Lam to eliminate upfront capital
expenditures and reduce deployment time, compared to a traditional
implementation where Lam would install the infrastructure and manage the
application in-house.
IBM also intends to offer this service to the member companies of the
CapOneSource Alliance, of which Lam is a founding member. Member companies
that contract with IBM for this on demand PLM service will have the
opportunity to achieve savings and other benefits as a result of sharing the
utility among multiple companies in the Alliance.
CapOneSource Alliance, LLC is a not-for-profit alliance of providers and
consumers of common corporate services. Members and providers share in the
vision of reducing costs and increasing productivity by aggregating demand for
services through a single, highly capable supplier. The inspiration for
CapOneSource began with an outsourcing initiative at Lam Research Corporation.
"By tapping into the IBM product lifecycle management service, Lam will have a
method for streamlining processes that are vital to the company's success,"
said Marilyn Stemper, IBM business consulting services partner for Electronics
Industry PLM.
With this service, IBM is combining e-business Hosting Services with IBM
Business Consulting Services, which provided PLM strategy, and business
process transformation and implementation services. This combination provides
a comprehensive PLM on demand service for manufacturers around the world, and
is a compelling proposition for any company that creates complex products with
multiple parts, such as aerospace and defense, electronics, medical device,
and semiconductor companies.
Specifically for Lam, this new IBM PLM service is being built on PTC
Windchill's application software suite, including PDMLink and ProjectLink
Version 7, and is expected to be utilized in late summer of 2004. IBM expects
to offer a similar service for other PLM applications by year end.
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