Automotive Industry Reaps Reduced Cost and Time-to-Market

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--Nov. 2, 20038, 2003--Leaders from the automotive industry recently shared their Digital Factory strategies at the DELMIA Worldwide User Group Conference. Presented were compelling results of how digital manufacturing simulation tools bring products to market faster, with higher quality, and overall lower costs.

First adopted by the OEMs, the Digital Factory is migrating to the supplier base. Digital factory tools are clearly the future in manufacturing. During the conference, Dr. Thomas Wagner, Robert Bosch GmbH stated that a 40 percent reduction in planning time was achieved due to digital factory tools, commenting, "Once considered a cost factor, software is now viewed as a business opportunity that enhances competitiveness."

"Saving planning time and being first to market is particularly important for smaller companies to be competitive," noted presenter Johann Gurtner of Siemens VDO, Commercial Vehicles. "Using digital factory planning, we are able to reduce the industrialization of new products from 24 to 8 months."

DaimlerChrysler has a stated initiatives to digitally verify the production of all new vehicles before any metal arrives on the factory floor. Toyota Motor Company has aggressively adopted digital manufacturing, using DELMIA's software to reconfigure almost half of its Japanese and U.S. plants since 1999. Audi AG has also committed to the Digital Factory stating, "No more physical cars without digital validation." Audi is using DELMIA's Process Engineer software to help identify process risks and avoid costly mistakes during the design phase.

A recent independent study entitled "The Benefits of Digital Manufacturing," prepared by CIMdata (Ann Arbor, Mich.) confirmed that companies using DELMIA's digital manufacturing solutions are achieving or exceeding their initial objectives and anticipated benefits.

According to the study, organizations adopting digital manufacturing technologies can expect the following:

-- 10 to 1 ROI on their annual investment

-- 40% reduction in process planning time

-- 30% reduction in time-to-market

-- 65% reduction in design changes

-- 40% reduction in number of machines, tools, and work centers

-- 15% increased production throughput

-- 13% reduction in overall production cost

DELMIA CEO Philippe Charles said, "The benefits are clear. By optimizing factory operations with digital manufacturing technology, automakers can lower costs, reduce time to market and achieve higher product quality - all before real world production begins."