Aras Corporation Announces Aras APQP Plus for Automotive Suppliers

TROY, Mich.--April 28, 2004--

Aras APQP Plus is First to Bring Broader Business Value to APQP and PPAP Processes by Delivering Them in the Context of Enterprise PLM Framework

Aras Corporation, a provider of practical Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced at the fourth annual AUTOe Conference in Troy, MI a new business application template called Aras APQP Plus. Designed for automotive suppliers, Aras APQP Plus runs on the Aras Innovator(TM) application framework and enables companies to maximize the business benefits of the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) by delivering them in a comprehensive enterprise PLM application.

"Our success with Aras APQP Plus comes from the application's practical functionality, ease of use, and affordability," said Tom Gill, Director at Freudenberg-NOK. "Aras automates the APQP process while giving us the capability to manage our programs and run our business based on our own competitive practices."

The Aras APQP Plus includes the APQP process and PPAP documents along with online workflows for part submission warrants and electronic status reporting that conforms to the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAQ) eAPQP requirements. Forms and workflows for corrective and preventive actions are also included as well as audit report checklists.

Adherence to the quality standard for the design/development, production, installation, and servicing of automotive related products (ISO / TS 16949:2002) is automated within a PLM framework. Aras APQP Plus extends the business value by providing:

-- Customized Project Portfolio Dashboards

-- Program Cost Accounting & Resource Planning

-- Engineering Change Management

-- Launch Scorecards

-- Supplier Portal for Information Sharing

-- Supplier Evaluation and Scorecards

-- Quality Plans & Shop Floor Deployment

"Automotive suppliers must integrate compliance with quality standards into their normal business processes if they are to be successful," noted Ed Miller, President of CIMdata, an industry-leading consulting and research firm focused on PLM. "Aras has targeted this industry need with their APQP Plus offering; to provide electronic APQP updates and PPAP submissions within the context of an overall PLM environment."

Because Aras APQP Plus is based on the flexible Aras Innovator(TM) enterprise application framework existing business processes and competitive practices can be easily mapped without programming to the APQP and PPAP milestones. Additionally, specialized forms address customer specific APQP/PPAP requirements.

"Using process-specific templates such as APQP and PPAP, Aras APQP Plus deploys quickly, scales rapidly, and allows suppliers to easily adapt to changing business requirements," said Rick Lucier, CEO of Aras Corporation. "Together these factors make Aras by far the lowest cost of ownership on the market for an enterprise PLM solution and include the added benefit of integrated APQP and PPAP functionality."

Leading automotive suppliers including The Freudenberg Group and NEMAK are using Aras APQP Plus. Aras APQP Plus is available immediately and is included with the purchase of Aras Innovator(TM). Pricing starts at $50,000 and can be purchased directly from Aras.

About Aras Corporation

Aras Corporation is a provider of practical and affordable enterprise Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. Aras PLM is an engineering and manufacturing business solution with comprehensive ready-to-use functionality that addresses the rigorous requirements of discrete manufacturing operations. The underlying Aras Innovator(TM) application framework is based on a next-generation model-based service architecture that enables customers to deploy solutions quickly and adapt easily without programming delivering a Total Cost of Ownership far lower than conventional enterprise systems. Customers include Rolls-Royce, Freudenberg-NOK, Ingersoll-Rand, and the U.S. Army. Aras is a privately held company headquartered in Lawrence, Mass. For additional information visit http://www.arascorp.com or call (978) 794-7643.

Note to Editors: Screen shots are available at www.arascorp.com/news/arasauto/