Earlier this year, leading ERP software and manufacturing execution system provider, IQMS was acquired by Dassault Systèmes.
We’ve been following the acquisition since, just to see how IQMS will be incorporated into Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE platform, which helps mid-market manufacturing companies transform their business operations digitally.
We already know that IQMS will be rebranded as DELMIAWORKS imminently (DELMIA is Dassault’s manufacturing brand), but last week a webinar hosted by IQMS and the SOLIDWORKS team at Dassault gave an insight into how IQMS’ manufacturing software will be offered to the SOLIDWORKS community.
Back when IQMS CEO, Gary Nemmers first explored the acquisition with Dassault, his thoughts were always with the SOLIDWORKS community, of which an estimated 25% of whom are manufacturers – and over 60% of IQMS customers use SOLIDWORKS in their operation (around 600 customers in total).
In a nutshell, DELMIAWORKS provides an end-to-end manufacturing solution.
IQMS and Dassault identified that the design process and the manufacturing process have, to this point been two parts of a disconnected world.
On the design side, we have concepts, design, testing and release. And on the other, the manufacturing process covering things like resource planning, procurement, production and fulfilment.
With DELMIAWORKS, these two worlds will be seamlessly integrated. A world without walls in effect. Manufacturers will be able to move through the process – from concept, through design, simulation and release via SOLIDWORKS, to resource planning, BOM development, procurement, production and final shipment.
This cyclic process makes the design process much more visible right from the outset – what does the inventory look like from the very start and what’s the schedule for production going to be – so manufacturers can make better design decisions.
Of course, the reverse is also true from a production standpoint of understanding what’s happening in design and how that may impact production.
Key problems solved by ERP software
Bearing in mind that some of the attendees at the webinar, though in manufacturing, might not fully be aware of what benefits an ERP system could do for them, Steve Beiszcat (IQMS (DELMIAWORKS) Chief Marketing Officer) provided a useful bullet-pointed list:
- Owner/CEO – looking at a high level at how do we deliver profitability to support growth for the business
- Finance – seeking to support the CEO with their vision by understanding the true costs of production, predicted costs vs. actual costs and managing cash flow
- Sales – this team is looking to successfully manage orders and deliver quality products on time (every time)
- Engineering – are using an ERP to be able to transfer design into final product, and be able to track and manage the production throughout the process (i.e. production scheduling, production monitoring, quality management)
- Inventory – their perspective is focused on managing the raw materials (i.e. sufficient plastics/steel etc. to manufacture the product) and finished goods inventories (have we got enough finished products on hand to fulfill the sales orders)
- Production – as the title implies, focused on the production side of the operation, primarily managing standard costs of production and production times, i.e. how long does it take to manufacture
- Quality – can the business measure, control and document the quality components of the manufacturing process
- Maintenance teams – focused on ensuring that the equipment/machinery is running
- Warehouse – efficiently store and ship the right product to the right customer at the right time
If you’d like to learn more about DELMIAWORKS and how it works in conjunction with SOLIDWORKS to seamlessly manage your manufacturing business, why not contact us to request a demo?
Posted by Paul on 9th July 2019.