Arena PLM: Online Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

Product Description

Arena PLM provides a centralized environment for managing product data, making it easy for OEMs, suppliers and outsourced partners to collaborate in real time around a single set of information - regardless of geographic location or time zone. This is particularly valuable for OEMs that need a secure way to share continually changing product data with contract manufacturers. Other benefits include fewer costly mistakes, improved product quality and faster time to market. The cost-effective subscription model, which makes Arena PLM affordable for organizations of any size, means that Arena PLM customers realize rapid ROI.

Arena PLM is the system of record for your product data. It manages the information that previously had to be tracked in spreadsheets and single-user tools, while also providing visibility into the specialized types of product data that are authored and stored in other applications your company uses (such as ERP, MCAD and EDA). Arena PLM integrates with those tools - specifically Mentor's PADS-Databook (formerly DxDatabook) product - to keep data in the various systems synchronized throughout the product lifecycle.

This enables Arena PLM to provide a complete view of your products, an imperative for any company facing time-to-market or cost pressures. Only with this view can you make informed decisions early in development, when 70% of your products' costs are determined and critical planning choices can be the difference between hitting your dates and missing them.

Any organization can use Arena PLM, regardless of its IT infrastructure. You—as well as your suppliers, remote team members and outsourced partners—need just an Internet connection and a web browser to access the system. That means that everyone across the extended product team has a real-time view of the same information. And with no hardware or software to install and no costly IT resources or implementation services needed, Arena PLM is instantly deployed, easily upgraded and quick to offer a return on investment—all at a low total cost of ownership. Arena PLM costs just 12% of a similar client-server system, offering the fastest time to benefit of any solution on the market.

Arena PLM contains three suites of functionality, each composed of various modules:

Product Arena

• Product Definition module for managing items, BOMs, files, versions and basic cost information
• Manufacturer Management module for managing the AML, manufacturer items and manufacturing BOMs
• Change Management module for managing ECOs, MCOs, ECRs, deviations, change boards and automated approval routings
• Advanced File Management module for version control, check in/check out, one-to-many file to item association, managing markups, and ECO controlled release

Sourcing & Costing Arena

• Vendor Management module for managing the AVL, item sourcing, purchasing BOMs, purchase histories and quotes

Integration Arena

• ERP Integration module for automating the exchange of information between Arena PLM and all major ERP systems, including Oracle, SAP, J.D. Edwards, Great Plains, QAD, Epicor and more
• ERP Exchange module for generating customized outputs that keep Arena PLM and your ERP system synchronized
• MCAD Integration module for linking relevant geometric data with other product information
• EDA Integration module for linking electronic design data with the rest of your product information
• Data Archiving module for downloading product information to store on your local servers

Benefits to End User of Product and Interface to DX Databook

• Customers can reference and place components from their Master Item List as maintained in Arena PLM as electrical components within the working environment of Mentor Tools, including View Logic/PADS.
• Item attributes (e.g., Part Number, Value, Footprint) are available in View Logic/PADS design environment but are maintained and managed in a single, centralized location (Arena PLM) with easy workflows for reviewing and approving changes
• Part datasheets and AML/AVL are automatically associated with components placed in schematics and board layouts.

Company Background

Arena Solutions is the leading provider of online product lifecycle management (PLM) software. The Arena PLM solution facilitates rapid product development and efficient product management by unifying fragmented product teams, outsourced partners and remote suppliers into one cohesive design and manufacturing chain. As the system of record for product data, Arena PLM provides a unified product definition and a controlled change management process from product concept through end-of-life. By offering a real-time, integrated view of complete product information-which incorporates data authored in design tools and which can be automatically synchronized with production systems-Arena PLM enables the extended manufacturing enterprise to reduce errors, increase efficiencies, lower product costs and engage in more accurate planning. The web-native architecture of Arena PLM keeps the total cost of ownership low by eliminating the need to install, upgrade or maintain traditional software or hardware. Founded in February 2000, Arena Solutions is based in Mountain View, California. More information is available at www.arenasolutions.com.

Description of Integration

Arena PLM/PADS-Databook Integration Adapter

The Arena PLM/PADS-Databook Integration Adapter will allow any PADS-Databook client application to interact with their Arena PLM workspace through the ODBC interface built into PADS-Databook.

Platforms Supported

Distribution and Contact Information

For further details or to find the local sales office near you, please visit www.arenasolutions.com or contact: