News and Research

CIMdata Reports PLM Market Growth Exceeds Forecasts
[CIMData - April 2006]
"CIMdata research shows that the overall PLM grew 8.7% to reach $18.1 billion in 2005. This growth rate exceeded earlier estimates, with the boost attributed to continued strengthening of the global economy and an increased recognition of the value of PLM in improve companies’ business performance."

Leading Technology Companies Certified by 1SYNC Solution Partner Program
[1SYNC - March 2006]
"The 1SYNC Solution Partner Program is designed to help companies simplify the implementation process for data synchronization. Participating technology providers pass a comprehensive series of rigorous tests to confirm their solution offerings meet technical performance standards that will enable customers to seamlessly connect to the 1SYNC Data Pool."

Consumer Goods Technology Magazine recognizes Prodika as a "Company on the Move"
[Consumer Goods Technology - January 2006]
For a second year, Prodika is recognized as a "Company on the Move" in Consumer Goods Technology Magazine's annual "Readers Choice - Best-In-Class" issue for continuing to support the largest and most successful PLM implementations in the Food, Beverage and Consumer Goods industry - while enabling small to mid-size companies to acquire Prodika's core PLM solutions through a Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model.

Prodika participates in the Future of Food Conference in Washington DC
[Future of Food Conference - November 2005]
The GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) Conference on the Future of Food was a platform for discussion on emerging food science and innovation, global market access and regulations, health and wellness, and consumer connections and branding. Prodika joined representatives from leading Food, Beverage, and Consumer Goods Companies for a top-notch conference program and to explore strategies for increasing competitiveness and profitability through innovative approaches to New Product Development and Introduction.

Prodika named one of the "40 Emerging Software Vendors" by Manufacturing Business Technology Magazine
[Manufacturing Business Technology - October 2005]

Prodika co-sponsors the Tech Trends 2005 report presented by Consumer Goods Technology Magazine and AMR Research
[Consumer Goods Technology - October 2005]
"This study will touch upon all of the critical business processes and enabling technologies that executives are looking to invest in, including RFID, Trade Promotion Management, Outsourcing, New Product Development, Data Synchronization and Supply Chain Management". This report features articles by AMR Research analysts Roddy Martin, Laura Preslan, Lora Cecere, Kara Romanow, Michael Burkett, Rob Garf, and Lance Travis.

Prodika participates in Consumer Goods Technology Magazine's Fall 2005 Conference
[Consumer Goods Technology - October 2005]
"...the 2005 Consumer Goods Technology Conference brought together a plethora of consumer goods business and IT executives from companies, like Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo and Revlon, to exchange thought leadership and strategic insight under the theme, "Insights to Action: Accelerating Business Performance with Enabling Technologies". Industry experts and analysts lead discussions focused on driving growth through innovation, execution and brand value, addressing topics such as customer profitability, product lifecycle management, RFID, demand forecasting, sales & operations planning, and trade promotion management."

GSM Projects Are Strategic Initiatives With Tactical Justifications
[AMR Research - September 2005]
"Quantifiable cost savings aside, the global manufacturers we interviewed unanimously agreed that having a single, consistent, globally visible, and accurate record of specification data was the biggest benefit that a global specification system had to offer."

CASE HISTORY: Better by design
[The Economist - September 2005]
"The desire for greater competitiveness and faster response are two reasons why PLM is growing so quickly. But its adoption is being driven by other factors, too. One is globalisation. When firms start to design, manufacture and sell products in many different countries, each with their own requirements and regulations, they face a huge increase in complexity. Heinz uses PLM software to keep track of the different ingredients that go into its ketchups and other products in various countries, to cater to local tastes. By centralising this information, it has been able to optimise its recipes and reduce costs."

Global Specification Management for Process Manufacturers: A High (Return) Road to MDM
[AMR Research - September 2005]
"Nonetheless, companies that have taken the plunge can point to impressive instances of savings and universally agree that these projects are a strategic necessity or business essential."

Smarter product development process depends on demand insight, sound infrastructure
[Manufacturing Business Technology - August 2005]
"H.J. Heinz, the Pittsburgh-based food products conglomerate, is one of those rare manufacturers that can separate the winners from the losers early on, thanks to its highly disciplined product development process."

Going Global with PLM: Product development strategies open the door to widespread business opportunities
[Consumer Goods Technology - July 2005]
"The complexities of product development are growing as a result of the challenges posed by outsourcing, globalization, cross-functional involvement, increasing time and cost pressures and burgeoning customer demands. However, just as these issues pose challenges, they also offer opportunities. This is where Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) comes in."

Prodika customer H.J. Heinz presents "Product Innovation and PLM" at AMR Research's 2005 Supply Chain Conference
[AMR Research Event - June 2005]
Philip Heil, Global Program Director for H.J. Heinz presented "how Heinz has adopted and integrated product lifecycle management (PLM) to improve our innovation process. Specifically, how the global Heinz organization drives growth and new market opportunities from the product perspective – and what this means in relation to orchestrating interdependencies between new product development strategies, supplier and vendor networks and, of course, ever-changing consumer demand trends."

Prodika customer H.J. Heinz presents "PLM and Innovation" at PLM Europe Summit
[PLM Europe Summit - June 2005]
Jane Edwards, the European Marketing and Innovation Director for H.J. Heinz presented "what PLM means to Heinz - what we have learned, what works, how we define and measure it, and how we have integrated Product Lifecycle Management to improve our innovation process."

The CIO's Guide to the PERFECT Product Launch: Translating Innovation to Business Benefit
[AMR Research - June 2005]
"Seemingly great product innovations fail to deliver sustainable business benefit without demand and supply validation, requiring investments for improving the new product launch process to be prioritized based on a diagnosis of why global cross-functional teams struggle within ever-changing markets and delivery capabilities."

Got Supply Problems? Involve Suppliers Early in the Design Process
[AMR Research - June 2005]
"Manufacturers must move the sourcing process upstream into the design process to prevent many of their supply problems."

Battle for the Product Launch Dashboard: What Really Matters?
[AMR Research - May 2005]
"PLM vendors differ in their approach to product development dashboards to support Product Portfolio Management (PPM)."

Consumer Goods Companies Face Expansive Product Portfolios
[Gartner - April 2005]
"To maintain market share, many consumer goods firms must manage broader product portfolios for segmented markets. Product life cycle management (PLM) helps firms gain efficiency, agility, and minimize margin erosion and brand equity dilution."

Back to Basics: Ensure Quality and Supply Readiness Before Product Launch
[AMR Research - February 2005]
"To ensure supply readiness during new product launch, manufacturers must go back to quality basics and make sure that new designs can be manufactured to the maximum yield."

Prodika recognized as one of the "Companies on the Move" in Consumer Goods Technology Magazine's Reader's Choice/Best in Class issue.
[Consumer Goods Technology - January 2005]
"Keep an eye on these leading-edge IT innovators"

Companies Demand and Vendors Respond With Products That Expand Reach Into PLM
[AMR Research - December 2004]
As process manufacturers have matured in their PLM strategy, software vendors have also moved beyond their traditional strengths to meet the PLM needs.

PLM On-Demand May Be Right for You
[AMR Research - October 2004]
"Choosing which of the many versions of on-demand PLM is best for your organization depends on many factors, including level of business process and the infrastructure required."

Missing the Boat: Three PLM-Based Initiatives That Most Businesses Are Missing
[AMR Research - October 2004]

Manage specs, then source: In CPG, PLM drivers lean toward specifications & sourcing.
[MSI Magazine - October 2004]
"...look at supplier relationships in comparison to the product record, and take a more global approach to procurement."

New kids on the block: Up and coming PLM vendors test limits of tried and true.
[MSI Magazine - October 2004]
"A group of smaller, emerging vendors has trickled into the product life-cycle management (PLM) market over the last four years."

Start Magazine Announces Recipients of 7th Annual Technology & Business Awards
[Start Magazine - October 2004]
"This year's ceremony continued a growing tradition of celebrating manufacturers' achievements with information technology."

The T&B Awards 2004: It's the Process
[Start Magazine - October 2004]
"H.J. Heinz has taken a far-sighted approach that many other manufacturers only aspire to. An excellent example of using technology to implement business processes that support demand-driven supply networks." - Alison Smith, AMR Research

SMBs: Your PLM Options
[AMR Research - September 2004]
"As smaller manufacturers expand their participation as suppliers and OEMs in global product launch and support, their PLM options are increasing as vendors from different market positions converge."

Software and Services Are Evolving To Make PLM in Consumer Products a Reality.
[AMR Research - September 2004]
"With an average time to market of 27.5 months, there is plenty of room for improving product launch in the Consumer Products (CP) industry."

The Pressure to Participate in GDS Is Building
[Gartner - August 2004]
"To remain competitive, consumer goods retailers and suppliers feel compelled to adopt Global Data Synchronization. Companies with formal, enterprisewide GDS strategies will achieve significantly lower IT costs."

Hype Cycle for Product Life Cycle Management, 2004
[Gartner - June 2004]
"Product life cycle management applications offer better support for product development and are moving beyond their traditional engineering domain. Emerging applications serve production managers, sales, marketing, service and senior executives."

PLM Is Growing Fast in Consumer Products, but Vendor Selection Is Tricky
[AMR Research - May 2004]
"A PLM strategy in Consumer Products is fast becoming essential, and choosing a preferred vendor is less a matter of going with the leader than knowing where to trade off functional flexibility for integration."

The Product Lifecycle Management Applications Report, 2003-2008
[AMR Research - May 2004]
"Manufacturers see the opportunity to improve the product launch process, driving double-digit growth over the next several years in non-CAD PLM applications that connect the extended New Product Development and Launch team."

Product Innovation and Winning the Consumer at the Retail Shelf
[AMR Research - March 2004]
"CP manufacturers and retailers must share product design information in their quest to win the customer at the shelf."

Goldmine or Minefield: PLM for Packaging in CPG
[AMR Research - August 2003]
"Bottom-up PLM initiatives focused solely on formulation and specification management are missing the point-time to market, brand price premiums, and consumer safety risks depend just as heavily on getting packaging product definition data right as on recipes."

Food Safety--Another Regulatory Compliance Challenge
[AMR Research - July 2003]
"The Pharmaceutical industry, which is learning from its mistakes, represents an opportunity for food manufacturers to find and establish best practices."