New Delhi: Sierra Atlantic, the Application Networks company, today announced the release of ECO Lens, the latest solution in its Application Networks solution set.

Developed at the Global Development Centre located in Hyderabad, India, ECO Lens is a sophisticated, configurable, browser-based, cost-management analytic solution that saves manufacturing companies millions of dollars in inventory write-offs and vendor cancellation fees by optimising Engineering Change Order (ECO) timings.

ECO Lens provides superior value that is scalable and affordable with immediate cash benefits. Easy implementation, maintenance and compatibility with existing ERP systems make it unique in the industry.

"With ECO Lens, manufacturing companies dramatically decrease outdated material and inventory costs at the same time streamlining and optimising the new product introduction process," says Joga Ryali, CTO and senior vice-president of products, Sierra Atlantic. "ECO Lens allows companies to realise significant cost savings in a matter of weeks by continuously identifying changes across the extended supply chain, analysing the business impact of those changes, and simulating multiple cost scenarios. It takes action based on their business rules and corporate objectives."

ECO Lens users can expect a return on their investment within two quarters. For example, a $500-million company with $15 million of annual material obsolescence and excess inventory costs can save at least 10 per cent using ECO Lens, adding $1.5 million to the operating margin. The tool can be implemented within weeks using existing application infrastructure without disruption to any existing business processes.

Says Paul Fu, vice-president (strategy) Agile Software: "One of the biggest issues enterprises face today is a lack of visibility of their supply chains - both upstream and downstream. With ECO Lens, Sierra Atlantic has developed a solution that focuses on providing this visibility for global manufacturers, and thus improving their manufacturing execution. Agile provides solutions for companies to bring their products to market more effectively and more profitably; and we are excited that Sierra Atlantic has built a solution that leverages the Agile PLM platform to further improve the product profitability of our customers."

How ECO Lens works
ECO Lens extracts the relevant product data from Agile's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system and the inventory data from ERP systems to accurately quantify the cost of various options associated with an engineering change order cutover.

ECO Lens is designed for high-tech manufacturers who process many ECOs having high dollar impact. Subjective cut-ins of ECOs without proper analysis of component inventory, pending work orders, open purchase orders or demand schedules, typically result in large inventory write-offs, significant rework or vendor cancellation charges.

ECO Lens is a configurable browser-based analytic tool that:

• Provides a framework to implement best practices in engineering change cost management.
• Provides detailed cost analysis reports and transition plans that take the guesswork out of the ECO release process.
• Enables planners to quickly configure and simulate various scenarios for material disposition and make informed inventory management decisions.
• Continues to monitor, throughout the ECO lifecycle, the impact of supply and demand changes on the selected ECO implementation scenario and alerts planners when there are significant deviations.

Sierra Atlantic, the Application Networks company, optimises its customers investments in enterprise business applications - ERP, CRM and SCM - from Agile, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP and Siebel. It offers superior application management solutions, business application implementations, integration, upgrade, and support, by leveraging our global delivery model. It has a rich history in developing and testing products for its software partners and specialises in implementing and supporting them for its joint customers.

Sierra Atlantic Application Networks, business process integration solutions, and enterprise application integration (EAI) services transform organisations into more agile and customer-focused businesses.

Founded in 1993, Sierra Atlantic is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in Chicago, New York, London, Singapore, Indonesia and India. It has over 300 delighted customers: Amkor, BP, Ciena, GE, HP, Kmart, PPG, Sherwin-Williams and the Trane Company. Its partners include Agile, BEA, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Siebel, TIBCO, webMethods, and WorldChain.

Sierra Atlantic has been awarded Oracle's E-Business Suite Implementer of the Year, Oracle E-Business Suite Reseller of the Year, IDC's Solution Integrators of the 21^st Century, VARBusiness' e25 and Silicon India's si100.