AimaSoft, based in California, is dedicated to dynamic master data management (MDM) between disparate design and business data systems. The customer centric solutions in Engineering Data Automation & Document Management, have been developed using extensive domain knowledge and over 30 man years, offering a very unique and direct business integration approach. Unlike most systems, the flexible solution is based on leveraging any of the existing enterprise business, database or ERP system and establishing hotlinks with existing islands of automation. The EntraLink framework brings dormant data to life and boosts the returns for the capital investment customers have been making in both the enterprise systems and design systems that share common dynamic data. It does not compete with, but rather connects and compliments ERP, PLM, EDM, and CAD systems. AimaSoft’s primary target market is Manufacturing, Industrial, Infrastructure and Utility markets that utilize ERP systems or business database systems and front-end design and CAD systems.
The Problem There are fundamental gaps between front-end design environments (2D-CAD, 3D modeling, XLS/CSV), back-end business systems (ERP metadata & supply chain catalogs), and other key functional systems (PLM, documents repositories and legacy systems). Accordingly, there are many disparate data sources that need to be linked to enable a company to grow and take advantage of revenue opportunities. To be profitable, it is imperative to eliminate labor, inaccuracies and to have quick access to a holistic view of the product management lifecycles. A single unified data set needs to be instantly accessible by manufacturing, engineering, sales force and the rest of the departments within an enterprise. The classic challenge has been updating distinctly different databases so that the same changes are reflected simultaneously in graphical and textual areas.
Mission-Critical Factors
It is now imperative for a manufacturer to have a continuous relationship between its CAD/Excel design source and the downstream enterprise systems, in order to keep up with the competitive forces. Failure to have these systems linked and operate from a unified source causes needlessly high operating overhead on most jobs and cost overruns and penalties. Lack of Enterprise data interoperability especially in engineered to order (ETO) manufacturers, results in triple entry of Bills of Materials (BOMs), expensive errors caught late in manufacturing, manual synchronization headaches, paper shuffling, redundancies, laborious catalog searches and poor part sourcing, etc. Most importantly, enterprises are frequently unable to reuse or leverage their most valuable asset, namely the intellectual assets hidden in drawings, models, legacy data and existing business data systems. Manufacturers often “reinvent the wheel” because they are unable to find anything quickly from their isolated repositories.
The Solution
Most systems that have attempted to address this customer need and market are expensive, complex, extensive to deploy, difficult to use and often dysfunctional. These systems tend to be autonomous, proprietary and non-configurable. EntraLink offers a unique approach that is a natural extension of the existing business system in an intuitive, simple to deploy/use, flexible, configurable framework at a relatively low cost.
Return on Investment
Enterprise engineering automation helps engineering, manufacturing and production personnel view, report, share, operate, control, shorten cycle time and release accurate engineering data. The technology saves significant time, eliminates triple entry, reduces inaccuracies/ECO, expensive errors in manufacturing, and improves overall productivity and time-to-market for ETO / MTO/ MTS manufacturers. The annual savings can be 20-40% of their engineering overhead or 2 to 15 times their initial investment every year. This may translate into $100,000 to $1,000,000 in savings every year depending on the size of the workgroup and the company.
AimaSoft uses best practices in data & document interoperability to improve bottom-line profitability, leverage hidden assets and eliminate overhead. EntraLink solves significant business problems within days and operates as a flexible configurable framework for ERP and CAD Integrations, Enterprise Product Record & Graphics Management (PRD/PGM), Solid Modeling Integrations with ERP, and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) opportunities. AimaSoft's BOMLink pioneered “the AutoCAD Integration Niche” in 1996 and enjoys a unique position in this emerging market with mature products and proven “hotlink” technology between CAD, ERP & EDM.
