Microsoft, CoCreate say solutions act as umbrella for "perfect storm" in automotive
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 7/1/2005 12:00:00 AM
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, Ann Arbor, Mich., says the auto industry is facing a "perfect storm" that may peak some time in the next year.
Speaking at Breaking Point, an event sponsored by product life-cycle management (PLM) vendor CoCreate and held at the Microsoft offices in Southfield, Mich., Cole said automakers—especially the Big Three—face challenges in lower labor costs and the growing manufacturing prowess of India and China, their own employee benefits commitments, looming materials shortages, excess capacity, and hypercompetition.
One key to survival will be the ability to innovate quickly.
It was against this backdrop that Microsoft presented its Peak Performance Initiative to deliver solutions and services focused on four areas of performance: new product development, operations, supply chain, and sales and customer service.
Microsoft and its initiative partners contend that while technology may not be the answer for all of the U.S. auto industry's woes, the ability to share design data across platforms, integrate business processes with suppliers and customers, and better understand demand based on electronic links to customers can improve productivity and foster competitiveness.
CoCreate, a Microsoft partner, offers OneSpace.net, application that creates a secure environment where companies with different CAD and ERP systems can exchange design data and conduct reviews.
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