Shop Floor Software monitors order progress in real time.

Press Release Summary:



Using 4C@Site, users track final assemblies, subassemblies and components by lot and serial number while achieving real-time scheduling, monitoring, and tracking of manufacturing status. It identifies assemblies individually or as part of set, and validates serial numbers for final assemblies and components. Providing resource consumption and tracking, software allows users to record information on which resources are consumed and used when manufacturing specific products.



Original Press Release:



nMetric's(TM) 4C(TM) Adds Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) to Shop Floor Software Suite



Includes Part Tracking, Resource Consumption & Resource Tracking

COSTA MESA, CALIF. - November 20, 2002 - nMetric today announced that mid-sized manufacturers can now affordably track final assemblies, subassemblies and components by lot and serial number while achieving real-time scheduling, monitoring and tracking of manufacturing status. The 4C@Site shop floor software suite lets users identify assemblies individually or as part of a set. The system also validates the uniqueness of serial numbers for final assemblies and components.

"Bringing product lifecycle management (PLM) down to the factory floor in an affordable manner is a key attribute for mid-sized manufacturers," explains Tom Carpenter, nMetric CEO. "Both they and their customers can have instant feedback on who built an item at what workstation at what time with what components and parts, when it was ready for shipment and for whom it was built. In addition, 4C even provides resource consumption and tracking." Users can record information on which resources, such as a part, tool, materials or labor, have been consumed and used when manufacturing a specific product. Control types are configurable by the user and include serial number, lot number, expiration date and spool numbers, among others. Resource tracking information is then available for genealogy and product tracing. "This is an essential element of PLM that has been absent from traditional PLM software," Carpenter continues. "4C is a single, affordable software solution that supports many applications at the planning level and the tracking it provides is much more comprehensive than the great majority of other products available to mid-sized manufacturers." With nMetric 4C, orders are continuously monitored at every moment throughout the production process in real time to assure status and provide notification to all members in the supply chain if delivery expectations are not going to be met. When and if resources or demands change or might change, 4C attempts to resolve any problems that could affect delivery dates and/or proactively notifies all specified parties so they are aware and can plan accordingly. If there are prospective large shifts in plans or resources, users proactively use 4C to manually determine the impact of various "what-ifs" on present order dates in the queue. Management can then anticipate what the effects of each change will be before making them.

"Small- to mid-market manufacturers simply cannot afford to invest in all the different software programs that will solve their most compelling needs, such as supporting build-to-order environments and collaborative supply chains," Carpenter emphasizes. "Expensive software application suites and integration problems virtually eliminate mid-market suppliers from participating in the Internet-based supply chain. This mid-market is critical because it supplies the parts and raw materials to larger non-integrated companies. If these firms are out of the virtual supply chain, then the chain is not complete, which limits the speed of business even for large companies."

About nMetric
nMetric's 4C system is the only software that provides mid-sized and smaller manufacturers with live scheduling, monitoring and tracking, messaging updates and analyses so that they can completely oversee all steps of their manufacturing process and proactively supervise the dynamics of their supply chain in real time to accurately predict what will happen. Company headquarters are at 3070 South Bristol Avenue, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Phone is 888-561-9700. Website is www.nmetric.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION-

Tom Carpenter
nMETRIC
714-424-4400 tom.carpenter@nmetric.com

Tom Brigham
BRIGHAM SCULLY
818-716-9021
tbrigham@brighamscully.com

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