Page 14 - MetalForming January/February 2022

Software for Manufacturing
Create Cost-Effective Digital Twins
with SaaS Application- Development Platform
Siemens has launched Xcelerator as a Service (XaaS), providing an accessi- ble-from anywhere-anytime integrated portfolio of engineering software and serv- ices, and an application-development platform designed to help manufacturers speed their digital transitions and quickly and cost-effectively create comprehensive digital twins.
Xcelerator enables innovative product design and manufacturing via robust digital threads, ensuring that data are accessible when and where needed, according to company officials. Through a comprehensive Xcelerator digital twin, organizations can optimize their products and processes throughout the lifecycle. This past June, Tony Hemmelgarn, Siemens president and CEO announced the intention to transition the Siemens Digital Industries Software business to Software as a Service (SaaS) Siemens Xcelerator, using the cloud to make its products more accessible, more flexible and more scalable.
XaaS, an example of this transition, enables manufacturing organizations and their extended value chains to have a single source of truth and the ability to tap into high-performance computing (HPC), at any time, from anywhere and on any device, according to Siemens officials. Cloud-based services remove the need for HPC hardware or in-house IT expertise, and allow users to carry out compute- intensive tasks via a web browser.
XaaS reportedly provides need-based access to tools, features and compute resources via flexible and personalized solutions that offer instant productivity. The increased scalability offered by XaaS allows organizations to adapt quickly to market conditions and add capacity and capability when and where needed. This enables both ad-hoc and established groups of stakeholders to build and test products and processes with a compre- hensive digital twin before investing in
materials or equipment.
Siemens cites examples of XaaS effec-
tiveness: A multinational automotive OEM can use XaaS to increase collaboration across its globally distributed supply chain, through secure collaboration between internal and multi-tiered supplier-led teams around the world, connecting experts across engineering, simulation, manufac- turing and production.
Or, an automotive startup needing to jump from concept to deliverable market introduction can use XaaS and its prod- uct-development toolset across mechan- ical design, electronics, software devel- opment and more, without requiring IT infrastructure, to build comprehensive digital twins in a time- and cost-effective manner.
Siemens: www.sw.siemens.com/en-us
Invera’s Web-Based MRP Platform Enables Data-Driven Planning, Purchasing
Invera has released Invex-MRP, a web- based material requirements planning (MRP) application for metal service centers. The platform uses forecasting algorithms fully integrated with real-time data from
Invex ERP to enable data-driven planning and purchasing decisions.
Invex-MRP, say company officials, is a must-have tool for service centers that enter into part-specific customer contracts. This can commonly be found in flat-rolled service centers that produce slit coil or sheet on a repeated basis to meet customer contracted require- ments.
Among the benefits of Invex-MRP:
• Supply-chain and procurement staff can quickly see what products need to be replenished within a timeframe, elim- inating the need to manually estimate shortages.
• Users can pair customer parts to purchased products and determine reorder points based on forecasted or historical demand patterns.
• Customer parts can be grouped by a common purchased product and ana- lyzed to determine whether a production order needs to be issued to satisfy just- in-time programs.
• The platform computes the purchase quantity and lead time required to avoid an inventory deficit.
• Users can manage requisitions and convert to purchase orders for a seamless and integrated planning and procurement process.
Invera: www.invera.com
12 MetalForming/January-February 2022
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