Semi Conductor DevicesSpeeds Product Innovation with PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes

Reduces engineering change cycle time by more than 50% with SMARTEAM

DATE Tradeshow, Munich, Germany, March 8, 2005 - IBM and Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that Israel-based Semi Conductor Devices (SCD) has chosen their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions to streamline its product development processes.

With SMARTEAM, a leading collaborative product data and lifecycle management solution, SCD, already has reduced its engineering change cycle time by more than 50%, standardizing change processes, eliminating errors and making existing data and knowledge easily accessible for reuse. SMARTEAM is an IBM PLM solution developed by Dassault Systèmes.

The challenge for SCD, a major supplier of infrared detectors and high-tech power laser diodes to the defense industry, is to introduce multiple new products quickly and at a lower price, while meeting the strict confidentiality and quality requirements of the defense sector. Because of the sensitive, confidential nature of the defense industry, SCD handles end-to-end development and production of most of its products and components in-house, creating demands on a company of its size more commonly found in much larger enterprises.

SCD wanted to speed time to market and improve quality by enabling 100% electronic-based data management of items. SMARTEAM has replaced the manual systems and many of the stand-alone functionalities that were once handled by the company’s ERP system: bills of materials, documents, workflow processes, and lists of approved manufacturers. Feeding all enterprise systems (including Enterprise Resource Planning), SMARTEAM made it possible to drive the innovation process. SMARTEAM’s implementation and user training was managed by EDMISO, an IBM PLM Business Partner.

“To meet all of the tough challenges we face as a relatively small electronics manufacturer, we chose SMARTEAM,” said Alberto Burger vice president of Quality Assurance, SCD. “We needed a quickly implemented, standard solution accompanied by proven guidelines on how to optimize our product development processes, and that is what SMARTEAM delivered.”

“SMARTEAM has helped SCD create efficiencies throughout the lifecycle, from design through manufacturing,” said Angel Blanco Diaz, PLM manager, South Region, IBM Europe Middle East and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Africa. “IBM, together with our Business Partner EDMISO, has enabled SCD to become more responsive to its customers and offer them higher quality products. The integration between systems also helps the company to streamline downstream processes. ” 

“Reducing cycle time is critical to the competitiveness of small and mid-sized companies in fast-changing markets,” said Denis Senpéré, vice president PLM Europe, Dassault Systèmes. “SMARTEAM has already enabled SCD to maximize product development efficiency, meaning the company can release its innovative products faster and more cost-effectively.”