Infor Upgrades PLM Solution

Infor Software is upgrading its PLM Optiva product lifecycle management solution. PLM Optiva, announced July 30, is targeted at process manufacturers and retailers who offer private label products.

Enhancements in the new release improve formula development—including editing—strengthen performance modeling and production simulation, provide greater flexibility and data analysis capabilities, enhance testing, and streamline quality and product label management processes.

“Innovation through new product development, wringing costs out of manufacturing and supply chains and the long-term evolution of core product brands are critical issues facing process manufacturers,” said Rory Granros, director of industry and product marketing, process industries and PLM for Infor.

One improvement to the solution is a new advanced formula editor feature that enables manufacturers to visually model multiple formulas and versions. It also allows developers to reduce the trial and error associated with formula development and create subformulas, such as flavor mixes for food products.

In addition, an enhanced analysis module simulates product design, allowing areas of potential concern in private label products to be identified earlier, and greater integration of the Intelligent Authoring application from Atrion International. This application is designed to streamline regulatory-focused product analysis and automate the creation of globally compliant, multilanguage documents.

Other upgrades to the solution include a new label development module designed to increase label accuracy and streamline the creation of product labels. Company officials said this enhanced label management ability, incorporating multiple formulas or SKUs, can help manufacturers reduce lead times, costs and the complexity of label administration.

Granros said the improvements should help private label retailers and manufacturers navigate key business challenges.

“Many enhancements to Infor PLM Optiva are designed to accelerate innovation while elevating quality, lowering costs and managing global compliance demands,” he said.

In a February research report, Gartner stated that most private-label products produced by process manufacturers are viewed as commodities under severe price pressure. The report states that process manufacturers must therefore develop new products that command greater margins while simultaneously reducing costs through greater efficiency.

“[Process manufacturers] recognize that PLM enables them to manage recipes and formulations more efficiently, while simultaneously addressing regulatory issues and making supply chain collaboration more efficient in multiple markets,” states the report.

Dan Berthiaume covers the retail space for eWEEK. For more industry news, check out eWEEK.com’s Retail Site.