Infor announces new version of Infor PLM Optiva

Infor has announced the latest release of Infor PLM Optiva, a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution for process manufacturers and retailers with private label products.

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

Jane Thomson, MD of Softworx, an EOH company and distributor of Infor in Sub-Saharan Africa, says that 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. To help navigate these business challenges, many enhancements to Infor PLM Optiva are designed to accelerate innovation while elevating quality, lowering costs and managing global compliance demands.

"A new Advanced Formula Editor, a key enhancement to Infor PLM Optiva, enables manufacturers to visually model multiple formulas and versions, rapidly assess ideal iterations and identify associated risks. Developers can also quickly generate a series of formulas and simulate the corresponding impact, which can reduce the cycle of trial and error linked with traditional formula development."

This functionality can provide significant cost savings and decrease the time required to bring new products to market while enhancing product quality. The new editor also enables the creation of sub-formulas, such as for flavour mixes, which helps to improve batch quality and consistency and protects intellectual property when outsourcing manufacturing.

New formula management capabilities have also been added to the Testing module, which can minimise errors and increase product safety. A Gartner analyst stated in a February 2008 research note that: "PLM for process manufacturers provides a competitive edge in global markets. Process manufacturers are driven to invest, because most of their products are viewed as commodities under severe price pressure. Therefore, they must develop new products that command greater margins, while simultaneously reducing costs through greater efficiency, particularly for their flagship commodity products. They recognise 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."

Infor PLM Optiva now provides an enhanced Analysis module to simulate product design in manufacturing, which can help identify areas of potential concern earlier and minimise the time needed to make corrections or implement expensive fixes later in the supply chain.

For example, a soup manufacturer could review its existing formulation and determine what impact a low sodium version would have on cost and quality. The Analysis module also provides insight into production costs, capabilities and yields, helping companies generate a more accurate analysis of business performance. The expanded analytical capabilities can also significantly increase a manufacturer's ability to substantiate claims made on product labels, further reducing costs and increasing regulatory compliance.

Other compliance-related enhancements come through greater integration of the Intelligent Authoring application from Atrion International, a provider of product compliance solutions for multinational companies. This capability will help streamline regulatory-focused product analysis and can automate the creation of globally compliant, multi-language documents, minimising compliance expenses and compliance backlogs associated with increased product launches and regulations.

Additionally, a new Label Development module increases label accuracy and streamlines the creation of product labels, based on formula calculations, testing and analysis. This enhanced label management ability, incorporating multiple formulas or SKUs, can help manufacturers reduce lead times, costs and the complexity of label administration.