Tuesday, November 05, 2013: Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ:MENT) today announced the Valor® Information Highway and the Valor Warehouse Management products, two supply chain-focused tools designed to enhance Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) effectiveness and assist electronics manufacturers in reducing material costs. Materials accuracy is a critical factor in PCB assembly operation since materials make up the bulk of manufacturing costs. At the same time, it presents a challenge to traditional ERP where inventory discrepancies compromise materials ordering and planning operations. Mentor Graphics has developed key supply chain solutions to complement the ERP/MRP operation systems.
Together, the two new products provide real-time material consumption and spoilage data, facilitating total materials management and traceability over the entire warehouse infrastructure, logistics, shop floor storage areas and direct points of use. For the first time, manufacturing teams can easily access data from all aspects of the shop floor, supply chain, quality, planning and product engineering through a single software suite.
“Valor Information Highway gives me complete visibility and control of our shop floor operation through a single source of information linked to ERP and MES reporting,” stated Stefan Schnake, Manufacturing Process Support, Phoenix Contact, a global manufacturer of components, systems and services in the electronics industry. “Access to real-time detailed data allows me to effectively manage my operation and report accurately to my customers, which is critical for our success.”
Valor Information Highway – One Source for Accurate Shop Floor Data
The Valor Information Highway product provides accurate, real-time access to warehouse and shop floor information, available in the highest level of detail. This product is unique in that it does not require complex integration, avoiding the high cost of customization with various engineering services, nor does it create complex dependencies between systems. Users have a single consistent source of data, both live and on-demand, that represents the entire integrated shop floor environment—from engineering and planning to performance, materials, tracking and quality information. The information and reports that can be generated from the Valor Information Highway product provide essential performance and traceability data to drive continuous improvement.
Valor Warehouse Management – Effectively Manage All Materials In One Solution
The new Valor Warehouse Management tool provides the industry’s most comprehensive materials management solution — a single environment spanning multiple local and remote warehouses and shop floor storage, from initial material receipt, logistics and storage management. The Valor Warehouse Management product is easy to use, comprising automated PDA-based material task assignment and advanced configurable logistics rules, including both Kanban and “just-in-time” material delivery protocols. This assures optimum performance and efficiency of materials logistics and warehouse organization. Automated direct gathering of consumption and spoilage data ensures complete and accurate inventory, which avoids unexpected materials shortage and material overstocking.
“Valor products have demonstrated significant operational improvements and high return on investment for our customers in the areas of NPI, process preparation and shop floor operations,” stated Dan Hoz, general manager of Mentor Graphics Valor Division. “I am confident that the new tools will also provide the high value that our customers have come to expect from our products, by improving their ability to control material costs and reduce waste.”
The Valor Information Highway and Warehouse Management tools will be showcased in the Mentor Graphics booth (Hall A3, Booth #442) at Productronica 2013 in Munich, Germany (November 12-15, 2013). The products will be available in the first quarter of 2014. For more information on these new Valor products, call your Mentor Graphics sales representative at 800-547-3000, or visit our website: www.mentor.com/go/valor-v12.
