To-Increase Introduces Integration between Microsoft Dynamics AX and PTC's Windchill PLM Software

To-Increase, a global ISV and provider of discrete manufacturing solutions for Microsoft Dynamics AX has joined the PTC to help launch a new integration between Microsoft Dynamics AX and PTC's Windchill product lifecycle management (PLM) software.

The integration between the To-Increase Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (IEM) solution for Microsoft Dynamics AX and PTC's Windchill, which is available for preview in October and set to go live in December 2010, lets organizations link engineering product data and ERP data in real-time, according to company officials. The integration points include items, BOMs, revisions, and engineering change orders.

To-Increase said it was accepted in the PTC PartnerAdvantage Program based on its expertise in providing discrete manufacturing solutions for the Microsoft Dynamics AX market. Both companies said they recognize that discrete manufacturers want a more streamlined working environment for concurrent engineering and design.

The integration enables companies to more efficiently roll out newly engineered products and components, knowing that the early releases for product data are based on connected, up-to-date information that spans all phases of the product lifecycle, the companies said.

The change management functions of the integrated solution support concurrent engineering by controlling and guiding product lifecycle processes so that engineering and manufacturing work together rather than in separate environments, according to the companies.

Although traditional PLM and ERP environments have offered complementary functionality, product development, product realization data and business processes often exist in separate systems. Because of that it costs companies more and takes them longer to get their products to market and it can also prevent organizations from being able to manage quick turnarounds for changing customer requirements, the companies said.