Case Studies SPARTAN MOTORS Fuels Innovation, Productivity & Quality with Aras Enterprise PLM

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	SPARTAN MOTORS Fuels Innovation, Productivity & Quality with Aras Enterprise PLM

SPARTAN MOTORS Fuels Innovation, Productivity & Quality with Aras Enterprise PLM

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) Functional Applications - Product Lifecycle Management Systems (PLM)
Applicable Industries	Automotive Specialty Vehicles
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development Quality Assurance
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Spartan Motors faced the challenge of standardizing cross-functional processes across multiple product lines and locations to achieve greater consistency, efficiency, and responsiveness. The company relied on SolidWorks CAD software for product design and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM for managing CAD files and drawings, but had numerous stand-alone, custom databases for other product-related information. This fragmented system led to inefficiencies and a lack of company-wide visibility. Spartan needed a scalable enterprise PLM solution that would not impact SolidWorks users or require the replacement of their existing SolidWorks Enterprise PDM environment. Read More
About Customer	Spartan Motors is a leading provider of high-quality specialty vehicles, chassis, and truck bodies, serving markets such as emergency-rescue, recreational vehicles, and specialty vehicles. Founded in 1976 by a group of engineers dedicated to quality, value, service, and innovation, Spartan Motors has grown into a successful public company with approximately 1,800 employees across six facilities. The company is known for its customer-centric methodology, fostering innovation, speed, and agility. Spartan Motors is committed to Lean continuous process improvement and Green business practices, setting it apart from competitors and ensuring the delivery of premium custom products and services. The company’s product range includes fire trucks, delivery vans, motorhomes, and military armored vehicles. Read More
Solution	To address its challenges, Spartan Motors selected Aras for enterprise PLM and implemented a full Engineering Bill of Materials (BOM) with item-based product structure for configuration management and Enterprise Change Management. The implementation replaced the fragmented custom databases with a modern Web-based PLM solution that is item-based and process-centric. This consolidation streamlined processes and provided company-wide visibility. The Aras enterprise PLM solution now manages over 1.8 million BOM lines and more than 330,000 released parts, with an average of 1,000 new parts created per month. The solution also automated part number and drawing number generation, integrated with the ERP system, and enabled easy search and reuse of parts and BOMs, significantly boosting efficiency and productivity. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Functional Applications - Product Lifecycle Management Systems (PLM)

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Specialty Vehicles

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Quality Assurance

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Spartan Motors faced the challenge of standardizing cross-functional processes across multiple product lines and locations to achieve greater consistency, efficiency, and responsiveness. The company relied on SolidWorks CAD software for product design and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM for managing CAD files and drawings, but had numerous stand-alone, custom databases for other product-related information. This fragmented system led to inefficiencies and a lack of company-wide visibility. Spartan needed a scalable enterprise PLM solution that would not impact SolidWorks users or require the replacement of their existing SolidWorks Enterprise PDM environment.

About Customer

Spartan Motors is a leading provider of high-quality specialty vehicles, chassis, and truck bodies, serving markets such as emergency-rescue, recreational vehicles, and specialty vehicles. Founded in 1976 by a group of engineers dedicated to quality, value, service, and innovation, Spartan Motors has grown into a successful public company with approximately 1,800 employees across six facilities. The company is known for its customer-centric methodology, fostering innovation, speed, and agility. Spartan Motors is committed to Lean continuous process improvement and Green business practices, setting it apart from competitors and ensuring the delivery of premium custom products and services. The company’s product range includes fire trucks, delivery vans, motorhomes, and military armored vehicles.

Solution

To address its challenges, Spartan Motors selected Aras for enterprise PLM and implemented a full Engineering Bill of Materials (BOM) with item-based product structure for configuration management and Enterprise Change Management. The implementation replaced the fragmented custom databases with a modern Web-based PLM solution that is item-based and process-centric. This consolidation streamlined processes and provided company-wide visibility. The Aras enterprise PLM solution now manages over 1.8 million BOM lines and more than 330,000 released parts, with an average of 1,000 new parts created per month. The solution also automated part number and drawing number generation, integrated with the ERP system, and enabled easy search and reuse of parts and BOMs, significantly boosting efficiency and productivity.

Impact #1	The implementation of Aras enterprise PLM allowed Spartan Motors to standardize and streamline its product development processes across multiple product lines and locations, leading to greater consistency and efficiency.
Impact #2	The integration of Aras with the existing SolidWorks Enterprise PDM environment ensured that SolidWorks users were not impacted, and the existing CAD management system remained in place.
Impact #3	The automated part number and drawing number generation, along with ERP integration, eliminated manual data entry and reduced the risk of errors, enhancing overall productivity.

Impact #1

The implementation of Aras enterprise PLM allowed Spartan Motors to standardize and streamline its product development processes across multiple product lines and locations, leading to greater consistency and efficiency.

Impact #2

The integration of Aras with the existing SolidWorks Enterprise PDM environment ensured that SolidWorks users were not impacted, and the existing CAD management system remained in place.

Impact #3

The automated part number and drawing number generation, along with ERP integration, eliminated manual data entry and reduced the risk of errors, enhancing overall productivity.

Benefit #1	Managing more than 1.8 million BOM lines and over 330,000 released parts.
Benefit #2	Processing more than 500 product changes (ECOs) per month.
Benefit #3	Creating an average of 1,000 new parts per month.

Benefit #1

Managing more than 1.8 million BOM lines and over 330,000 released parts.

Benefit #2

Processing more than 500 product changes (ECOs) per month.

Benefit #3

Creating an average of 1,000 new parts per month.

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Overview

SPARTAN MOTORS Fuels Innovation, Productivity & Quality with Aras Enterprise PLM

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit