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Process Manufacturers Must Optimize Their Network of Assets to Drive Higher Margins

March 26, 2012

Geographic Market Shift Drives the Need to Optimize Plants and Assets Dynamically Across the Global Supply Chain
Burlington, MA -

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN), a leading provider of software and services to the process industries, announced the availability of a new white paper, The Evolution of Optimization in the Process Industries.The paper says process manufacturing leaders must optimize networks of plants and assets to drive higher margins in response to geographic market shifts.  Written by IDC Manufacturing Insights and sponsored by AspenTech, the paper details how optimizing plants and assets dynamically across the global supply chain represents the latest phase in the evolution of process optimization.

The IDC paper highlights how competing effectively today requires a fundamental shift from supply push to demand pull.  This requirement is driven by the need to better satisfy customers in today’s environment where they have more supply choice.  As a result manufacturers must compete not just on product quality, but also on higher levels of customer service.

Applying optimization technology from AspenTech across engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations helps process manufacturers achieve those higher quality and customer service levels by enabling them to operate as effectively and efficiently as possible, which translates into superior financial and operating performance.

A case study of Dow Chemical featured in the paper illustrates how the company is addressing critical business challenges through process optimization.  The paper underlines how Dow created a center of operational excellence run by a network of practitioners from multiple plants worldwide to rapidly share and disseminate best practices.  Dow's cumulative savings from advanced control and optimization are projected to be more than $1 billion.

Download a free copy of the white paper, The Evolution of Optimization in the Process Industries, here.

Supporting Quotes

Pierfrancesco Manenti, Head - Europe, Middle East & Africa, IDC Manufacturing Insights

The most critical capability for a process manufacturing firm today is its ability to optimize the global network of production assets dynamically to fulfill customer demand, in the face of extremely dynamic business conditions.  We learned from customer interviews that the main reported benefits of a higher level of optimization are improved operational performance and faster response to market opportunities, leading to increased margins across the value chain.

Blair Wheeler, Senior Vice President, Marketing, AspenTech

“Optimization has evolved to become a core driver of manufacturing performance -- enabling faster response to market changes, improved competitiveness and increased margins across the entire value chain.  This paper provides essential insight that process manufacturers can use to help them plan their optimization journey as global markets continue to shift.”

Supporting Resources

About AspenTech

AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturing – for energy, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering and construction, and other industries that manufacture and produce products from a chemical process.  With integrated aspenONE solutions, process manufacturers can implement best practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations.  As a result, AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs and become more energy efficient.  To see how the world’s leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve their operational excellence goals, visit www.aspentech.com.

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