PITTSBURGH, Oct. 3, 2016 – Directworks, a leading provider of cloud-based supplier engagement solutions for highly engineered product manufacturers, today announced the release of Directworks 4, the latest upgrade to their enterprise solution platform. Release 4 marks the production debut of Directworks’ Product Manager and Supplier Parts Qualification solution modules, which were co-developed with selected customers to enable more successful product launches and greater profitability.

“Directworks 4 is our most market-driven release to date and reinforces our commitment to provide innovative, industry-specific solutions that drive greater value for our customers.” said Greg Anderson, President of Directworks. “Product Manager and Supplier Parts Qualification significantly extend the capabilities of the Directworks platform and further support our customers’ needs to improve stakeholder and supplier engagement and achieve greater product success.”

Product manufacturing strategies are rapidly evolving, direct materials suppliers are critical to success and collaborative partnerships represent the future of product innovation and supply chains. Directworks is disrupting the traditional, functional-specific solution mindset by delivering a cloud-based platform where cross-functional product stakeholders and suppliers can work together to develop, launch and deliver more profitable products. Legacy on-premises systems were built for a different time and general, one-size-fits-all procurement suites are not designed for supporting direct materials. Directworks is purpose-built for highly engineered product manufacturers and provides a modern enterprise solution platform that supports today’s more collaborative approaches to accomplishing successful product launches and greater profitability.

Collaborate with Product Stakeholders and Suppliers to Achieve Cost and Profitability Targets

Manufacturers who assemble highly engineered products must work effectively across internal functional stakeholders and with direct materials suppliers to launch products on time at target cost, manage ongoing product enhancements and drive margin expansion over the product lifecycle. Directworks Product Manager provides a one stop, collaborative workspace to accomplish these activities. Key capabilities include:

• Managing a product’s bill-of-materials through the supplier selection and costing process
• Dynamic tracking of progress toward achieving target cost
• Insight into performance, risk and other critical supplier information
• Launching pre-defined business processes to address product cost or supplier concerns

Streamline the Supplier Parts Qualification Process and Launch Products on Time

Highly engineered products are assembled from highly engineered parts purchased from an extended enterprise of direct materials suppliers. Manufacturers must ensure their suppliers are capable of producing and delivering parts that meet specific quality and volume requirements. Directworks Supplier Parts Qualification is a flexible solution built to support any supplier parts qualification process, regardless of which industry standard (e.g. APQP) applies, and help manufacturers achieve faster and flawless product launches. Key capabilities include:

• Configurable processes, data collection and reporting templates and workflows
• Project management, phase gates and visibility into progress against key milestones
• Secure storage and sharing of technical documents, including mark-up and discussions

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