Arena Solutions
Industry: SaaS Product Lifecycle Management
As the speed of business continues to accelerate, manufacturers must identify solutions that reduce costs, maximise resources, and reduce time-to-market cycle times. Online collaboration has become a core element of that paradigm. Arena Solutions, founded more than 13 years ago in Foster City, California, was the world's first cloud-native Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system. Arena focuses on the management of an organisation's bill of materials (BOM), product change management, and supplier collaboration.
Time to market cycle times are a key value proposition for manufacturing companies. Lost time equals lost revenue opportunities. Arena customers are seeking better control of their product data leading up to production, particularly with their bills of materials. They also want real-time collaboration and tracking tools, tight version control, and comprehensive product oversight.
As a cloud-native company, the synergies of working with NetSuite were clear. Like Arena, NetSuite is a cloud provider. As NetSuite began making inroads into manufacturing verticals, the opportunity to align with a prominent cloud provider of ERP and to collect data supported an integration strategy that would provide unmatched value to Arena customers.
NetSuite saw a chance to provide its customers with a robust solution that would enable greater opportunity to make timely business decisions. Aware that its users look to NetSuite to deliver best-in-class applications, integrating Arena's flagship BOMControl was an easy decision.
Integration Strategy Redefines Cloud Expectations
The stakes are exceptionally high in today's marketplace, so real-time product connectivity is vital. In some verticals cloud silos are developing, which is why correct alignment with partners is a necessity. Customers are looking for deeply integrated products that simplify the management process.
Arena's strategic integration positions the company's solution as a centralised hub for customer products. Prior to a manufacturer going into full scale production, BOMControl enables the operations team to have early visibility of the new product's materials. Doing so ensures early planning and procurement optimisation in anticipation of the move to the production system in NetSuite. Transferring that information into NetSuite in a timely fashion aids in streamlined processes. By using Arena's solutions, NetSuite customers could benefit from faster time-to-market due to a 50%–75% reduction in ECO cycle times, a typical 30%–40% reduction in scrap and rework, lower product documentation costs, error-free outsourcing, and supply chain collaboration in the design process.
"Parts and product change at high velocity, and every component undergoes modification," said Gregg Gowanloch, Director of Channel Sales and Partner Programs, Arena Solutions. "Arena Solutions manages those changes, but you need that trusted connection, which is NetSuite. Without it the system doesn't work, and companies lose money."
Partnership Drives Joint Marketing Opportunities
Arena provides complementary capabilities to NetSuite customers that help address critical business challenges. The partnership between the companies has grown—and will continue to do so—as NetSuite expands its presence in the manufacturing space.
"Our customers understand the critical nature of getting to market quicker," said Steve Chalgren, Vice President Product Management and Strategy, Arena Solutions. "Even it's just a few weeks, those advantages translate into top line revenue growth. When Arena isn't part of the solution, processes are often manual and fraught with errors that lead to scrap and rework. Automated integration through NetSuite adds a tremendous amount of value because customers are assured their data is exact, precise, inclusive, and up-to-date."
Arena Solutions is excited by the growing traction of its relationship with NetSuite in the discreet manufacturing space. "As the partnership leads to more customers—Arena is participating this year for the first time at the SuiteWorld conference—we can identify opportunities to make the solution even more robust for NetSuite customers," said Gowanloch.
About Arena Solutions
Arena pioneered cloud PLM applications. The company's products, including BOMControl, PartsList, and PDXViewer, enable engineering and manufacturing teams and their extended supply chains to speed prototyping, reduce scrap, and streamline supply chain management. Arena cloud PLM applications simplify bill of materials and change management for companies of all sizes, and offer the right balance of flexibility and control at every point in the product lifecycle—from prototype to full-scale production. For more information about Arena Solutions, visit www.arenasolutions.com(opens in new tab).
