Aegis Software (Europe) Ltd. has appointed Daniel Walls as its European Managing Director and moved its European headquarters to Buckinghamshire, UK. The company specializes in the development of manufacturing information management systems for the electronics assembly industry. Aegis offers fully-integrated and/or modular enterprise solutions comprised to expedite data preparation and product launch, process bills of materials, deliver paperless documentation, control line and material setups, track product, collect and analyze quality, and monitor performance. Walls talks about his intentions for the European operation.
Can you outline the new technical developments that you are showcasing at Productronica this year?
This year at Productronica we will be unveiling our brand new shop floor user interface for Version 7 and also a new executive dashboard designer.
What are the key features Aegis has to offer with its software solutions? What is its most significant benefit to users?
Users benefit due to our service and satisfaction reputation: Seven consecutive years of industry customer satisfaction awards based on independent surveys of Aegis‘ and its competitors‘ customers.
… due to our technical leadership: Aegis was first to 32 bit, OLE, CAMX, and remains the only vendor offering an XML web service, .NET system on one database. Others speak of advanced and integrated systems, but only Aegis can back up that claim.
… due to our connection to their factory: Aegis maintains more partnerships with the leading machine vendors than any other supplier by a ratio of about 10:1. These assure our customers of unprecedented program generation capability as well as machine monitoring.
… due to quality: Aegis sells only what it develops in-house. Aegis does not subcontract or acquire technology. Therefore, we can evolve, integrate, and support what we sell. This cannot be claimed by any Aegis competitor.
… because of fulfilled commitments: Aegis has kept its promises and maintained timely product releases. In a market of unfulfilled “roadmaps” and “visions”, Aegis has delivered a consistently evolving, powerful system.
What are the advantages of using third party software, compared to a company developing in-house software?
In today’s competitive European market, most electronic manufacturers have come to the conclusion that supporting in-house developed systems is cost prohibitive. Also, as the industry demands detailed production information, in-house systems cannot maintain and produce these capabilities as rapid as 3rd party solutions.
Which parts of Europe do you target?
For the past year, Aegis has been targeting the UK and Benelux areas of Europe. Currently we have been extremely successful in these areas and have scaled our organization internally to meet those demands. In the next year, Aegis will continue to expand into other European areas, with specific concentration on the German market.
Can you describe the service and support network Aegis has in Europe?
The Company has complete support for Europe through a series of VARs and representatives. As an internal policy, Aegis has chosen to directly support our more sophisticated MES systems that have been deployed.
Which parts of Europe are the current star performers for Aegis?
We have seen tremendous growth in the UK and Benelux areas due to direct sales support and specific customer demands. I believe that customer demands throughout Europe are quite similar and expect to see the same results in other European areas as we expand our direct sales staff.
Can you give us an idea of the kind of companies that suit Aegis and why?
I do not believe there is one “typical” profile that suits Aegis at this time. Our system is very modular and cost effective to meet a wide range of electronics companies in Europe. We have customers that are four person operations that do a tremendous amount of new product introduction work to supplying four of the top ten medical device manufacturers with MES solutions. The important idea to recognize is that Aegis solutions can grow with our customers‘ growth.
What are your European customer’s biggest challenges and opportunities for the coming years?
One of the biggest challenges that I see in today’s European market is the ability to cope and process the vast amounts of information needed to produce quality electronics. Most customers we visit have several subsystems to deal with this. Aegis can eliminate several of these subsystems and maintain and process it through a single database. Another big challenge that I see in today’s European market is the lack of informational systems once raw materials are moved out to the shop floor. Some companies have tried to extend their ERP/MRP systems to accommodate this requirement without success. I firmly believe that this is where Aegis can improve customer visibility, new product introduction speed and manufacturing control for the shop floor.
Can you give us any indications of what to expect in the near future?
I believe the industry in Europe will continue the trend of bringing back sophisticated levels of electronic products back from outsourced areas, such as Asia. The return on investment that most companies expected to gain from outsourcing does not seem to be meeting the expectation.
Productronica, Stand A5.101
EPP Europe 408
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