Released on = September 7, 2006, 8:30 am

Press Release Author = Nate Kalowski

Industry = Software

Press Release Summary = aPriori CEO Frank Azzolino Profiles Engineering and Finance
Issues in The Insider

Press Release Body = The holy grail of 'collaboration' is meaningless if the parties
are not speaking a common language. The 'lingua franca' that translates the language
of engineering into the language of business is 'cost', specifically, product cost.

In the current issue of The Insider found at www.accountingsoftware411.com, Frank
Azzolino, CEO of aPriori Technologies discusses how the business operations focus is
on financially related concerns such as margin, contribution, and profit. The
language of the business is time and money. It is no secret that the profit motive
is what drives critical company decisions. It is also no secret that the ability for
the product to achieve the expected financial goals is driven by design and
manufacturing decisions that occur very early in (and continually throughout) the
product delivery process.

MCAD and PLM have historically focused on the engineering and design aspects of
product delivery. The language of engineering as spoken by MCAD and PLM is based on
physical attributes of the product and technological capabilities of the software
solutions used. The result is a series of conversations about features, rounds,
fillets, and chamfers.


Major PLM and MCAD providers long for acceptance and penetration outside of
engineering departments at the same time the major ERP (enterprise resource
planning) vendors strive to enter the engineering and product delivery arena.

In each of these application platforms, PLM and ERP, cost can be managed. On the ERP
side, costs are always historical; these costs are available to be managed only
after production. While it is more difficult to manage costs on the PLM side of the
house, it is often potentially more valuable. The need for real- time, predictive
costs are essential to allow design and manufacturing teams to avoid and eliminate
costs early in the process (when critical cost-driving decisions are made.)
Currently the array of MCAD, PLM, and ERP applications do not allow for the ability
to generate this early cost knowledge.

The aPriori v4.0 Cost Management Software Platform provides real-time, predictive
cost assessments throughout the entire product development and delivery process.
aPriori v4.0 enables designers and engineers, manufacturing engineers and planners,
purchasing and sourcing professionals, cost managers, and program/project management
to make better decisions to reduce, avoid, and recover product costs. aPriori\'s
solutions enable manufacturing companies to measurably reduce their Costs-of-Goods
Sold (COGS) by whole percentages by identifying quantifiable savings in material,
tooling, labor and overhead while evaluating alternative designs, manufacturing
processes, and vendor sources.

About aPriori
Based in Concord, MA, aPriori is the technology leader providing innovative cost
management solutions to the discrete manufacturing industry. aPriori's Cost
Management Software Platform enables manufacturers to better understand product cost
decisions early and throughout the product lifecycle. aPriori's Cost Management
Platform empowers manufacturers to lower cost-of-goods sold (COGS), provides
real-time visibility to "cost-critical" decision information, and builds critical
cost knowledge to go on the business "offensive." aPriori's patented cost
management platform allows companies to assess, control, and reduce cost of goods
sold by whole percentages. The aPriori Platform truly enables "Cost Knowledge
Before it Matters."

"aPriori has customers in a variety of industries including High Technology,
Industrial Equipment, Automotive, and Heavy Machinery. Recent customers include John
Deere, Panasonic, Thomas & Betts, Flextronics, JLG, and Dana Corporation."




Web Site = http://www.aPriori.com

Contact Details = aPriori
www.aPriori.com
Nate Kalowski
Communications Director
pr@apriori.com
978-371-2006