Planning software provider Dassault Systèmes has signed a deal to buy rival Ortems, which designs collaborative manufacturing planning and dispatching software.
The buyout will extend Dassault’s offering in 3D manufacturing, supply chain and delivery applications under its 3DExperience platform. Dassault did not reveal how much the acquisition cost.
Alongside its 3DExperience platform, Dassault offers manufacturers (including in the automotive sector) supply chain planning and optimisation software services through its Delmia Quintiq brand. It said the purchase of Ortems would complement that brand and increase its offering in digital manufacturing and supply chain planning operations.
Ortems’ software is used to manage ‘smart factories’, where a synchronised manufacturing IT system supports the link between virtual design and physical production. Dassault said users of its applications could automate and compare production schedules to meet different delivery dates, as well as making better use of resources, with benefits for the bottom line.
Among its automotive customers, Ortems provides applications for Valeo, Plastic Omnium, Michelin and Mecaplast. In October last year Mecaplast, which designs and manufactures parts and systems for vehicle bodies and engines, chose Ortems’ advanced planning and scheduling software to complement SAP for 18 of its plants.
“As part of Dassault Systèmes, we can bring a unique manufacturing operations management portfolio to the market that closes the loop between process design and production execution on the shop floor, and supply chain planning in global industrial operations,” said René Desvignes, president and CEO of Ortems. “Manufacturers can respond rapidly to constantly changing customer requirements by enabling agile manufacturing strategies with more flexible, connected, sustainable and smart factories.”
