Eric Karofsky

AMR Research (www.amrresearch.com)

PBL Demands Cultural Shift, Wharton Panel Concludes
February 14, 2007
Performance-based contracting, the more general term for PBL, has been around for years; Rolls-Royce’s Power by the Hour was made popular over 20 years ago. So why are we still talking about it? Conversations at Wharton repeatedly turned to one main reaso…(more at AMR)

Rethinking Call Center Metrics—Quality Is Job One
January 31, 2007
Customer service has topped customer management spending priorities for years. But while importance remains high, a return on these investments is often unquantifiable beyond basic cost savings. Monitoring and improving contact center quality is becoming…(more at AMR)

Performance-Based Logistics Requires Supply Network Agility
January 17, 2007
Sustaining assets in the 21st century with performance based logistics (PBL) contracts will require networks that are adaptive, allowing for inventory to be dynamically positioned, transportation flexibility, and state-of-the-art systems and technologies…(more at AMR)

Five Steps to Profitable Aftermarket Services
January 12, 2007
Product companies with mature service organizations enjoy a lower cost of sale, superior profits, and a close connection to the customer. Most, however, treat service as a cost center. The transition to profitable services requires a roadmap to maturity.…(more at AMR)

RoHS—The Data Collection Problem
December 19, 2006
On July 1, 2006, electronics brand owners and distributors selling into the European Union became responsible for minimizing six hazardous substances from products. Six months later, few OEMs are compliant. Through best practices and technology assistance…(more at AMR)

Aftermarket Services: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
December 14, 2006
Many retail executives look to extended warranties for profits. Becoming popular several years ago, the practice is highly profitable, but often perceived as a scam by skeptical buyers. Several leading companies are finding similar value while also increa…(more at AMR)

Responding to Demand in Aftermarket Services
November 8, 2006
Orchestrating an optimized demand response requires detailed insights into the many constraints that affect service availability. Only through a deep understanding and coordination of service supply can companies optimize profits and participate in perfor…(more at AMR)

Optimize the Aftermarket Workforce To Sense and Meet Demand
October 26, 2006
Optimizing field technicians’ schedules can yield immediate benefits in both quality and cost of service, which improve the bottom line, ensure SLA compliance, and improve customer satisfaction. But it is not getting the attention it deserves.…(more at AMR)

Indus and MDSI To Merge: Consolidation Continues in SLM
October 23, 2006
Vista Equity Partners, a private equity investment firm, is purchasing Indus for $240M and combining the service lifecycle management (SLM) company with its mobile workforce management portfolio company, MDSI. The deal is noteworthy not only because of a…(more at AMR)

Performance-Based Contracting: Procuring Results, Not Products
October 5, 2006
It goes by many monikers: availability contracting, performance-based logistics, contractor logistics support, power by the hour, and a multitude of other terms, but our preferred term is performance-based contracting. Regardless of the name and deviation…(more at AMR)

Performance-Based Contracts Rely on Service Lifecycle Management
October 5, 2006
In a performance-based contracting arrangement, a client is simply asking for a product’s utility, not the asset itself. In automotive, the consumer wants to drive to a destination. In A&D, the military wants combat-ready warfare. In HVAC, the superintend…(more at AMR)

Service Lifecycle Management Landscape of Suite Vendors
September 29, 2006
Profitability, customer intimacy, and decreased cost of sale are central principles of business. Smart companies are finding an increased attention to aftermarket services not only improves all these metrics, but also provides the insight necessary to man…(more at AMR)

Benefits of Service Lifecycle Management
September 27, 2006
Companies are benefiting from service lifecycle management (SLM). Over the past few months, we conducted in-depth interviews with over 30 end-user companies across industries to understand the concerns that lead them to purchase software to manage their s…(more at AMR)

The SLM Market: Strength Through Acquisition
September 13, 2006
Click Commerce is just the most recent acquisition in the service lifecycle management (SLM) market—a market that will continue to consolidate. The rash of acquisitions the past few years has resulted in stronger product suites. Here are a few of the more…(more at AMR)

Recalls Affect Iconic Brands
August 25, 2006
Any business school student can tell you that Dell equals supply chain excellence, Apple equals innovation, and Toyota equals quality. But these three iconic brands are all facing recalls. Poor sourcing and pressure to reduce time to market are just two i…(more at AMR)

Midyear Update: Autodesk and UGS
August 18, 2006
Autodesk recently reported record 2Q07 net revenue of $450M, a 21% increase year to year, while UGS’s 2Q06 revenue increased by a modest 4% to $296.7M. Velocity, UGS’s midmarket product, enjoyed 30% year-to-year revenue growth, largely reflecting the succ…(more at AMR)

Need Budget? Translate Service Manager Needs Into the Language of Finance
August 16, 2006
Global service managers are frustrated with trying to obtain budget for new projects. But the problem often lies in how they ask, not what they are asking for. Here are some tips on how to speak the language of the finance department and be heard.…(more at AMR)

UGS Benefiting From the Midmarket
August 16, 2006
Manufacturers with less than $1B in revenue are often just as complex as large manufacturers, but have not invested in technology at the same rate. As such, the large PLM vendors are seeing increasing growth in the midmarket. UGS’s recent revenue shows th…(more at AMR)

The Dell Recall Is a Warning to All: Improve Your Service Discovery
August 15, 2006
Financial analysts are predicting that the recall of 4.1 million laptop batteries could cost Dell and its battery supplier Sony $250M or more. The batteries have been found to catch fire during laptop use. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is the…(more at AMR)

Chordiant Software: Maneuvering in a Crowded Space
August 11, 2006
Chordiant Software reported preliminary third quarter results on August 8. Revenue rose by 26% to $27.3M year to year. The company estimates that it posted a $3.0M net loss ($0.04 per share), compared with a $3.5M loss ($0.05 per share) in the prior-year…(more at AMR)

Is the Investor Community Aware of RoHS Exposure?
July 26, 2006
After years of preparation time, we’re now about a month past the effective date of RoHS, which mandates electronics products sold in the EU need to be essentially void of six hazardous substances: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and PBB and…(more at AMR)

A Full PLM Assault Is Needed for Compliance
July 18, 2006
Responding to consumer activism, governments throughout the world are legislating that products become more environmentally friendly. Too often, however, companies treat this as a product data management concern only.…(more at AMR)

IBM PLM Shifting Strategies
June 21, 2006
IBM PLM’s recent reorganization, plus the new marketing relationship with Dassault rival PTC, seems to mark the beginning of the end of a long, successful relationship with Dassault. The new strategy is not about changing partnerships, however, but about…(more at AMR)

Survey: With RoHS Deadline Imminent, Where Is Your Company?
June 20, 2006
The RoHS deadline is almost upon us. Are you ready? Please take our short survey to help us measure how prepared companies are.…(more at AMR)

Protecting IP: First Step, Figure Out What IP To Protect
June 7, 2006
Much has been written about how to protect intellectual property through content management or portfolio management tools. Recently, however, a large company asked the astute question “how do we even know what IP we have? And how do we find it?”…(more at AMR)

Introducing Demand-Driven Service: Move Over DDSN
May 24, 2006
Demand-driven supply networks are often discussed in relation to consumer products, but sensing and responding to demand signals is a tremendous opportunity for post-sales services as well. Evolutionary and revolutionary business models are creating compe…(more at AMR)

CA: From Financial Outlaw to Model of Compliance in 15 Months
May 18, 2006
Computer Associates had its share of SEC problems in the wake of the corporate financial scandals—but that was then. The technology company is now a model of compliance, and not just with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but with any compliance initiative existing…(more at AMR)

Case Study: Deploying SAPs Customer Interaction Center
May 10, 2006
A large high-tech company recently discussed its deployment of SAP Customer Interaction Center (CIC). The company engaged the help of a service provider to customize the platform to plug the gap between out-of-the-box functionality to business-specific cu…(more at AMR)

Retailer Contact Centers: A Strategic Point of Interaction
April 27, 2006
“What are the options to decrease operational costs without decreasing quality of service?” Retailers have been asking us this question, but it overlooks the potential to capitalize on a pivotal customer interaction. The better question is, “What are the…(more at AMR)

Improve the Product Through Service Knowledge
April 26, 2006
Call center representatives address repetitive questions from customers. Field technicians fix installed parts. Salespeople receive calls from customers to replace old products. These are all examples of inputs that need to be collected, analyzed, and pro…(more at AMR)

Profitable Service Lifecycle Management
April 12, 2006
Service is a business model that is changing rapidly. So where are investments in aftermarket services heading? And which of the processes are necessary? AMR Research’s service lifecycle management model highlights the four major areas of investment.…(more at AMR)

China RoHS Is Thornier Than EU RoHS: Here’s What to Expect
March 29, 2006
RoHS, the EU directive that is changing the electronics industry, is becoming more stringent as it’s transposed into Chinese law. “Administrative Measure on the Control of Pollution Caused by Electronic Information Products” is more inclusive, requires pr…(more at AMR)

Looking To Innovate? Think Aftermarket Services
March 29, 2006
Innovation is the in word these days. You can hardly go to a website or hear a CEO speak without hearing the term. Too much focus, however, is usually placed on creating new product to increase revenue and build market share. Companies that think about af…(more at AMR)

Three Ways To Improve Your Product Innovation
March 9, 2006
Several recent discussions with senior managers charged with product innovation highlighted deficiencies in their respective companies’ innovation processes.…(more at AMR)

Investment Ideas To Rapidly Prepare for a Pandemic
February 23, 2006
Companies need to assess their exposure and readiness should a pandemic occur. What may surprise decision makers is that there are several necessary investments that will benefit the organization as a whole, regardless of whether or when a disaster happen…(more at AMR)

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers: We’re Now Sustainable
February 16, 2006
Wal-Mart will start selling sustainable fish, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. Yes, you read that correctly. Simply speaking, it means that Wal-Mart will sell fish that is certified as not coming from over-fished waters. The company does so ackn…(more at AMR)

Environmental Product Risk: Is Wall Street Aware?
February 14, 2006
It is well known that companies assess risk differently. What isn’t so well known is that they also report on it differently. A search through 10-K filings, in which public companies outline material risks, shows the discrepancies. For European Union envi…(more at AMR)

Perfect Compliance: Is It Possible?
February 7, 2006
Is perfect compliance possible? In a word, no—of course it isn’t. Perfection, at almost any level, is cost and time prohibitive. However, embracing the concept of the perfect product launch can help companies create products that comply at a reasonable le…(more at AMR)

Boots Hit With WEEE Penalty
January 25, 2006
Boots, a retailer, pleaded guilty in Ireland to infractions of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. The case sets a precedent as the first WEEE case prosecuted in the EU.…(more at AMR)

Green Compliance: Yes, It’s a Competitive Advantage
January 11, 2006
It’s a position AMR Research has long held—compliance is an opportunity for competitive advantage. A recent quote in the Wall Street Journal by Benjamin Heineman, Jr., GE’s former senior VP for law and public affairs, exemplifies our stance.…(more at AMR)

Success Doesn’t Stop With Innovation
January 4, 2006
Volkswagen and Ford have launched innovative programs to understand the needs of consumers, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. Through elaborate profiling and primary research, the companies are trying to redefine the requirements for the next ge…(more at AMR)

The Chemical Industry: REACHing a Boiling Point
December 14, 2005
The Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) directive achieved an important milestone this week, as the European Union’s Council of Ministers passed a revision. The revision, however, is a poor compromise that is complicated and w…(more at AMR)

Autodesk: A Work in Process
December 7, 2005
At $1.2B in revenue, Autodesk’s sales are greater than other large CAD-based PLM vendors, with annual revenue for UGS and Dassault at approximately $1B and PTC reaching $721M. As the latter companies fend off SAP and Oracle for rise supremacy, Autodesk is…(more at AMR)

Deploying PLM: The Insider’s Experience
November 30, 2005
Initial attempts at deploying large-scale PLM often result in failure. While vendors try to mitigate implementation risk, too often their methodologies focus on technical and functional considerations. End users report that focusing on a core group of bes…(more at AMR)

PLM Deployments: How To Get Engineering Acceptance
November 21, 2005
Getting engineer and designer buy-in on a PLM project is difficult to say the least. Project managers for PLM deployments share tips on what works.…(more at AMR)

Pure-Play PLM Is Feeling the Squeeze
November 8, 2005
PLM buyers are looking to build upon their installed application base as opposed to installing and maintaining new rise systems. With CAD-oriented vendors continuing strong growth and SAP increasing its PLM investment, the squeeze is on for pure-play PLM…(more at AMR)

E-Scrap: A Current and Electrically Charged Problem
October 31, 2005
According to the United Nations Environment Program, 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste are generated annually worldwide. Armed with toxic substances, people and companies have few options to dispose of old technology. Upcoming legislation, rife with proble…(more at AMR)

The Ghoulish Problem of Content Collection: A Compliance Nightmare
October 26, 2005
RoHS compliance managers are thinking about content collection this Halloween. A spooky combination of general confusion, lack of standards, and looming deadlines is creating the need for information. But how do you obtain detailed information for thousan…(more at AMR)

Risk Sharing Is a Necessity in PLM Deployments
October 19, 2005
During the PLM sales and assessment cycle, huge ROI is often declared by vendors. It becomes a natural strategy for customer companies to demand that payment correlate to the achievement of the ROI. Beyond specific financial measures, there may be other m…(more at AMR)

Deploying PLM Doesn’t Need To Be Complicated
October 3, 2005
You make a complex product that is designed, engineered, and manufactured in multiple places and used by the most visible places in the world. For your roughly 400 SKUs, you use more than 2,000 parts, many of which have variations, updates, and multiple p…(more at AMR)

Reach Innovation Utopia With Project Management Tools
September 18, 2005
With a knowing smile and confident pat on the back, your CEO asks you, the director of the program management office, to increase the rate of new product introduction, but not to spend any more money—he wants profits up. The next day, new product ideas ap…(more at AMR)

The Greening of Fujitsu
September 6, 2005
With its parent Fujitsu Ltd.’s strong environmental posture, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions, which produces products for the retail market such as point-of-sale equipment, is on the forefront of preparedness for upcoming regulation, subsequently building a…(more at AMR)

Creating a Culture of Innovation
August 24, 2005
After several years of cost cutting to improve profitability, companies are now looking to grow revenue through innovation. Whether it’s market-changing introductions such as Apple’s iPod or an effective marketing message such as General Motors’ Employee…(more at AMR)

Environmental Compliance: Assessing Product Exposure and Executing a Strategy for Readiness
August 22, 2005
As compliance becomes a board-level concern, creating environmentally safe products is prompting executives to ask “are we prepared?” They need a framework to assess risk exposure and define strategies to become prepared for green. This Report introduces…(more at AMR)

Five Ways To Protect IP When Outsourcing
August 10, 2005
Outsourcing is a common business practice for non-core tasks, but it’s beginning to gain acceptance for strategic functions such as product development. Protecting IP is a major reason why companies push back on the idea. AMR Research recently talked with…(more at AMR)

PTC and Dassault Earnings Show Strong Demand for PLM
July 27, 2005
PTC and Dassault posted their respective earnings this past week, growing at 7% and 15%, respectively. Their news highlights a difference in execution, but also exhibits an emerging trend of stalled Asia-Pacific region growth.…(more at AMR)

PTC Acquires Arbortext, Moves Further Toward End-to-End PLM
July 8, 2005
PTC is acquiring Arbortext, a well-regarded document publishing company. The deal values the privately held Arbortext at approximately $190M, which will be paid for with PTC’s relatively large cash position. Strategically the acquisition opens the door to…(more at AMR)

Compliance Changes the Rules of the Game
June 29, 2005
A large A&D OEM missed an opportunity because of compliance. To comply with an initiative to reduce emissions, the company made design changes, which substantially affected both its price-to-performance proposition and new sales of the company’s popular t…(more at AMR)

PTC Drives Toward $1B by 2008
June 8, 2005
PTC’s recent PTCuser 2005 produced several announcements, from recent acquisitions to an eagerly awaited product update. But just as important, the tone of the discussions was noticeably upbeat, a testament to PTC’s improving financial results and strateg…(more at AMR)

Strategic Sourcing for HR: Talent Acquisition Landscape
May 31, 2005
The degree of company success is directly linked to its ability to attract and retain the talent needed to reach its business goals. Tools are now available to help companies radically streamline their hiring processes and improve their talent acquisition…(more at AMR)

Talent Acquisition Software: Options Abound
May 31, 2005
Because of disjointed processes and ineffective technologies, the hiring process at many companies produces inconsistent results and often consumes an exorbitant amount of time. But companies that use talent acquisition applications report significant imp…(more at AMR)

Green Compliance: It’s a Marketing Opportunity, Not a Burden
May 31, 2005
Environmental compliance requires investment throughout a product’s lifecycle, from redesigning products and processes to end-of-life recycling. Too many businesses perceive compliance as just a cost of doing business—wrong. It can be a competitive advant…(more at AMR)

Green Compliance: Still Not Getting the Attention It Needs
May 17, 2005
RoHS and WEEE have yet to grab the attention of many executives, but they should. Exposure and the risk to the brand make them a top-level priority. Here are some ways to move them up the list.…(more at AMR)

Green Compliance: Think Long-Term Solution, Not Short-Term Fix
May 4, 2005
A large Tier 1 automotive supplier recently discussed with us the lessons learned while implementing RoHS initiatives. The company’s proficiency with ELV requirements provided a roadmap for success.…(more at AMR)

Ireland Modifies WEEE Deadlines
April 20, 2005
Acknowledging the difficulties implementing a reverse supply chain for electronic waste, Ireland will modify its WEEE regulations. Producers will still need to register and have a recovery plan in place by the current August 13, 2005, deadline; however, m…(more at AMR)

RoHS Compliance: How Will You Replace Your BOM?
March 23, 2005
Complying with the upcoming RoHS deadline of July 1, 2006 is a multifaceted problem, affecting the entire supply chain. Finding suitable BOM replacements for components that have lead or the other five major substances is time-consuming and costly, ultima…(more at AMR)

RoHS: Getting the Lead Out Poses a Big Risk
March 16, 2005
This is Part One of a two-part series on creating Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)-compliant products. This week, we look at European mandates to reduce lead in products. The problem is that lead has many beneficial functions in electronics, suc…(more at AMR)

Electronic Lab Notebooks: Making Research More Efficient, Productive, and Cost Effective
March 9, 2005
Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) are helping researchers be more efficient while cutting costs—a major goal in research-intensive industries like Life Sciences. Most researchers are using hardcopy notebooks for documentation, but paper is not conducive to…(more at AMR)

RoHS Requires Parts Declaration–You Require Risk Mitigation
February 3, 2005
If you’re a manufacturer or OEM of electronic equipment, you’re struggling to remove hazardous substances from your products to comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive. You ask your suppliers for a list of substances in their…(more at AMR)

Landscape of Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Tools
January 31, 2005
This Report defines the business problem imposed on companies because of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, analyzes the market dynamics as a multitude of vendors attempt to address the problem, and profiles the vendors best positioned to win.…(more at AMR)

The Future of SOX Software: Features of More Inclusive Applications
January 26, 2005
For most companies, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has been an endurance race. Now they must decide whether to stick with what’s been put in place or replace it with maturing software to broadly manage compliance across the firm.…(more at AMR)

RoHS and WEEE: It’s an Executive Problem
January 14, 2005
Deadlines for the EU’s RoHS and WEEE directives loom, which will affect nearly all manufacturers, whether based in the EU or not. Need proof of what noncompliance will cost? PlayStation sales were halted in the Netherlands because they contained too much…(more at AMR)

Summit Session: SAP Security Working Group
December 14, 2004
AMR Research’s voiced the need for a security working group to discuss concerns and share best practices. On November 15 and 16, 2004, AMR Research facilitated a security discussion with SAP security leads from the following companies: Air Products, Cele…(more at AMR)

Service Providers: Bigger Isn’t Always Better
December 10, 2004
Midtier service providers offer significant value, the result of cost, culture, and specialized expertise. While the billion-dollar service providers are suited to address multifaceted projects for complex organizations, smaller service providers are ofte…(more at AMR)

Employee Performance Management Landscape
November 4, 2004
The large rise applications providers are putting pressure on the niche vendors in the Employee Performance Management market. With a few exceptions, the lines are blurring between best-of-breed features and must-have functionality. Expanded offerings, ac…(more at AMR)