Released on = July 10, 2006, 9:10 am

Press Release Author = John Busa

Industry = Software

Press Release Summary = aPriori Shares Value of Predictive Cost Assessments



Press Release Body = 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 patent-protected cost management platform allows companies
to assess, control, and reduce cost of goods sold by whole percentages.

There are fundamental differences in the way that decisions are made in the NPI
process, (in the process that takes products from the conceptual design phase all
the way through production delivery), by using aPriori's predictive cost assessments
vs. more traditional Activity Based Costing (ABC) methods. ABC applies methods
where costs are allocated to production products "after the fact", (after they have
been designed, planned, sourced, and produced.)

During the NPI process many decisions are being made which directly influence or
affect product costs. During the conceptual design and engineering development
phase of NPI, fundamental product decisions are being made in terms of product form,
fit, and function. Typically, more than 60% of a product's cost is committed early
in the design process based on these design decisions, the remaining costs being
determined by planning and sourcing decisions.


Without the real time predictive cost information provided by the aPriori cost
management software platform, these cost relevant decisions are made in a cost
knowledge vacuum, i.e. being made without either up-to-date or accurate cost
information, or without any information whatsoever. Without aPriori's real-time
predictive cost assessments, the only recourse manufacturers have is to use
historical information based on previous products or determine the costs of the
current product after it has been in product for awhile, and then allocate those
costs across the different activities that occurred during the NPI process.
Unfortunately, once the product is in production, it may be very difficult and
expensive to make these changes.



The aPriori cost management platform uses innovative, patent protected technologies,
and is capable of using design information driven off of MCAD geometry. Additionally
the ability to model production facilities (including machine capabilities, raw
materials, and facility cost structure) and the specific cost accounting
methodologies, accurate predictive, allow "forward looking" real time cost
estimates.

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






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

Contact Details = aPriori
www.aPriori.com
John Busa
jbusa@apriori.com
978-371-2006