Autodesk Acquires Engineering Intent Corporation to Increase ETO Capability

2005-11-04: CAD software house Autodesk, has acquired certain assets of Engineering Intent Corporation. Privately held and based in Waltham, Mass. USA, Engineering Intent provides "Engineer to Order" (ETO) software and services.

Autodesk is saying that the acquisition is intended to help its customers address the growing demand for mass customization. Autodesk's expanded solution is targeted at directly supporting its customers requirement to efficiently produce and deliver customized end products for time to market advantages.

Autodesk, of San Rafael, California, was founded in 1982 and has more than six million users of its software and services for the manufacturing, infrastructure, building, digital media, and wireless data services fields.

ETO software can significantly shorten manufacturers' sales cycles, typically from an average of 30 days to as little as one day or more importantly, a single sales call. The software also helps them manufacture their end products more cost effectively. By embedding a company's engineering specifications or design intelligence and rules up-front, ETO software enables sales to achieve pre-approved designs in the field, reduces engineering design iterations, minimizes costly errors and can eliminate manufacturing re-work.

"Engineering Intent has been active and successful in helping its customers address sales engineering automation," said Buzz Kross, vice president of Autodesk's Manufacturing Solutions Division. "In addition to bringing domain expertise, Engineering Intent has developed ETO software that encompasses a competitively unique rules engine. This acquisition expands our business scope and demonstrates our commitment to providing an increasingly comprehensive solution to our customers." Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Engineering Intent has successfully partnered with Autodesk Consulting for a variety of AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor-based ETO implementations.

Autodesk have highlighted some of the companies that are using the engineer to order software solution. Hytrol Conveyor Company, a major manufacturer of conveying systems and accessories, has been working with Engineering Intent and Autodesk to implement a company-wide ETO system. "This system will help us to significantly shorten our sales cycles and engineering time by automating re-design for each order, Bill of Material (BOM) production for manufacturing, and spare parts lists for our customers," said Stuart Shaw, Hytrol's Manager of Information Systems. "We'll be able to implement this system in half the time it would have taken us to develop a customized solution in house."

Southern Staircase, a supplier to home builders, commercial contracts and architects, is a long time Autodesk customer. "We are thrilled about this acquisition," says Randy Scott vice president at Southern Staircase. "We are implementing a solution consisting of Autodesk Inventor and Engineering Intent, with the expertise of the Autodesk Consulting team guiding the entire project including the integration into our ERP system. With this solution we will be able to reduce order administration, reduce errors, get to market faster, and ultimately increase our sales volumes."

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