BOULDER, CO, Sep 2, 2015 – Anark Corp., leading provider of model based enterprise (MBE) and visual communication software solutions, announced that it has extended its industry leading 3D PDF technical data package (TDP) and 3D PDF model based enterprise (MBE) publishing capabilities to include managed enterprise to supplier collaboration (conversations) on the back of the PDF open standard and the free Adobe Reader.

As further confirmation that Anark Corp. is the leader in the deployment of true production quality 3D MBD (model based definition) data to the downstream consumers of that data, Anark has developed a unique, innovative and powerful collaboration backbone enabling Enterprises to easily communicate and collaborate with their vast and varied manufacturing and supplier networks.

One of the new Anark Core Server 4.4 capabilities extends the “2D and 3D Markup and Commenting” capabilities available within the free Adobe Reader (already installed on 98% of the world’s computers) with Anark Core Server’s new automated ability to extract, collate and store markups and comments within the enterprise’s existing PLM or ERP data repositories.

Anark can then organize and distribute the PDF comments in many different but important ways unique to each enterprise’s specific needs and processes, such as per contract, per document, per supplier, per submission time stamp etc. Those comments and their associated metadata are retrievable and view-able by the appropriate recipients of those markups and comments.

“Anark has created a powerful but extremely flexible collaboration capability which allows anyone in the enterprise to launch a trackable, auditable, archiveable and retrievable “conversation” with any organization and/or person in the extended manufacturing and supplier network,” said Stephen Collins, president and CEO of Anark Corp.

“Other collaboration solutions provided by most PLM and ERP software companies, manufacturers and suppliers in the extended manufacturing network require special access through PLM or ERP user accounts, and must purchase proprietary (and expensive) 3D viewing and collaboration software provided by that PLM or ERP software company,” Collins continued.

Anark has worked closely and confidentially with one of their major aerospace and defense customers (and in particular with their strategic leaders in aerospace for engineering operations) to define and refine the new Anark Core Server 4.4 enterprise to supplier collaboration capabilities.

“With our deployment, we have been able to assemble and distribute complete multi document PDF TDPs in accordance with MILSTD31000 3D TDP and DOD CDRL requirements including a XML based PLCS (STEP
AP239) manifest which completely defines the content of the PDF TDP and allows for automated disassembly and intelligent document distribution,” said one of the company’s strategic leaders for aerospace engineering operations.

Specific to the new Anark Core Server 4.4 capabilities are:

• Advanced PDF TDP Management allowing for automated PLM and ERP workflow driven assembly and disassembly of multi document PDF TDPs and their associated human readable and machine readable manifests (aka the TDP table of contents and attached document types).

• Dynamic Data Markings for Release Control allowing for the automatic application (and removal) of release status, authority, distribution notices and watermarks to PDF documents that have already been published and approved in a previous work flow step.

• Supply Chain Management Collaboration allowing for the automatic extraction, collation and storage of comment and markup data that was applied to PDFs (2D or 3D), to manage supply chain communications.

• Paginated Table Rendition allowing for tables of data (such as EBOM, MBOM, procurement lists & tables of associated engineering, manufacturing and supplier metadata) of arbitrary length to be formatted and rendered as multiple PDF pages (together with the 3D PDF data) using standard Adobe PDF “Acroform” templates.

These new Anark Core Server 4.4 capabilities are perfect for automating workflows which in the past were highly manual, multidiscipline, time consuming and pen and paper based.

For example this typical supplier bid process can now be easily and cost effectively automated and deployed:

1. The OEM’s Engineering department releases their 2D and 3D PDF engineering document(s) to supplier procurement.
2. Procurement then assembles additional supplier specific documents, standards and other contract documents to create a complete PDF TDP bid package. Each 2D and 3D PDF document within the PDF TDP is then automatically watermarked as “For Preliminary Collaboration” using Anark Core Server.
3. Procurement provides the unique PDF bid packages to each supplier in the bidding process through their secure data distribution portal, or through encrypted email.
4. Each supplier then disassembles their unique 3D PDF bid documents and distributes them to the domain experts in their respective departments (e.g. manufacturing, tooling, QA, legal etc.)
5. Each of the supplier’s domain experts “Markup and Comment” on their specific TDP PDF documents using the free Adobe Reader. For example manufacturing might identify areas for clarification or request for Engineering changes to the 3D PDF engineering documents while legal requests contract clarification or language changes.
6. These marked up TDP bid documents are then sent back to the OEM’s procurement department.
7. Back at the OEM’s procurement department, the markups and comments are automatically extracted, collated, stored and distributed to the appropriate organizations within the enterprise using Anark Core Server.
8. Only those bid documents which have changed, are resubmitted to procurement and a new TDP bid package is reassembled. All “For Preliminary Collaboration” watermarks on all PDF documents (old and new) are replaced with “For Final Bid” using Anark Core Server.
9. Anark Core Server may be integrated with all popular PLM and SCM software systems, for work flow driven engineering release publishing and supply chain collaboration.

About Anark

Anark Corp. is a leading engineering and manufacturing software solution provider serving aerospace & defense, electronics, automotive, industrial machinery, and medical equipment manufacturers, with reference customers that include the top 10 US aerospace companies.

Anark Corporation helps enterprise manufacturing companies leverage their mission critical data and infrastructure investments in PLM and ERP, providing solutions for engineering release, procurement and supply chain management, manufacturing process planning and execution, and quality inspection planning and execution.

Anark helps market leaders such as such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, NASA, TE Connectivity, Ericsson Communications, Honeywell, and the US Department of Defense unlock the potential of their PLM and ERP investments to improve and accelerate product development, reduce material waste, and to collaborate and communicate more effectively and securely with their suppliers and customers. For more information about Anark please visit www.anark.com.

Anark empowers its customers to unleash the model based enterprise.

About Anark Core

Anark Core is an automated, easy to deploy, enterprise software platform that enables manufacturers to leverage valuable engineering design data and manufacturing information to deliver highly effective downstream visual communication and collaboration applications and solutions.

Anark Core allows organizations to effectively reuse their 3D product definition content and manufacturing Process content by automatically combining CADPLM with ERPMES content through captured business rules to create context specific, graphically rich, manufacturing, inspection and supplier documents and applications for use throughout the enterprise and extended supply chain.

Unlike other PLM or ERP applications, Anark’s platform does not require organizations to duplicate their CAD or PLM data within their ERP system, or their MES or ERP data within their PLM system, and it is the only authoring and publishing solution available today that can provide completely accurate, high fidelity 3D PDF and 3D HTML engineering release and manufacturing process documents from virtually any CAD, PLM, or ERP data source.