Alberto Culver sells hair and skin care products, food, and household products in 120 countries through 14 manufacturing sites and four product development/design centers located around the globe. To speed new product introductions to all these markets as efficiently as possible, the company in September ’02 employed a new software program from OSIsoft. Called ProcessPoint PDM (product data management) Editor, the software provides several key benefits.

Real-time data enables each of the manufacturing sites to see Alberto Culver’s product and package specifications online. That visibility and shared knowledge ultimately helps Melrose Park, IL-based Alberto Culver speed products to market with real-time access to product specifications as they’re developed and approved.

All manufacturing sites gain visibility to packaging and product specifications as the specifications become approved at the centers. Each location can log into the corporate database and pull the product information needed to assess commercialization capabilities and then determine if they can support a new product initiative.

Alberto Culver estimates that cycle time to complete bid packages have been cut by 50%, helping its Purchasing Organization to realize savings 6 to 8 weeks sooner. That saves an estimated $1.5 million on global bids that have been generating over $10 million in annualized savings.