Industry Challenges

ProductVision Solutions
The ProductVision system allows the formulator to access data from other software packages such as a customer response system. This gives the formulator up-to-the-minute marketing and product information, such as how the product is being accepted by the public, what problems are being encountered, and enhancements the public is saying would strengthen the product.


Use Guidelines and Restrictions to Ensure That Your Formulas Meet Raw Material and Formulation Requirements Worldwide
The Guidelines & Restrictions Module provides the ability to identify restrictions for raw materials used in specific applications (identified by keywords) and geographic locations (markets).  Statements can be assigned at either the raw material or formula level, indicating for which keyword, market, or composition amount they apply.  Then, at the formula level, a guideline check is run to determine what specific restrictions exist for the raw materials at the specific amounts in the formula on either a worldwide basis or for a specific country/region.
 

Track Testing and QC Requirements in the Integrated Testing Module

The Testing Module is a powerful tool that allows you to enter extensive testing information for raw material and formula.  A single test entry may include multiple test attributes, notes, and test results. 

The flexible design of the module makes it ideal for many different types of tests including physical property, toxicological, microbiological, clinical, and analytical tests.  Test results can be numeric, character, date, or logical (true/false).  You can set up a test to require as many test attributes and results entries as necessary to fully define the test conditions, final results and judgments (pass/fail).


Compare Recipes Side-by-Side to Determine the Best Alternative
ProductVision allows you to compare an unlimited number of formulas directly in a spread-sheet view making comparisons of similar products a snap.   The formula comparison is “tabbed” to allow you to compare formula compositions, properties, specifications, testing information, notes, alerts, and other information directly. 
 

For further study, you can quickly export some or all of the information to Excel.  You may use the raw material comparison feature to perform similar studies for your raw materials.


Create Product Test Series Automatically Using the Formula Design Module
ProductVision’s Formula Design Module allows you to create a series of related formulations automatically to streamline new product development projects.  Using this, you can vary the levels of existing raw materials, replace existing materials with substitutes and make other necessary changes in a large number of alternative formulations at the touch of a button.

Control Formula Creation and Revisions with Automated Approvals
ProductVision’s integrated Workflow Module greatly simplifies the execution and tracking of workflows that are commonly encountered in product development.  This may include new product creation, reformulation projects, competitive analysis studies and new/edited product formula approvals.   ProductVision allows you to integrate and optimize your business processes, providing increased efficiency and accountability.
 

Security Features Control Access and Editing of Formulations
ProductVision security allows you to restrict who may view, create, edit, delete, or print formulations.   Formula access can be further restricted by formula type, location (entity) and status (“Experimental”, “Production”, etc.).   This ensures that only qualified employees are able to view and/or modify your formula information. 

All Changes to Information in ProductVision are Recorded for Future Reference
All changes made to an item are logged by the system.   Details of the change include the user who made the change, the date and time, and exactly what was changed on an item.

ProductVision allows you to prevent future changes to be made to a finished formula by assigning a “locked” status to the item or by moving the item to a non-editable Entity or Security Type.

"My Work" and "My Recent Work" Buttons Cut Development Time
ProductVision has two buttons which help you streamline your development tasks.  The “My Recent Work” button displays previously opened items in chronological order.  This sort order of items on the window can be changed by clicking on the column header.  Displayed items can be opened simply by dragging-and-dropping them onto the desktop.
 

The “My Work” button allows you to create a “to-do” list of items that you want to work on within ProductVision.  You can enter comments about pending work and even assign items contained in your work cabinet to another ProductVision user.
 

With proper security rights, a manager can view “My Recent Work” and “My Work” entries for any or all ProductVision users, if desired.

Single Source for Product Information
ProductVision eliminates the need for multiple systems (spreadsheets, databases, additional software packages) to maintain product formulation, characteristic, specification and costing information. ProductVision gives the user a single source of information. With ProductVision there is one database which holds all information concerning raw materials and formulations, and that same integrated system handles the automatic calculation of product properties, costs, and regulatory information.  Product Developers have access to information from their peers throughout the company, thus chemists and others work together as a team.

ProductVision Includes Extensive Reporting
ProductVision has many standard reports which allow you to view your raw material, formula composition and property information, as well as allowing you to create your own custom reports using our HTML reporting tool.

Some ProductVision Users in the Personal Care Industry Include:

Avon Products, Inc.


Modules Used in the Personal Care Industry Include:

Formula Management
Auditing
Data Transfer
Projects
Workflow
Guidelines & Restrictions
Regulatory Compliance
European Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory Distribution
Ariel Interface
Testing
Samples
Formula Design
OLE Automation/Events