In a modern engineering design and manufacturing climate, the ability to deliver product to market in the smallest time span is a key indicator of a company's ability to survive in this competitive environment. In order to prosper against Pacific Rim competition with their associated low labour costs, European SME's must offer shorter development times and more integrated design cycles to give added value to their product offerings.
The development of a desktop virtual prototyping system will allow the European manufacturing community to increase their competitiveness by reducing time to market and increasing the level of customer response. The desktop prototyping system will enable the manufacturers to try more options and ideas at the conceptual design stage and involve the customer in the design process without the need for a time consuming physical prototypes. By involving the customer in an interactive manner, the chances of satisfying the customer and 'getting it right first' are dramatically increased which in turn enhances the manufacturer's reputation, reduces cost and makes them more competitive.
By allowing the SME's to make the best possible use of their available resources in the form of the electronic design data that is produced they can add the maximum value to their work in terms of the investments that are made in the design process. As described above the low labour costs in the Pacific Rim markets mean that it is unlikely that European SME will be able to compete solely on cost.
By increasing the competitiveness of the European SME manufacturing community, the EEC will be able to ensure that the community's strong manufacturing base is maintained. This will help to ensure that employment levels within the community are supported whilst minimizing the balance of trade deficit though the ability to win overseas projects and resist external competition.