Numetrics and PRTM Announce Partnership and Launch New Solution to Increase Semiconductor R&D Productivity

Two Pioneering Companies' Innovative Approach Will Enable Semiconductor Development Teams Improve Their Productivity and Utilization, Boosting Revenue and Margins

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- May 10, 2010 -- Numetrics, a developer of R&D enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and PRTM, a global management consulting firm, today announced the launch of a powerful software and services solution that boosts semiconductor product development throughput—enabling semiconductor companies to significantly increase product revenue and margin. The solution was jointly developed by Numetrics and PRTM, based on a strategic partnership the two companies formed in early 2009.

As the semiconductor industry emerges from the worst recession in decades, the Numetrics-PRTM solution offers semiconductor companies a valuable opportunity to develop a competitive advantage through significantly improved R&D productivity and utilization. The innovative solution breaks new ground by integrating Numetrics’ industry-standard, fact-based project planning software and databases with PRTM’s pioneering Product And Cycle-time Excellence® (PACE®) methodology, a proprietary framework that senior executives use to drive productivity improvements.

“Delays in product development can cost companies upwards of $1 million a week in development expense and lost potential revenue,” said Robert Chinn, director of the semiconductor practice within PRTM’s software, electronics, and services group. “Our services and Numetrics’ software turn what usually is a cost center for semiconductor companies into an economic value engine.”

The Combination of Fact-Based Data and Best Practices Delivers Economic Value

The integrated Numetrics-PRTM solution weaves fact-based planning data together with innovative execution best practices to precisely address the rigorous demands of semiconductor product development. The solution drives operational excellence and delivers benefits such as:

• Significantly higher R&D productivity and throughput
• Lower R&D cost per project
• Substantially improved R&D resource utilization
• Increased development schedule and resource plan predictability
• Faster growth in product sales
• Increased market share

“As semiconductor companies shed fabs and outsource manufacturing, product development capability is becoming the core differentiator and most important factor for achieving competitive advantage,” said Ronald E. Collett, president and CEO of Numetrics. “Achieving best-in-class productivity and operational excellence is no longer a luxury—it’s a requirement.”

The PRTM-Numetrics solution combines PRTM’s more than 30 years of operational strategy consulting experience with Numetrics’ production-proven, fact-based planning and benchmarking solution, which has been applied to more than 2,000 integrated circuit (IC) development projects across the industry.

About Numetrics Management Systems, Inc.

Numetrics (www.numetrics.com) provides a suite of software tools tailored to the unique needs of the R&D organizations in semiconductor and systems companies. The enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provides fact-based project planning, which delivers unprecedented predictability of chip-development schedules, reliably determines resource requirements, accurately quantifies project schedule risk and benchmarks product-development performance against the industry’s best-in-class.

About PRTM

Since 1976, PRTM (www.prtm.com) has created a competitive advantage for its clients by changing the way companies operate. PRTM management consultants work with senior executives to develop and implement innovative operational strategies that deliver breakthrough results. The firm is a leader in operational strategy, supply chain management, product development, and customer value management. PRTM has 19 offices worldwide and serves major industry and global public sectors.