Case Study: Axcelis Technologies achieves double-digit cost savings and fact-based supplier negotiations with aPriori

How to Use Value Engineering Software to Identify Product Cost Outliers

Axcelis Technologies, a 35-year-old maker of ion implantation systems for the semiconductor industry, faced the common value-engineering challenge of controlling part costs and proving cost avoidance with a small team. They needed a scalable way to find design- and supplier-driven cost outliers and make better manufacturability decisions earlier in the product lifecycle.

By adopting aPriori’s digital manufacturing and spend-analytics tools to scan ~100 machined and sheet-metal parts (analyzing mass, material, complexity, volume and supplier), Axcelis identified an overpriced supplier and multiple design-for-cost opportunities. The team renegotiated pricing, secured roughly a 10% discount on discrepant parts, reduced material and labor costs, streamlined value-engineering workflows, and established ongoing cost avoidance for future projects.

Axcelis Technologies

Tim O’Regan

Business Excellence Manager