As we proceed into the second half of 2023, my team and I are excited to launch the second major release of the year – Version 22.0. This release features 11 major features and 5 minor; making it our largest update/release to date. The momentum we are seeing so far this year is only gaining speed, and we’d like to thank our customers for pushing us to continue product innovation as the driving force behind Specification Management.
In this blog, I’ll be highlighting some of the new major features we are releasing, but you can learn more detail about all of the 22.0 release features in this webinar.
Specright and TOPS Announce TOPS Lite – Allowing Users to Run Scenarios within SDM Platform
Our partnership with TOPS, the leading Pallet Optimization solution, continues to grow with the launch of TOPS Lite, a pallet pattern generator completely native to Specright. This means users do not need to install TOPS. Specright’s existing integrations with TOPS Pro (Desktop or WebApp) enables running complex scenarios with several options, when it comes to package weights and dimensions and selecting the right pallet configuration for your scenario.
However, a large number of customers simply need to generate the best possible solution there is for the packaging they have. TOPS Lite empowers these users by allowing them to run the packaging scenarios right from within Specright, without ever leaving the app. The initial version of TOPS Lite supports Carton-Case-Pallet scenarios, where the primary package is a case while the shipper package is a carton. TOPS Lite inspects your Specright Bill of Materials (BOMs) data and presents the top five pallet configurations for the user to compare and choose from.
Run Hundreds of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) in a Few Clicks with COMPASS Bulk Export
We are continuing to enhance our strategic partnership with Trayak and its COMPASS solution for LCAs. In this latest release, the integration now includes the ability to send finished product data to COMPASS in bulk, allowing users to send hundreds of BOMs to COMPASS in just a few clicks.
Companies that are now required to report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions or other sustainability-related metrics to their customers will be able to create a Bulk Export group and send BOM data for all the included products to COMPASS at once. Users can then use COMPASS analyses and reports to report on their overall portfolio of products.
Year-Over-Year (YOY) Sustainability Benchmarking Reports
Along with the new LCA reporting feature, many companies are struggling to meet corporate and regulatory requirements around sustainability. With the new YOY Sustainability Reporting feature, users can now configure specific sustainability fields for standardized reporting.
Key benefits of YOY Sustainability Reporting include:
- Automated data storage: the system stores data for the configured fields as per the reporting period. This automation saves time and effort for users, eliminating the need for manual record-keeping and ensuring data integrity.
- Enhanced analysis capabilities: By having access to YOY reporting, users can perform in-depth analysis on sustainability data. They can more easily identify patterns, outlets, and correlations to gain insights into the effectiveness of their sustainability initiatives. This data enables companies to make better, more data-driven decisions around sustainability strategies.
Seamlessly Store and Report on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) with Lorax EPI Integration
Another strategic partnership we are always looking to expand is with Lorax EPI, the leading solution for EPR reporting. In this release, We have identified data fields required for EPR reporting, so that users can configure and map all the data they need. Once the EPR field mappings are defined, the Lorax platform will automatically extract data out of Specright using the Specright API.
Without this integration, there is no way to seamlessly transfer this data between two systems, requiring several manual steps. Now, with the integration users can not only save time and money, but it also allows for data cleanup and formatting opportunities for easier reporting.
Reimagining the Bid Process for Improved Supplier Collaboration
The team is excited to release a reimagined version of our Bids capabilities. This feature now allows for users to share specifications and finished goods data with potential suppliers, so that suppliers can provide pricing information back to the user. Once the data is gathered, users can more easily analyze the data and award business to various suppliers.
By utilizing this feature, all communication happens within the Specification Data Management (SDM) platform – reducing the amount of back and forth of sharing documents related to specifications in question. Additional value can be realized, as historical pricing quotes are now tied to records, so that historic pricing data can help estimate any costs in the future.
Advanced Selection on Custom Supersede and Dynamic Clone Now Available in Revision Management Feature
We are continuing to evolve and build upon our Revision Management feature in order to enable users to have more version control guardrails. In this release, we have added the capability to provide more control to users when they create a new revision through Custom Supersede or clone a record through Dynamic Clone. The new Advanced Selection option provides the user with the ability to select a specific record on a selection connection.
New Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Features Enhances User Control Over Extracted Data
By leveraging computer vision and machine learning, the Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) feature automatically extracts information from documents. This latest release includes two new capabilities to enhance users control over the extracted information:
- Display Order - enables users to specify the precise sequence in which they prefer to view the extracted data on the review screen.
- Relocate COA Test Results - users can now effortlessly relocate COA test results from one page to another during the review of a multi-page COA document, streamlining the review process and ensuring that all relevant information is accurately placed across different pages.
As part of our continuous improvement efforts, we have now trained the IDP machine learning models with 200 diverse variations of COA templates. This extensive training has significantly enhanced the accuracy of COA data extraction and overall performance.
“Dynamic Clone” and “Cloned From” Features Enable Better Historical Tracking
Specright’s clone capabilities, Dynamic Clone and Cloned From, offer users the ability to create a new specification from an existing item within the platform. This allows users to save time when developing new specifications. Previously, users did not have a record of which specification something was copied from, or to. This data allows users to reference the original record to better understand where data might have come from should there be any issues.
This enhancement also allows users to copy data from a different record type. Previously, users were restricted to the record type they started with when searching the system. Now when the feature is enabled, users can search for records of any type to clone from.
Specright Network Enhancements Provide File Attachments, Sustainability Fields, and Adding Comments
Within Specright Network, customers are now capable of attaching files to the shared specification, as well as make comments on Network specs. This enhancement now allows users to share files of any type on top of the data they are sharing.
Being able to collaborate on specs is a core inspiration for Specright Network. With the commenting feature users can avoid email back and forth when working together on a specification.
This release also includes the addition of sustainability fields, which will allow users to trace the environmental impact of their products more easily and more seamlessly with tools like COMPASS.
As I mentioned earlier these are only a few of the new capabilities and enhancements in Release 22.0. If you’re interested in learning more, watch our on-demand webinar here, and you can always reach out to our team to learn more.
Now, onto the next release…
