Solutions

PLM+ is the most innovative alternative to traditional obsolescence management

Proactive Legacy Management (PLM+TM) Solutions

Is worry over an end-of-life (EOL) notice keeping you up at night? Does traditional “obsolescence management” keep your system going with huge costs and no good options?

GDCA’s PLM+ methodology is an innovative alternative to traditional obsolescence management. GDCA provides long-term customer support and sustainment for embedded legacy products critical to long-lasting applications. Using original Intellectual Property (IP) and specifications authorized by respective Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) partners, we continue the manufacture and repair of our customers’ important commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom embedded boards and systems.

GDCA’s Legacy Solutions suite takes a new approach to the sustainment of long-lasting critical systems and offers:

  • Accurate forecasting assessments
  • Legacy management early in the design and development cycle
  • Protection of and assured access to critical COTS IP during design and sustainment
  • LifeCycle Assurance is visibility into potential obsolescence threats along a program’s life cycle

System Lifecycles with PLM+

Contact us to help champion your valued programs and stop the clock on obsolescence with these services:

  • Original COTS design and test specifications
  • Counterfeit avoidance program (CAP)
  • Manufacturing and repair
  • Customer support

Legacy Manufacturing

  • As needed new builds
  • Avoid last-time-buy forecasting
  • Fixed preset costs are not a requirement

Legacy Manufacturing provides newly built replacements and repairs for embedded boards, using tested parts and built to OEMs’ original specifications.

This service is best when your last time buy was underestimated (or missed altogether), and parts or repairs are still needed.

LifeCycle Assurance

  • 5–10 year contracts
  • Component pre-sourcing and stocking
  • Fixed manufacturing costs and timelines

LifeCycle Assurance provides contract support and a commitment to manufacture and ship embedded products at a predictable cost, on a predictable timeline, and for an extended period.

This service is best when EOL notices on a long-life system are issued, yet access to products at a fixed price is still needed.

LifeCycle Planning

  • Long-term program planning and options review
  • Technical refresh
  • Component health analysis and monitoring

LifeCycle Planning provides a tailored support plan that covers the remaining life of a program that includes costs and risks of all available options.

This service is best when system support is needed for at least five more years, and no decisions for upgrades have been made.

Proactive planning measures are implemented to avoid EOL surprises.

Lifetime budgets are being determined and funding forecasting is necessary.

Sustainment Engineering

  • Reengineering to solve current obsolescence issues
  • Technical refresh
  • Substitutions, emulation, ruggedization

Sustainment Engineering provides reliable and expert sustainment services to deliver form, fit, function compatible embedded products.

This service is best when certain parts are no longer available to support a legacy system, but upgrades are not an option (e.g., redesign and recertification costs, program funding constraints).

Never worry about EOL with GDCA’s PLM+ End-to-End Total Lifecycle Solutions

Obsolescence is a reality, but End-of-Life (EOL) can be a choice. Legacy champions know that critical embedded applications aren’t abandoned because they’re mature — they’re phased out because they no longer serve a need.

GDCA’s PLM+ Legacy Solutions suite is a new methodology of handling obsolescence management.

Manufacture and repair of the original “obsolete” embedded boards

Obsolescence affects the entire supply chain and, because of it, product life cycles and system life cycles don’t always align. Whether the embedded products need to last longer than the standard life cycle of their components or because products get a second wind with added sales potential, customers often need ongoing repair and new builds for their “obsolete” embedded boards.

In such situations, GDCA PLM+ Solutions provides a bridge to help customers find a few more years of support or to sustain life cycles of 25 years or more.

GDCA’s product portfolio features over 3,000 “obsolete” COTS-embedded boards, and we are always adding new products. Search our catalog to find your product or contact us for products you need specific support for.

All boards are built using the OEM’s Intellectual Property (IP) and test specifications

You can’t always run the risk of using boards that may have been sitting on the shelf, using reclaimed parts, or not having access to the original design and test specifications to make substitutions without risks.

Our partner OEMs trust GDCA because of our track record for delivering quality products to their original customers, hence maintaining their brand value. Through GDCA’s collaborations with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), GDCA builds each board new by using the original IP. We also provide ongoing customer support and repair. If we need to resolve specific obsolescence issues on the board, recommended substitutions can often be made and tested without requiring complete recertification or redesign.

GDCA’s Counterfeit Avoidance Program (CAP)

More than 50% of counterfeit component incidents are from parts subject to diminishing manufacturing sources, material shortages (DMSMS), and obsolescence issues. In some industries, it is possible for 70% of components to become obsolete even before the program’s testing and design phase is complete. It’s no longer realistic to have a specialist engineer available for such jobs and, as the work force ages, there is a risk of losing the crucial brain trust required to keep legacy systems going.

GDCA’s PLM+ Solutions offers proactive planning, up-to-date industry best practices, and over 25 years of experience working with leading legacy specialists to ensure quality components and the resolution of obsolescence issues.

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