Tag: 3BL

Originally published on newsroom.marykay.com

DALLAS, February 10, 2026 /3BL/ – Mary Kay Inc., a global direct sales leader in beauty and skincare innovation, entered 2026 with momentum, securing a top-tier distinction on Forbes’ 2026 Best Customer Service list, where the company ranked #2 overall. The honor follows a standout year for Mary Kay, which concluded 2025 with a total of 25 global awards, underscoring its continued focus on corporate excellence, direct selling industry, social impact, environmental sustainability, science, and innovation.

The recent recognition highlights Mary Kay’s enduring commitment to putting the customer at the heart of everything it does, from seamless digital support to personalized beauty advice. The Forbes Best Customer Service ranking spotlights organizations that have set the gold standard for responsiveness, empathy, and excellence in service delivery – and Mary Kay’s placement at number two reflects a remarkable year of business transformation.

^{“Climbing to the No. 2 spot in the Forbes ranking is a strong validation of our people-powered culture and demonstrates the significance of what we can accomplish together. It speaks to the second-to-none reputation of our Independent Beauty Consultants, the passion of our customer service teams, and company values built on service and making time for others,” said Ryan Rogers, CEO of Mary Kay Inc. (Image Courtesy: Mary Kay Inc.)}

“Every interaction with our customers is an opportunity to make someone feel seen, supported, and valued,” said Ryan Rogers, CEO of Mary Kay Inc. “Climbing to the No. 2 spot in the Forbes ranking is a strong validation of our people-powered culture and demonstrates the significance of what we can accomplish together. It speaks to the second-to-none reputation of our Independent Beauty Consultants, the passion of our customer service teams, and company values built on service and making time for others. That foundation is what inspires us to consistently deliver unforgettable customer experiences through our tried-and-true products.”

“Our Best Customer Service list relies on 3.8 million customer ratings each year to capture how real users rate thousands of brands and products,” said Forbes Assistant Managing Editor Alan Schwarz, who oversees the annual list. “More than 3,500 different brands were reviewed. To even make the top 300 list is an achievement — Mary Kay placing No. 2 overall indicates just how highly its customers feel about the company.”

The Forbes recognition is the latest of a series of reputation awards garnered by Mary Kay in 2025:   

Corporate Excellence

• Forbes #2 | Best Customer Service list
• Newsweek | America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women 2025
• Newsweek | America’s Greatest Workplaces 2025
• WWD Beauty Inc. #11 | The 2024 Top 100 Beauty Companies
• Happi #13 | Top 50 U.S. Companies
• Forbes Diamonds 2025 – Mary Kay Poland
• EXPANSIÓN | 2025 Compliance Awards – Mary Kay Spain
• China Association for Business Culture | 2025 Enterprise of Excellence Award – Mary Kay China

Brand Performance

• Euromonitor International #1 | Direct Selling Brand of Skin Care and Color Cosmetics in the World^[1] for three consecutive years (2023, 2024, 2025)
• Euromonitor International #1 Brand of Facial Make-Up in Latin America^[2]
• Euromonitor International #1 Brand of Lip Products in Latin America[^3]
• Euromonitor International #1 Brand of Skincare and Color Cosmetics in Mexico^[4]
• Euromonitor International #1 Brand of Color Cosmetics in Mexico^[5]
• Nielsen | #1 Brand in Foundations in Brazil
• Nielsen | #1 Brand in Makeup in Brazil
• 2025 Superbrands | Mary Kay Slovakia and Mary Kay Czech Republic

Direct Selling & Innovation

• Respected Direct Selling Enterprise 2025 Award – Mary Kay China
• Direct Selling News (DSN) | 2025 DSN 40 Under 40: Megan Gregg for Legal Excellence
• Direct Selling News (DSN) | 2025 DSN 40 Under 40: Julia Santosuosso for Corporate Social Responsibility Impact
• German Direct Selling Association (BDD) | “2025 Innovation” Award for Mary Kay’s AI-powered Foundation Finder – Mary Kay Germany

Social Impact & Environmental Sustainability

• Forbes #9 | Best Brands for Social Impact list – 2025
• Golden Bee | 2025 Outstanding Corporate Sustainability Report for “Gender Equality Information Disclosure” Award – Mary Kay China
• Cemefi | Distintivo ESR^®  Socially Responsible Company (Empresa Socialmente Responsable) – Mary Kay Mexico (2024, 2025)
• The Dallas Entrepreneurship Center (DEC) Network State of Entrepreneurship | “Large Corporation of the Year” Award
• Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation | “Circle of Care” Award.

***

About Mary Kay
One of the original glass ceiling breakers, Mary Kay Ash founded her dream beauty brand in Texas in 1963 with one goal: to enrich women’s lives. That dream has blossomed into a global company with millions of independent sales force members in more than 40 markets. For over 60 years, the Mary Kay opportunity has empowered women to define their own futures through education, mentorship, advocacy, and innovation. Mary Kay is dedicated to investing in the science behind beauty and manufacturing cutting-edge skincare, color cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and fragrances. Mary Kay believes in preserving our planet for future generations, protecting women impacted by cancer and domestic abuse, and encouraging youth to follow their dreams. Learn more at marykayglobal.com. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or follow us on X.

About Forbes
Forbes is an iconic global media brand that has symbolized success for over a century. Fueled by journalism that informs and inspires, Forbes spotlights the doers and doings shaping industries, achieving success and making an impact on the world. Forbes connects and convenes the most influential communities ranging from billionaires, business leaders and rising entrepreneurs to creators and innovators. The Forbes brand reaches more than 140 million people monthly worldwide through its trusted journalism, signature ForbesLive events and 49 licensed local editions in 81 countries.

###

^{[1] “Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2025 Edition, value sales at RSP, 2024 data”
[2] “Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2025 Edition, value sales at RSP, 2024 data”
[3] “Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2025 Edition, value sales at RSP, 2024 data”
[4] “Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2025 Edition, value sales at RSP, 2024 data”
[5] “Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2025 Edition, value sales at RSP, 2024 data”}

In the EU, heating and cooling accounts for about half of total energy consumption.* Danish OEM Fenagy A/S is scaling energy-efficient, natural-refrigerant heating and cooling solutions with reliable electrical control from RLAY A/S, a partner of Rockwell Automation company CUBIC.

Fenagy is meeting rising demand for large sustainable heating and cooling systems used for district heating, industrial processes, data centers, HVAC in large buildings, and other applications. Fenagy’s advanced systems significantly reduce energy consumption and use only natural refrigerants, helping clients reduce operational costs and their carbon footprint. Powered by electricity, their systems further integrate renewable energy sources to limit reliance on fossil fuels.

To position for high-volume production demands for its custom-built systems, Fenagy partnered with RLAY to develop a standardized yet flexible control panel solution. The CUBIC Modular System has simplified and accelerated the full process from design to assembly. Integrating CUBIC’s Galaxy design software further enabled a transition from 2D to 3D design and use of Digital Twin principles.

“Together, we have developed a standardized concept that allows for series production with the possibility to make adjustments based on the end-user’s preferences,” said Niels Erik Bjerregaard, electrical engineer, Fenagy A/S. “Both RLAY’s knowledge and CUBIC’s support and Galaxy software play an important role in this process.”

Read more about CUBIC and Fenagy’s work. Discover additional sustainability stories by reading the Rockwell Automation 2025 Sustainability Report.

*EUROSTAT, FEBRUARY 2024.

In the EU, heating and cooling accounts for about half of total energy consumption.* Danish OEM Fenagy A/S is scaling energy-efficient, natural-refrigerant heating and cooling solutions with reliable electrical control from RLAY A/S, a partner of Rockwell Automation company CUBIC.

Fenagy is meeting rising demand for large sustainable heating and cooling systems used for district heating, industrial processes, data centers, HVAC in large buildings, and other applications. Fenagy’s advanced systems significantly reduce energy consumption and use only natural refrigerants, helping clients reduce operational costs and their carbon footprint. Powered by electricity, their systems further integrate renewable energy sources to limit reliance on fossil fuels.

To position for high-volume production demands for its custom-built systems, Fenagy partnered with RLAY to develop a standardized yet flexible control panel solution. The CUBIC Modular System has simplified and accelerated the full process from design to assembly. Integrating CUBIC’s Galaxy design software further enabled a transition from 2D to 3D design and use of Digital Twin principles.

“Together, we have developed a standardized concept that allows for series production with the possibility to make adjustments based on the end-user’s preferences,” said Niels Erik Bjerregaard, electrical engineer, Fenagy A/S. “Both RLAY’s knowledge and CUBIC’s support and Galaxy software play an important role in this process.”

Read more about CUBIC and Fenagy’s work. Discover additional sustainability stories by reading the Rockwell Automation 2025 Sustainability Report.

*EUROSTAT, FEBRUARY 2024.

In the EU, heating and cooling accounts for about half of total energy consumption.* Danish OEM Fenagy A/S is scaling energy-efficient, natural-refrigerant heating and cooling solutions with reliable electrical control from RLAY A/S, a partner of Rockwell Automation company CUBIC.

Fenagy is meeting rising demand for large sustainable heating and cooling systems used for district heating, industrial processes, data centers, HVAC in large buildings, and other applications. Fenagy’s advanced systems significantly reduce energy consumption and use only natural refrigerants, helping clients reduce operational costs and their carbon footprint. Powered by electricity, their systems further integrate renewable energy sources to limit reliance on fossil fuels.

To position for high-volume production demands for its custom-built systems, Fenagy partnered with RLAY to develop a standardized yet flexible control panel solution. The CUBIC Modular System has simplified and accelerated the full process from design to assembly. Integrating CUBIC’s Galaxy design software further enabled a transition from 2D to 3D design and use of Digital Twin principles.

“Together, we have developed a standardized concept that allows for series production with the possibility to make adjustments based on the end-user’s preferences,” said Niels Erik Bjerregaard, electrical engineer, Fenagy A/S. “Both RLAY’s knowledge and CUBIC’s support and Galaxy software play an important role in this process.”

Read more about CUBIC and Fenagy’s work. Discover additional sustainability stories by reading the Rockwell Automation 2025 Sustainability Report.

*EUROSTAT, FEBRUARY 2024.

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date.

If you had told 19 year old me I would end up as a Senior Project Manager at a tech company, I probably would not have believed you. My career path has not been linear, and that has been one of its biggest strengths.

I started my career in the mortgage industry, where I learned discipline, structure, and how to navigate complex processes early on. In my twenties, I took a leap into entrepreneurship, running a small designer shoe resale business that taught me how to manage complexity, stay scrappy, and always think from a customer-first mindset.

My entry into tech came through a startup called WPCurve, where I managed a global team of WordPress Developers. When WPCurve was acquired by GoDaddy, our team evolved into what is now the WordPress Premium Support (WPPS) organization. I stepped into an Operations Manager role and spent several years growing the team, mentoring leaders, and scaling into multiple teams led by four Supervisors.

While I loved people leadership, many of my strongest contributions were happening through the projects we were driving. That included cross-functional initiatives, process improvements, and strategic planning. Today, as a Senior Project Manager at GoDaddy, I focus on bringing clarity to complex work and aligning teams to deliver meaningful results for customers and frontline guides.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

The most rewarding part of my role is watching an idea turn into something real; something that actually makes life easier for customers or support teams. I am energized by cross functional collaboration and solving problems. Every project brings new challenges, new learnings, and new opportunities to help teams do their best work.

What advice do you have for managing stakeholders with different interests?

Start by listening. Every stakeholder has a reason behind what they are asking for and understanding that “why” builds trust quickly. From there, clear and transparent communication is key, especially around tradeoffs, risks, and priorities. When things get complicated, I anchor conversations back to shared goals and the outcomes that matter most to customers and to the business.

Are there any resources that you would recommend to others interested in personal development?

I am drawn to resources that help me better understand people. CliftonStrengths has been especially helpful in identifying how I work best and how to support others. I also enjoy long form content around history, archaeology, psychology, health, and philosophy. These topics consistently shape how I think about leadership and decision making. Some of my biggest growth moments have also come from mentors and peers willing to challenge my thinking through honest conversations.

If you had to describe GoDaddy’s culture in one word, what would it be and why?

Empowering. GoDaddy trusts its people. There is real ownership, flexibility, and support, which I value deeply, especially as a single parent.

I am able to do impactful work while still showing up for my family, and that balance matters.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, my life centers around my two daughters and supporting the things they love. That includes helping my older daughter with robotics, cheering on my younger daughter at volleyball, and staying involved in our church community through teaching and service.

When I get quiet moments, I enjoy learning, creative outlets like flower arranging, and anything related to history or archaeology. Life is full and busy, but it is meaningful, and that perspective carries into everything I do.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Career Page

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date.

If you had told 19 year old me I would end up as a Senior Project Manager at a tech company, I probably would not have believed you. My career path has not been linear, and that has been one of its biggest strengths.

I started my career in the mortgage industry, where I learned discipline, structure, and how to navigate complex processes early on. In my twenties, I took a leap into entrepreneurship, running a small designer shoe resale business that taught me how to manage complexity, stay scrappy, and always think from a customer-first mindset.

My entry into tech came through a startup called WPCurve, where I managed a global team of WordPress Developers. When WPCurve was acquired by GoDaddy, our team evolved into what is now the WordPress Premium Support (WPPS) organization. I stepped into an Operations Manager role and spent several years growing the team, mentoring leaders, and scaling into multiple teams led by four Supervisors.

While I loved people leadership, many of my strongest contributions were happening through the projects we were driving. That included cross-functional initiatives, process improvements, and strategic planning. Today, as a Senior Project Manager at GoDaddy, I focus on bringing clarity to complex work and aligning teams to deliver meaningful results for customers and frontline guides.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

The most rewarding part of my role is watching an idea turn into something real; something that actually makes life easier for customers or support teams. I am energized by cross functional collaboration and solving problems. Every project brings new challenges, new learnings, and new opportunities to help teams do their best work.

What advice do you have for managing stakeholders with different interests?

Start by listening. Every stakeholder has a reason behind what they are asking for and understanding that “why” builds trust quickly. From there, clear and transparent communication is key, especially around tradeoffs, risks, and priorities. When things get complicated, I anchor conversations back to shared goals and the outcomes that matter most to customers and to the business.

Are there any resources that you would recommend to others interested in personal development?

I am drawn to resources that help me better understand people. CliftonStrengths has been especially helpful in identifying how I work best and how to support others. I also enjoy long form content around history, archaeology, psychology, health, and philosophy. These topics consistently shape how I think about leadership and decision making. Some of my biggest growth moments have also come from mentors and peers willing to challenge my thinking through honest conversations.

If you had to describe GoDaddy’s culture in one word, what would it be and why?

Empowering. GoDaddy trusts its people. There is real ownership, flexibility, and support, which I value deeply, especially as a single parent.

I am able to do impactful work while still showing up for my family, and that balance matters.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, my life centers around my two daughters and supporting the things they love. That includes helping my older daughter with robotics, cheering on my younger daughter at volleyball, and staying involved in our church community through teaching and service.

When I get quiet moments, I enjoy learning, creative outlets like flower arranging, and anything related to history or archaeology. Life is full and busy, but it is meaningful, and that perspective carries into everything I do.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Career Page

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date.

If you had told 19 year old me I would end up as a Senior Project Manager at a tech company, I probably would not have believed you. My career path has not been linear, and that has been one of its biggest strengths.

I started my career in the mortgage industry, where I learned discipline, structure, and how to navigate complex processes early on. In my twenties, I took a leap into entrepreneurship, running a small designer shoe resale business that taught me how to manage complexity, stay scrappy, and always think from a customer-first mindset.

My entry into tech came through a startup called WPCurve, where I managed a global team of WordPress Developers. When WPCurve was acquired by GoDaddy, our team evolved into what is now the WordPress Premium Support (WPPS) organization. I stepped into an Operations Manager role and spent several years growing the team, mentoring leaders, and scaling into multiple teams led by four Supervisors.

While I loved people leadership, many of my strongest contributions were happening through the projects we were driving. That included cross-functional initiatives, process improvements, and strategic planning. Today, as a Senior Project Manager at GoDaddy, I focus on bringing clarity to complex work and aligning teams to deliver meaningful results for customers and frontline guides.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

The most rewarding part of my role is watching an idea turn into something real; something that actually makes life easier for customers or support teams. I am energized by cross functional collaboration and solving problems. Every project brings new challenges, new learnings, and new opportunities to help teams do their best work.

What advice do you have for managing stakeholders with different interests?

Start by listening. Every stakeholder has a reason behind what they are asking for and understanding that “why” builds trust quickly. From there, clear and transparent communication is key, especially around tradeoffs, risks, and priorities. When things get complicated, I anchor conversations back to shared goals and the outcomes that matter most to customers and to the business.

Are there any resources that you would recommend to others interested in personal development?

I am drawn to resources that help me better understand people. CliftonStrengths has been especially helpful in identifying how I work best and how to support others. I also enjoy long form content around history, archaeology, psychology, health, and philosophy. These topics consistently shape how I think about leadership and decision making. Some of my biggest growth moments have also come from mentors and peers willing to challenge my thinking through honest conversations.

If you had to describe GoDaddy’s culture in one word, what would it be and why?

Empowering. GoDaddy trusts its people. There is real ownership, flexibility, and support, which I value deeply, especially as a single parent.

I am able to do impactful work while still showing up for my family, and that balance matters.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, my life centers around my two daughters and supporting the things they love. That includes helping my older daughter with robotics, cheering on my younger daughter at volleyball, and staying involved in our church community through teaching and service.

When I get quiet moments, I enjoy learning, creative outlets like flower arranging, and anything related to history or archaeology. Life is full and busy, but it is meaningful, and that perspective carries into everything I do.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Career Page

By Katharine Edmonds, Content Marketing Specialist – CAE, Design Engineering Software

For decades, engineers relied on a “design–build–test–fix” loop to bring new products to market. Engineers would create drawings or CAD models, send them to manufacturing, and wait for physical prototypes to reveal flaws in geometry, performance, or assembly. While this cycle ultimately worked, it was slow, expensive, and wasteful. Every iteration required new tooling, new prototypes, and additional rounds of trial and error—costs that multiplied when complex assemblies or tight deadlines were involved. In industries like automotive or aerospace, a single late discovery could delay entire programs and run into millions of dollars in lost time and rework.

Today, that old model is being replaced by a virtual-first approach, often described as a “shift left” in engineering. Instead of waiting until the build stage to discover problems, teams now move their validation phases to earlier into the production lifecycle, using a connected virtual process chain. This workflow integrates design, simulation, and manufacturing planning in a single digital thread, allowing engineers to explore alternatives, test new production strategies, and optimize assembly processes long before a physical prototype is made. This shift isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about confidence—knowing that when the first prototype rolls off the line, it won’t just be a trial run, but a nearly production-ready version that works as intended from day one.

The Virtual Process Chain: A Universal Framework

At its core, a virtual process chain acts as the digital backbone of modern product development. It links together every stage of the lifecycle—from the initial CAD models that define geometry, through engineering simulations that test performance under real-world conditions, to manufacturing process planning that ensures parts can actually be built at scale. By connecting these traditionally separate activities into a seamless digital workflow, engineers gain a powerful toolset for detecting problems early, optimizing designs and processes in parallel, and cutting down on costly physical iterations.

The impact is clear. Instead of discovering manufacturability issues during late-stage prototyping—or worse, after production has begun—teams can identify and solve them virtually at the click of a button. This makes development more predictive and collaborative, with design, analysis, and manufacturing engineers working on the same digital thread rather than in silos. Whether the product is an aircraft component, a consumer electronic device, or an automotive subassembly, the principle remains the same: simulate early, refine continuously, and validate virtually before committing to hardware. The result is not just faster time-to-market, but also higher quality, reduced waste, and greater confidence in the final product.

Zooming In: Where Joining & Assembly Fit

While the virtual process chain is often discussed in terms of product design or performance validation, the joining and assembly stages are just as critical—and often more challenging to get right. These steps determine how well the digital model translates into a manufacturable, dimensionally accurate, and durable product or component. In other words, even the most precise design or high-performing simulation can fail in practice if the underlying assembly process introduces distortions, tolerance stack-ups, or weak joints.

This is where introducing assembly and joining simulations into the virtual process chain delivers real value:

• Feasibility checks – Can welds, rivets, or adhesives be applied as designed and deliver the high-quality connections as required?
• Process planning – What distortions will occur from welding heat or clamp forces? How will sequencing impact tolerances?
• Virtual validation – Will the assembled structure meet fatigue, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), and stiffness requirements?

This creates a feedback loop where manufacturability constraints are identified early, adjustments are made quickly, and costly surprises during physical tryouts are avoided. Across industries—whether in aerospace riveting, shipbuilding weld distortion, or automotive spot welding—joining and assembly simulations have become the hidden enablers that transform virtual process chains from theoretical exercises into practical, production-ready workflows.

Automotive Spotlight: Assembling Body-in-White (BIW)

In the automotive industry, no stage illustrates the complexity of joining and assembly better than Body-in-White (BIW) manufacturing. The BIW is the structural skeleton of a vehicle—essentially everything you see before the paint shop. It consists of dozens of sheet metal panels and structural components, connected by thousands of joints ranging from spot welds and adhesives to laser welds, rivets, and mechanical fasteners. Every one of these joints contributes to critical performance attributes such as crashworthiness, stiffness, durability, and noise/vibration comfort. The sheer number of connections and the precision required make BIW assembly one of the most demanding engineering challenges in manufacturing.

Traditionally, engineers validated BIW processes late in development, once physical prototypes or tryouts revealed issues like panel distortions, misaligned gaps, or weld failures. In a virtual process chain, however, these possible issues can be addressed much earlier. Simulations help engineers optimize spot weld layouts or adhesive bonding strategies to balance manufacturability with structural strength and can predict the distortions caused by clamping and thermal effects, ensuring that panels will align correctly and that doors will close with the right feel.

By treating the BIW as a fully virtualized workflow—from CAD design to joining, assembly, and performance validation—manufacturers can move toward a first-time-right production philosophy. The outcome is faster development cycles, reduced reliance on physical prototypes, and vehicles that meet safety and quality targets without last-minute firefighting. In this way, BIW serves as both the most complex and the most rewarding example of how virtual process chains, powered by assembly simulations, deliver tangible benefits in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Introducing Keysight Assembly Simulation Software

As powerful as virtual process chains are, joining and assembly have traditionally been a difficult link to model. That’s why Keysight developed a completely new assembly simulation solution—a tool that allows manufacturers to virtually replicate their real-world assembly processes.

With the recently released first industrial version, automotive BiW engineers can model the entire assembly sequence: positioning parts, applying clamps, and performing spot welds one by one or in parallel if multiple weld robots are being used. When clamps are released, the software immediately shows the resulting distortions and structural behavior.

This enables teams to:

• Experiment with different process scenarios long before physical tryouts.
• Test alternative positioning strategies or clamping sequences.
• Optimize weld sequences and layouts for better quality and less rework.

The result: potential problems are spotted early, and countermeasures are validated virtually instead of through costly trial-and-error on the shop floor.

Mirroring the Shop Floor, Virtually

Keysight Assembly is designed to replicate the way real production lines operate, but in a fully digital environment. Instead of abstract menus or difficult configurations, engineers can simply drag and drop parts and operations into the workflow, define subassemblies, and build up the process step by step. Each subassembly can then be reused downstream—just as it would be on a shop floor—so that the virtual model reflects the exact logic of the physical assembly line. This makes it easy to visualize how complex structures come together, from individual panels and reinforcements to major body sections.

Built-in quality control gates add another layer of reliability. At every stage of the process, the simulation automatically checks for distortions, stresses, and displacements, acting as virtual inspection stations before the assembly is allowed to “move” to the next operation. Instead of waiting until late-stage tryouts to discover that tolerances are out of spec, engineers can spot issues early and correct them immediately in the virtual domain.

It’s a visual, intuitive approach that requires no complex configurations, and engineers don’t need to be finite element (FE) specialists or simulation experts to use the tool effectively. The result is a solution that bridges the gap between advanced simulation and everyday engineering practice—enabling robust, data-driven assembly processes without adding unnecessary complexity.

Handling Data Across the Development Timeline

One of the key strengths of the solution is its flexibility in handling data as a project evolves. In real product development, engineers rarely have all the information at once — part geometry, tolerances, and material behavior arrive at different stages. This tool is built to adapt seamlessly to those changes, ensuring the assembly process model remains relevant and accurate throughout the entire timeline.

• Early stage – Work with nominal CAD geometry for initial setups.
• Mid stage – Swap in simulation-based geometries for greater realism.
• Late stage – Import scanned physical part and/or entire sub-assembly data to validate tolerances against real shapes.

By supporting this continuous flow of data, the solution eliminates the stop-and-start nature of traditional validation. Instead of rebuilding models at every milestone, engineers refine a single digital model — one that grows more accurate over time and drastically reduces unwanted surprises when the first physical parts arrive.

Closing the Loop in the Virtual Process Chain

The rise of the virtual process chain is transforming how products are designed, tested, and manufactured across industries. By connecting CAD, simulation, and manufacturing planning into a single digital backbone, organizations gain the ability to predict outcomes, refine processes continuously, and reduce reliance on physical trial-and-error. Yet the true strength of this approach comes when it extends beyond product geometry and performance into the realities of joining and assembly—the steps that ultimately determine whether a digital concept can become a high-quality physical product.

The Keysight Assembly simulation platform makes this achievable, bringing practical, intuitive, and physics-based tools directly into the hands of engineers and process planners.

Looking ahead, the future of engineering lies in this digital-first, closed-loop approach—where insights from manufacturing flow back into design, and virtual models evolve continuously with real-world data. Whether in automotive, aerospace, or other manufacturing industries, organizations that embrace virtual process chains will not only bring products to market faster, but also achieve higher quality, lower costs, and greater confidence in every launch. In short, the path to smarter, more sustainable engineering runs straight through the virtual process chain—and joining and assembly are the critical links that make it whole.

Learn more about the new Keysight Assembly solution by visiting the dedicated webpage Keysight Assembly simulation software

By Katharine Edmonds, Content Marketing Specialist – CAE, Design Engineering Software

For decades, engineers relied on a “design–build–test–fix” loop to bring new products to market. Engineers would create drawings or CAD models, send them to manufacturing, and wait for physical prototypes to reveal flaws in geometry, performance, or assembly. While this cycle ultimately worked, it was slow, expensive, and wasteful. Every iteration required new tooling, new prototypes, and additional rounds of trial and error—costs that multiplied when complex assemblies or tight deadlines were involved. In industries like automotive or aerospace, a single late discovery could delay entire programs and run into millions of dollars in lost time and rework.

Today, that old model is being replaced by a virtual-first approach, often described as a “shift left” in engineering. Instead of waiting until the build stage to discover problems, teams now move their validation phases to earlier into the production lifecycle, using a connected virtual process chain. This workflow integrates design, simulation, and manufacturing planning in a single digital thread, allowing engineers to explore alternatives, test new production strategies, and optimize assembly processes long before a physical prototype is made. This shift isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about confidence—knowing that when the first prototype rolls off the line, it won’t just be a trial run, but a nearly production-ready version that works as intended from day one.

The Virtual Process Chain: A Universal Framework

At its core, a virtual process chain acts as the digital backbone of modern product development. It links together every stage of the lifecycle—from the initial CAD models that define geometry, through engineering simulations that test performance under real-world conditions, to manufacturing process planning that ensures parts can actually be built at scale. By connecting these traditionally separate activities into a seamless digital workflow, engineers gain a powerful toolset for detecting problems early, optimizing designs and processes in parallel, and cutting down on costly physical iterations.

The impact is clear. Instead of discovering manufacturability issues during late-stage prototyping—or worse, after production has begun—teams can identify and solve them virtually at the click of a button. This makes development more predictive and collaborative, with design, analysis, and manufacturing engineers working on the same digital thread rather than in silos. Whether the product is an aircraft component, a consumer electronic device, or an automotive subassembly, the principle remains the same: simulate early, refine continuously, and validate virtually before committing to hardware. The result is not just faster time-to-market, but also higher quality, reduced waste, and greater confidence in the final product.

Zooming In: Where Joining & Assembly Fit

While the virtual process chain is often discussed in terms of product design or performance validation, the joining and assembly stages are just as critical—and often more challenging to get right. These steps determine how well the digital model translates into a manufacturable, dimensionally accurate, and durable product or component. In other words, even the most precise design or high-performing simulation can fail in practice if the underlying assembly process introduces distortions, tolerance stack-ups, or weak joints.

This is where introducing assembly and joining simulations into the virtual process chain delivers real value:

• Feasibility checks – Can welds, rivets, or adhesives be applied as designed and deliver the high-quality connections as required?
• Process planning – What distortions will occur from welding heat or clamp forces? How will sequencing impact tolerances?
• Virtual validation – Will the assembled structure meet fatigue, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), and stiffness requirements?

This creates a feedback loop where manufacturability constraints are identified early, adjustments are made quickly, and costly surprises during physical tryouts are avoided. Across industries—whether in aerospace riveting, shipbuilding weld distortion, or automotive spot welding—joining and assembly simulations have become the hidden enablers that transform virtual process chains from theoretical exercises into practical, production-ready workflows.

Automotive Spotlight: Assembling Body-in-White (BIW)

In the automotive industry, no stage illustrates the complexity of joining and assembly better than Body-in-White (BIW) manufacturing. The BIW is the structural skeleton of a vehicle—essentially everything you see before the paint shop. It consists of dozens of sheet metal panels and structural components, connected by thousands of joints ranging from spot welds and adhesives to laser welds, rivets, and mechanical fasteners. Every one of these joints contributes to critical performance attributes such as crashworthiness, stiffness, durability, and noise/vibration comfort. The sheer number of connections and the precision required make BIW assembly one of the most demanding engineering challenges in manufacturing.

Traditionally, engineers validated BIW processes late in development, once physical prototypes or tryouts revealed issues like panel distortions, misaligned gaps, or weld failures. In a virtual process chain, however, these possible issues can be addressed much earlier. Simulations help engineers optimize spot weld layouts or adhesive bonding strategies to balance manufacturability with structural strength and can predict the distortions caused by clamping and thermal effects, ensuring that panels will align correctly and that doors will close with the right feel.

By treating the BIW as a fully virtualized workflow—from CAD design to joining, assembly, and performance validation—manufacturers can move toward a first-time-right production philosophy. The outcome is faster development cycles, reduced reliance on physical prototypes, and vehicles that meet safety and quality targets without last-minute firefighting. In this way, BIW serves as both the most complex and the most rewarding example of how virtual process chains, powered by assembly simulations, deliver tangible benefits in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Introducing Keysight Assembly Simulation Software

As powerful as virtual process chains are, joining and assembly have traditionally been a difficult link to model. That’s why Keysight developed a completely new assembly simulation solution—a tool that allows manufacturers to virtually replicate their real-world assembly processes.

With the recently released first industrial version, automotive BiW engineers can model the entire assembly sequence: positioning parts, applying clamps, and performing spot welds one by one or in parallel if multiple weld robots are being used. When clamps are released, the software immediately shows the resulting distortions and structural behavior.

This enables teams to:

• Experiment with different process scenarios long before physical tryouts.
• Test alternative positioning strategies or clamping sequences.
• Optimize weld sequences and layouts for better quality and less rework.

The result: potential problems are spotted early, and countermeasures are validated virtually instead of through costly trial-and-error on the shop floor.

Mirroring the Shop Floor, Virtually

Keysight Assembly is designed to replicate the way real production lines operate, but in a fully digital environment. Instead of abstract menus or difficult configurations, engineers can simply drag and drop parts and operations into the workflow, define subassemblies, and build up the process step by step. Each subassembly can then be reused downstream—just as it would be on a shop floor—so that the virtual model reflects the exact logic of the physical assembly line. This makes it easy to visualize how complex structures come together, from individual panels and reinforcements to major body sections.

Built-in quality control gates add another layer of reliability. At every stage of the process, the simulation automatically checks for distortions, stresses, and displacements, acting as virtual inspection stations before the assembly is allowed to “move” to the next operation. Instead of waiting until late-stage tryouts to discover that tolerances are out of spec, engineers can spot issues early and correct them immediately in the virtual domain.

It’s a visual, intuitive approach that requires no complex configurations, and engineers don’t need to be finite element (FE) specialists or simulation experts to use the tool effectively. The result is a solution that bridges the gap between advanced simulation and everyday engineering practice—enabling robust, data-driven assembly processes without adding unnecessary complexity.

Handling Data Across the Development Timeline

One of the key strengths of the solution is its flexibility in handling data as a project evolves. In real product development, engineers rarely have all the information at once — part geometry, tolerances, and material behavior arrive at different stages. This tool is built to adapt seamlessly to those changes, ensuring the assembly process model remains relevant and accurate throughout the entire timeline.

• Early stage – Work with nominal CAD geometry for initial setups.
• Mid stage – Swap in simulation-based geometries for greater realism.
• Late stage – Import scanned physical part and/or entire sub-assembly data to validate tolerances against real shapes.

By supporting this continuous flow of data, the solution eliminates the stop-and-start nature of traditional validation. Instead of rebuilding models at every milestone, engineers refine a single digital model — one that grows more accurate over time and drastically reduces unwanted surprises when the first physical parts arrive.

Closing the Loop in the Virtual Process Chain

The rise of the virtual process chain is transforming how products are designed, tested, and manufactured across industries. By connecting CAD, simulation, and manufacturing planning into a single digital backbone, organizations gain the ability to predict outcomes, refine processes continuously, and reduce reliance on physical trial-and-error. Yet the true strength of this approach comes when it extends beyond product geometry and performance into the realities of joining and assembly—the steps that ultimately determine whether a digital concept can become a high-quality physical product.

The Keysight Assembly simulation platform makes this achievable, bringing practical, intuitive, and physics-based tools directly into the hands of engineers and process planners.

Looking ahead, the future of engineering lies in this digital-first, closed-loop approach—where insights from manufacturing flow back into design, and virtual models evolve continuously with real-world data. Whether in automotive, aerospace, or other manufacturing industries, organizations that embrace virtual process chains will not only bring products to market faster, but also achieve higher quality, lower costs, and greater confidence in every launch. In short, the path to smarter, more sustainable engineering runs straight through the virtual process chain—and joining and assembly are the critical links that make it whole.

Learn more about the new Keysight Assembly solution by visiting the dedicated webpage Keysight Assembly simulation software

By Katharine Edmonds, Content Marketing Specialist – CAE, Design Engineering Software

For decades, engineers relied on a “design–build–test–fix” loop to bring new products to market. Engineers would create drawings or CAD models, send them to manufacturing, and wait for physical prototypes to reveal flaws in geometry, performance, or assembly. While this cycle ultimately worked, it was slow, expensive, and wasteful. Every iteration required new tooling, new prototypes, and additional rounds of trial and error—costs that multiplied when complex assemblies or tight deadlines were involved. In industries like automotive or aerospace, a single late discovery could delay entire programs and run into millions of dollars in lost time and rework.

Today, that old model is being replaced by a virtual-first approach, often described as a “shift left” in engineering. Instead of waiting until the build stage to discover problems, teams now move their validation phases to earlier into the production lifecycle, using a connected virtual process chain. This workflow integrates design, simulation, and manufacturing planning in a single digital thread, allowing engineers to explore alternatives, test new production strategies, and optimize assembly processes long before a physical prototype is made. This shift isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about confidence—knowing that when the first prototype rolls off the line, it won’t just be a trial run, but a nearly production-ready version that works as intended from day one.

The Virtual Process Chain: A Universal Framework

At its core, a virtual process chain acts as the digital backbone of modern product development. It links together every stage of the lifecycle—from the initial CAD models that define geometry, through engineering simulations that test performance under real-world conditions, to manufacturing process planning that ensures parts can actually be built at scale. By connecting these traditionally separate activities into a seamless digital workflow, engineers gain a powerful toolset for detecting problems early, optimizing designs and processes in parallel, and cutting down on costly physical iterations.

The impact is clear. Instead of discovering manufacturability issues during late-stage prototyping—or worse, after production has begun—teams can identify and solve them virtually at the click of a button. This makes development more predictive and collaborative, with design, analysis, and manufacturing engineers working on the same digital thread rather than in silos. Whether the product is an aircraft component, a consumer electronic device, or an automotive subassembly, the principle remains the same: simulate early, refine continuously, and validate virtually before committing to hardware. The result is not just faster time-to-market, but also higher quality, reduced waste, and greater confidence in the final product.

Zooming In: Where Joining & Assembly Fit

While the virtual process chain is often discussed in terms of product design or performance validation, the joining and assembly stages are just as critical—and often more challenging to get right. These steps determine how well the digital model translates into a manufacturable, dimensionally accurate, and durable product or component. In other words, even the most precise design or high-performing simulation can fail in practice if the underlying assembly process introduces distortions, tolerance stack-ups, or weak joints.

This is where introducing assembly and joining simulations into the virtual process chain delivers real value:

• Feasibility checks – Can welds, rivets, or adhesives be applied as designed and deliver the high-quality connections as required?
• Process planning – What distortions will occur from welding heat or clamp forces? How will sequencing impact tolerances?
• Virtual validation – Will the assembled structure meet fatigue, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), and stiffness requirements?

This creates a feedback loop where manufacturability constraints are identified early, adjustments are made quickly, and costly surprises during physical tryouts are avoided. Across industries—whether in aerospace riveting, shipbuilding weld distortion, or automotive spot welding—joining and assembly simulations have become the hidden enablers that transform virtual process chains from theoretical exercises into practical, production-ready workflows.

Automotive Spotlight: Assembling Body-in-White (BIW)

In the automotive industry, no stage illustrates the complexity of joining and assembly better than Body-in-White (BIW) manufacturing. The BIW is the structural skeleton of a vehicle—essentially everything you see before the paint shop. It consists of dozens of sheet metal panels and structural components, connected by thousands of joints ranging from spot welds and adhesives to laser welds, rivets, and mechanical fasteners. Every one of these joints contributes to critical performance attributes such as crashworthiness, stiffness, durability, and noise/vibration comfort. The sheer number of connections and the precision required make BIW assembly one of the most demanding engineering challenges in manufacturing.

Traditionally, engineers validated BIW processes late in development, once physical prototypes or tryouts revealed issues like panel distortions, misaligned gaps, or weld failures. In a virtual process chain, however, these possible issues can be addressed much earlier. Simulations help engineers optimize spot weld layouts or adhesive bonding strategies to balance manufacturability with structural strength and can predict the distortions caused by clamping and thermal effects, ensuring that panels will align correctly and that doors will close with the right feel.

By treating the BIW as a fully virtualized workflow—from CAD design to joining, assembly, and performance validation—manufacturers can move toward a first-time-right production philosophy. The outcome is faster development cycles, reduced reliance on physical prototypes, and vehicles that meet safety and quality targets without last-minute firefighting. In this way, BIW serves as both the most complex and the most rewarding example of how virtual process chains, powered by assembly simulations, deliver tangible benefits in one of the world’s most competitive industries.

Introducing Keysight Assembly Simulation Software

As powerful as virtual process chains are, joining and assembly have traditionally been a difficult link to model. That’s why Keysight developed a completely new assembly simulation solution—a tool that allows manufacturers to virtually replicate their real-world assembly processes.

With the recently released first industrial version, automotive BiW engineers can model the entire assembly sequence: positioning parts, applying clamps, and performing spot welds one by one or in parallel if multiple weld robots are being used. When clamps are released, the software immediately shows the resulting distortions and structural behavior.

This enables teams to:

• Experiment with different process scenarios long before physical tryouts.
• Test alternative positioning strategies or clamping sequences.
• Optimize weld sequences and layouts for better quality and less rework.

The result: potential problems are spotted early, and countermeasures are validated virtually instead of through costly trial-and-error on the shop floor.

Mirroring the Shop Floor, Virtually

Keysight Assembly is designed to replicate the way real production lines operate, but in a fully digital environment. Instead of abstract menus or difficult configurations, engineers can simply drag and drop parts and operations into the workflow, define subassemblies, and build up the process step by step. Each subassembly can then be reused downstream—just as it would be on a shop floor—so that the virtual model reflects the exact logic of the physical assembly line. This makes it easy to visualize how complex structures come together, from individual panels and reinforcements to major body sections.

Built-in quality control gates add another layer of reliability. At every stage of the process, the simulation automatically checks for distortions, stresses, and displacements, acting as virtual inspection stations before the assembly is allowed to “move” to the next operation. Instead of waiting until late-stage tryouts to discover that tolerances are out of spec, engineers can spot issues early and correct them immediately in the virtual domain.

It’s a visual, intuitive approach that requires no complex configurations, and engineers don’t need to be finite element (FE) specialists or simulation experts to use the tool effectively. The result is a solution that bridges the gap between advanced simulation and everyday engineering practice—enabling robust, data-driven assembly processes without adding unnecessary complexity.

Handling Data Across the Development Timeline

One of the key strengths of the solution is its flexibility in handling data as a project evolves. In real product development, engineers rarely have all the information at once — part geometry, tolerances, and material behavior arrive at different stages. This tool is built to adapt seamlessly to those changes, ensuring the assembly process model remains relevant and accurate throughout the entire timeline.

• Early stage – Work with nominal CAD geometry for initial setups.
• Mid stage – Swap in simulation-based geometries for greater realism.
• Late stage – Import scanned physical part and/or entire sub-assembly data to validate tolerances against real shapes.

By supporting this continuous flow of data, the solution eliminates the stop-and-start nature of traditional validation. Instead of rebuilding models at every milestone, engineers refine a single digital model — one that grows more accurate over time and drastically reduces unwanted surprises when the first physical parts arrive.

Closing the Loop in the Virtual Process Chain

The rise of the virtual process chain is transforming how products are designed, tested, and manufactured across industries. By connecting CAD, simulation, and manufacturing planning into a single digital backbone, organizations gain the ability to predict outcomes, refine processes continuously, and reduce reliance on physical trial-and-error. Yet the true strength of this approach comes when it extends beyond product geometry and performance into the realities of joining and assembly—the steps that ultimately determine whether a digital concept can become a high-quality physical product.

The Keysight Assembly simulation platform makes this achievable, bringing practical, intuitive, and physics-based tools directly into the hands of engineers and process planners.

Looking ahead, the future of engineering lies in this digital-first, closed-loop approach—where insights from manufacturing flow back into design, and virtual models evolve continuously with real-world data. Whether in automotive, aerospace, or other manufacturing industries, organizations that embrace virtual process chains will not only bring products to market faster, but also achieve higher quality, lower costs, and greater confidence in every launch. In short, the path to smarter, more sustainable engineering runs straight through the virtual process chain—and joining and assembly are the critical links that make it whole.

Learn more about the new Keysight Assembly solution by visiting the dedicated webpage Keysight Assembly simulation software