The 6 benefits of a PLM system for the manufacturing sector

Discover the 6 key benefits of a PLM system for the manufacturing sector, including improved engineering efficiency, better product quality, cost savings, and more.

21/04/2022

Manufacturing companies are increasingly using a PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) system to design and produce products. Not only large companies see the benefits of PLM, but medium-sized companies are also increasingly looking into adopting a PLM system.

But what are the concrete advantages of using such applications?

Product-Oriented Project Management

The operation of a PLM system is simple: it collects all the data needed for the design and development of a product (bill of materials, CAD models, production process scheduling, etc.). It also makes this data available to all stakeholders in the project (design agencies, production, maintenance, marketing, subcontractors, etc.). This leads to greater collaboration between different departments, eliminates silos, and standardizes product data.

1 - Optimization of engineering

One of the biggest risks to productivity in manufacturing companies is "reinventing the wheel" with every new product. There's a chance that one product team repeats the same design and development steps as another, unknowingly. By creating a single repository for product data, a PLM solution enables resources and knowledge to be consolidated. This means that the engineering department doesn't have to reinvent the wheel every time. This optimizes design phases and allows you to respond to tenders much faster.

2 - A clear information architecture

The growth of businesses increasingly depends on the quality of the data available. Usable data is easily accessible and clearly identified. By offering a single repository for all the technical data of your business, you prevent multi-archiving and multiple versions of a design. This is exactly what PLM enables. At every point in the production chain, different departments have access to the same information. This reduces quality issues and potential customer complaints.

3 - Significant productivity gains

The Return on Investment (ROI) of PLM solutions can be found in several sources. The most significant factor justifying this investment is undoubtedly the productivity gains that PLM enables. The search for parts and solving technical problems are accelerated so much that software provider PTC estimates that 25% of labor time is saved for a designer using a PLM system. These benefits are also thanks to a more flexible and reliable organization: every department has immediate access to all the information it needs to work and no longer has to wait for a signal from another department within the company. Paradoxically, the consolidation of resources makes each department more autonomous and allows parallel work: everyone moves forward without relying on colleagues.

4 - More consistent product quality

By having a single data repository within your company, you guarantee optimal control over technical processes and solid product quality at the end of the chain. When this database is synchronized with other systems, PLM also enables the automatic transfer of the Bill of Materials. This happens without manual entry, thus minimizing the risk of human error. Moreover, if you can save a quarter of a designer's work time with a PLM system, this time can be spent on other tasks, such as quality controls.

5 - Lower costs

PLM solutions perform a wide range of functions, such as version control and Bill of Materials standardization. Another popular feature is design-to-cost. Design-to-cost reverses traditional design logic: you no longer determine the cost after a product is designed, but during the design phase. Thanks to precise knowledge of parts, their prices, and their various uses, you can use PLM to find innovative ways to reduce costs before the final design is completed.

6 - Innovative features for everyone

In the past, companies developed PLM solutions that met the needs of large industrial firms, particularly in the automotive and aerospace industries. Today, a PLM system is accessible to a wider range of companies. Take Augmented Reality, for example. This solution is becoming cheaper and allows you to visualize a design in 3D. Many PLM tools now include features to visualize products and parts in 3D via augmented reality.