Windchill ESI acknowledges that business objects extend throughout the enterprise. Cross-enterprise business objects have attributes that can be shared across systems or unique to particular system.

Traditionally, ERP systems contain more attributes per object than PDM systems. The following table shows some attributes of a part and which of those attributes reside within a PDM system and which reside within an ERP system. The system of record for all business objects and attributes shared between Windchill PDMLink and the distribution target must be clearly defined and managed, through systematic and manual processes, in all Windchill ESI implementations.

It is important to understand which application is the system-of-record for each object type and all associated object attributes. Windchill ESI provides a baseline system of record for the out-of-the-box objects that are supported, as shown in the following table.