- Challenges
- Solution
- Evaluation
At first, it seems easy to organize and keep track of concept designs, engineering models, technical drawings, and assemblies. But with time, revisions, versions, ECOs, and ECNs, you may find your system spins out of control as you try to quickly search for, re-use, and share data. It’s not unusual for busy product developers to simply recreate data when it becomes too much trouble to find an existing model. Worse yet, important data can often be lost or overwritten.
Too bad, because product data management/product lifecycle management (PDM/PLM) approaches today already solve this problem—for large companies. In fact, in a recent study, we found 8 of 10 big manufacturers use commercial PDM/PLM.
And the smaller manufacturers? They have all the same problems, but fewer than half use similar solutions. For those with fewer than 25 designers, only 1 in 3 use PLM or PDM. That’s because traditional PDM systems are designed for larger enterprises, encourage upfront consulting, are highly customized to meet the precise needs of the organization and often result in multi-year ROI.
Industry experts are aware of these challenges. Explore the links below as the pros elaborate on “opportunities for improvement” in product data management for smaller design teams and medium-sized companies alike.
Infographic: Managing Product Data
Engineers and managers report from the front lines on the trends and challenges of today’s PDM systems. Download this infographic, and see if any of these challenges sound familiar.
The Challenge of Managing Product Data
Brian the Engineer, explains the key challenges of managing product data, like models, drawings, and ECOs.
Next Generation PDM Versus PLM
Listen in as industry pundits Jim Brown from Tech-Clarity and Chad Jackson from Lifecycle Insights debate next-generation PDM solutions and the needs of smaller design teams and mid-sized manufacturers.
Issue in Focus: PDM Challenges and Trends for Smaller Design Teams
In this independent eBook, industry analyst Chad Jackson of Lifecyle Insights explores trends in data management, solutions, challenges, and best practices for smaller design teams.