What PLM and ERP Integration Can Do for Your Organization

Modern supply chains for manufacturers require detailed management and supervision every step of the way to achieve long term success. Enterprise software such as Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems assist organizations in this endeavor. There is a clear difference between PLM and ERP integration software. Today we will talk about that and PLM ERP. 

This has to do with what type of employees mostly use each software. Agile PLM users are normally engineers and designers whose input is required in the planning phase. ERP users are manufacturing and operations employees, who also require input from finance, HR, and supply chain departments in order to effectively carry out the production phase.

If you see at PLM vs ERP you will notice that the planning and production phase both hold equal importance in the smooth functioning and growth of an organization. The software that assist in these phases (PLM and ERP) are crucial in a modern set up. Working in isolation, both PLM and ERP require a lot of man power to operate and collaboration between the planning and production teams is difficult. Therefore, there exists a window of opportunity to integrate ERP and PLM in your organization, and reap the various business benefits that result from the integration of PLM and ERP. The fusion of two generates PLM ERP.

What should be the order of implementation?

Integrating PLM and ERP consolidates processes and helps teams to collaborate and create synergy in the organization. Therefore, you should follow the proper plan of implementation for integrating the two software to get PLM ERP and to minimize downtime and lay out workflows in the correct order. ERP PLM is not an ordinary fusion and integration of PLM and ERP requires proper implementation.  

In order to integrate an organization’s PLM and ERP, it is better to implement ERP PLM systems together rather than one after the other.  It is also mandatory to understand the difference between PLM and ERP. This is necessary because while integrating, the organization needs to have a detailed understanding of ERP and PLM systems to know how the data is shared and stored at various points of the process. Whether this data is in the PLM part or in ERP, users must formulate the entire map of data to implement a seamless integration between the two software.  

What are the business benefits of integrating PLM with ERP?

These two software that help maintain majority of an organization’s functions can offer even more once integrated. Here are some benefits of integrating PLM with ERP or PLM ERP:

Organizational Synergy:

When the data flows freely between teams working on PLM and ERP, they are more likely to collaborate, share ideas, and be productive. The efforts made by the design teams and manufacturing teams in PLM ERP are more cohesive, as ideas are easier to communicate. 

The integrated infrastructure supports file types which frequent in both planning as well as manufacturing processes. Due to PLM integration with ERP, document history and versions are also maintained for all users to view. This PLM ERP integration allows editors to share how each document is altered and updated with other users. 

Collective work via integration of ERP and PLM allows teams to think outside the box and innovate in order to bring better products to market. Such is the magic of PLM ERP. 

Improved Efficiency:

One major benefit of integrating PLM and ERP is not having to enter the same data twice. PLM ERP helps most in the case of producing Bill of Materials (BOMs). BOMs contain a heap of data, including financial, supply chain, and engineering information. When you integrate PLM and ERP, it consolidates this data within a single BOM. In PLM ERP integration, all relevant teams contribute to the information. 

Documents like BOMs become easier to create and maintain, while redundant data entering is nullified. Employees save time and effort on repeatedly entering data to share within the organization. Users only need to enter data once and the software stores it in a central repository that all employees can access, as a result of ERP and PLM integration.

Enhanced Accuracy:

While reproducing and sharing data, unforced errors are common. With integration, we eliminate the need to reproduce data. Therefore, PLM integration with ERP improves the accuracy of data significantly. Operations become more efficient across the production process through minimization of errors. Employees save time spent in proofing and revising those errors. 

More accurate work with PLM ERP also instills confidence in employees and helps in customer interactions and fulfilling customer requirements. Employees can rely on the fact that communication will be smooth and free of errors due to ERP and PLM integration, which will result in satisfied customers.

Enhanced Traceability: 

In addition to the mentioned benefits of integrating PLM with ERP, another plus point of PLM ERP integration is enhanced traceability. PLM ERP integration provides a streamlined process for tracking changes and updates that occur throughout the product lifecycle. This improved traceability is important to ensure any modifications in design, production, etc. This helps in quality control, compliance, and audit processes. It also brings out more transparent and accountable organizational workflow. 

Conclusion:

By integrating systems within the organization, organizations can reap unique advantages. Specifically in the case of ERP and PLM, the two systems are complimentary in their functions. Therefore, integrate PLM ERP to bring efficiency, synergy, and enhanced accuracy to your organization.

To perform secure, fast and easily deployable integrations for any enterprise system, Xavor offers an innovative tool xEngine. This tool understands the needs of an organization and delivers customized integrations with a wide range of adapters. To learn more about integrations with xEngine, visit here.