How ETO and CTO Companies Can Benefit from a PLM System

The value of PLM for different manufacturing approaches

PLM can provide significant benefits to mid-sized Engineer-to-Order (ETO) and Configure-to-Order (CTO) companies by streamlining processes, enhancing information quality, promoting collaboration, and improving change management. It's not only large enterprises that gain from PLM systems; smaller companies can also achieve substantial efficiency improvements and a strong return on investment through targeted use.

Reducing time spent on non-value-adding tasks

In manufacturing companies, engineers often spend a great deal of time on tasks such as:

• Creating and modifying designs
• Searching for and validating accurate information
• Ensuring data quality and availability within the ERP system
• Managing and communicating changes
• Verifying customer orders and maintaining product configurations

A PLM system can reduce this non-value-adding time, allowing engineers to focus more on innovation and core design work.

Common challenges faced by manufacturers

Companies often seek better solutions when they encounter significant operational challenges, which may vary based on their manufacturing approach. Here are some examples:

• Lengthy engineering cycles due to custom designs.
• Challenges with product quality.
• Challenges in preserving knowledge from past custom solutions.
• Balancing customization with manufacturing efficiency.
• Managing allowed modifications for product families.
• Tracking and scheduling engineering changes.
• Complexity in tracking customer-specific changes.
• The number of duplicate items is increasing (item standardization).
• Late and faulty component deliveries from suppliers.

Additionally, companies face common issues such as data quality concerns, information accessibility, and managing tacit knowledge. When key personnel are unavailable, these challenges can lead to significant operational disruptions.

PLM benefits across different departments

A PLM system delivers many benefits across the entire company, with each department experiencing unique improvements in their work.

Engineering department

A significant portion of engineers' time traditionally goes toward sharing information and managing changes. A PLM system serves as a single source of truth for product information, ensuring everyone has access to accurate information at the right time, benefiting both people and systems. This frees engineers to engage in more innovative, value-adding work:

• Easy access to designs, items, and BOMs enhances reuse and collaboration.
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration (e.g., mechanical, electrical, software) is facilitated.
• Automatic revision tracking and streamlined Engineering Change Management improve efficiency.
• Pre-defined approval workflows automate processes.
• A centralized source of product information reduces errors, improves communication, and enhances quality.
• Seamless integration with CAD systems and ERP eliminates the need for manual data entry across systems, increasing data consistency.

A well-designed PLM system transforms design documentation into items and structures for the broader organization, minimizing manual work and errors.

Sales department

Integrating a PLM system with a sales configuration tool (Configure-Price-Quote, CPQ) allows sales teams to quickly create accurate quotes for complex products. Without a robust CPQ system, configuration often relies on manual choices in Excel, slowing down the sales process and risking errors.

An integrated PLM and CPQ system can revolutionize sales by:

• Ensuring manufacturability through a rule-based configuration structure.
• Providing quick access to accurate product data and responses to customer queries.
• Enabling fast, reliable pricing and quote documentation.

This allows better handling of custom requirements, instant pricing information, and accurate quotations, even for the most demanding customer needs.

Production and purchasing

PLM provides up-to-date product information for manufacturing, reducing errors and improving efficiency. The Engineering Change Management process in a PLM system ensures thorough impact analysis, stakeholder notifications, and properly planned change implementation. Key benefits include:

• Easy access to product information on the shop floor.
• Standardization of components.
• Efficient communication and implementation of changes.
• Error and waste reduction.
• Effective BOM component assignment for production phases.
• Improved supplier collaboration.

A robust PLM system automates the conversion of design data into usable items and structures for production, optimizing inventory and enhancing reuse.

After-sales and services

A PLM system maintains product data throughout the entire lifecycle, making maintenance easier and ensuring the service team knows the exact components used in shipped products. Benefits include:

• Spare parts management.
• Component and revision tracking.
• Serial number management.
• Overhaul and retrofit planning.
• Maintenance history tracking.

Understanding 'As Delivered' and 'As Maintained' data for each delivery provides companies with unique insights into service potential and opportunities to expand their service offerings.

PLM complementing ERP systems

ERP systems focus on execution and planning, while PLM excels at managing product information. By integrating the two, companies can ensure consistent, high-quality product data flows between systems, maximizing the value of their ERP investment.

Conclusion

Regardless of how your products vary from order to order or the specifics of your process, a PLM system can transform operations. By understanding your needs and tailoring PLM to your unique challenges, you can improve your manufacturing approach, streamline business processes, and deliver better products to your customers more efficiently.

Learn more about Sovelia Core PLM system and how it can enhance your business processes from quotation to fulfillment and beyond. With Sovelia Core, you can streamline your change management process, reduce engineering time, improve data quality and enhance collaboration.