How to help manage complexity with PLM and PLM-ERP integration

Source: Internet
Author: User

Managing complexity is something almost the everyone dealing with PLM are talking about and there are a good reason for it.  Managing complexity is one of the great challenges in product development and product manufacturing. Become more and more complex, the processes to handle them is becoming more complex as well.

Now, the maybe Processes haven ' t become more complex lately, and they may has been that's the-to-a while already. Why, then, was ' managing complexity ' gaining so much attention now?

PLM backbone to support end-to-end product creation processes

Without an integrated product creation landscape in place the provides pervasive access to information by managing DAT A from a range of diverse systems (aka ' PLM '), processes has been essentially unmanaged or managed only partially. Processes rely on verbal communication and individual experience/knowledge to function, and that is complexity can be DEA Lt with ad hoc–but The results can vary from excellent to very poor, depending on the effectiveness of the communication and the ability of the people involved to make the right decisions.

When End-to-end support for product creation processes is introduced via a PLM backbone, all the little things that were dealt with a ad hoc basis in the past now need to be formalized. These "special situations" aren ' t usually documented anywhere, and a lot of time and energy needs to being spent on digging u P What they was, how they affect results, and who was doing what if such a situation arises. If the analysis is finds that there is exceptions, a decision must be made if those should is allowed in the future. If So, it must is determined how such situations can be handled within the formalized system of rules, as they is being D Efined in the PLM system.

So, to is able to take advantage of integrated information from a PLM backbone, a thorough analysis of the As-is and to-be State needs to happen, and tough decisions must is made. A PLM Backbone would ensure that processes is handled in a controlled manner, eliminating errors and making sure that ever Ybody have access to the information they need. This would however work only if the data model and business processes is defined properly, a PLM system cannot provide the SE benefits out of the box.

workflows don ' t stop at System boundaries:integrating PLM and ERP

Extending the integrated information landscape to also include ERP, by integrating PLM for ERP, means that business PR Ocesses and mindsets must be taken to account so may be quite different from what are available or planned on just the PLM side. This obviously adds to the complexity, and that was at least one of the primary reasons what PLM-ERP integration is usually Regarded as being "difficult". Just like the introduction of a PLM system, integrating that system with ERP requires a lot of thought. One of the considerations to being kept in mind was the extent to which the ERP side requirements could have a influence on how Data models or business processes need to being designed on the PLM side. The impact can be minimal, or it can be extensive–either-it needs to being looked at closely.

So this brings us to the conclusion this introducing PLM, and even more introducing a PLM for system integrated with ERP, Expo SES complexity and the need to manage it. Fortunately, these systems also provide the tools to handle complexity, the for products as well as processes, properly. It just takes a well planned and designed implementation for both PLM and plm-erp to achieve the benefits.

There is a choice to being made:tackle the challenge of managing complexity head on, or continue to live in blissful Ignoran Ce about the underlying complexity, hoping this nothing bad would happen ...

Managing BOM complexity between PLM and erp:the engineering to order process

The following is an example of a well-designed business process to manage such a complex scenario. It has been designed and implemented using the PLM-ERP standard integration Teamcenter Gateway for SAP (t4s).

Companies providing configurable standard products and solutions, also allowing customer specific changes, is most likely Facing the situation that the engineering BOM (EBOM) have to is modified due to some customer requests during the order PR Ocess. Sales configurators, allowing to configure customer specific standard products, is often part of the or integrated to an ERP Solution. Typically, the outcome of a customer configuration process results in an order BOM.

To having the possibility to add new engineering parts to the order BOM, it had to is transferred back to the PLM system. The PLM-ERP integration already creates new items for the new engineering parts and while transferring the 100% order BOM to the PLM system. To being able to configure a 100% order BOM in the ERP system, the generic 150% product EBOM have is transferred from PLM to E RP system including all options and variants defined in the PLM system.

Besides transferring the customer orders as Bill of materials, another possible solution are to exchange the customer Speci FIC configuration As Variant condition information between the ERP and the PLM system and vice versa. The PLM-ERP integration solution synchronizes the options and values between the both systems. The customer product configuration of the Sales Configurator results in a stored option set in the ERP system; This was transferred to the PLM system as a variant rule. This customer specific variant rule was applied to the generic 150% BOM and results in a 100% customer order BOM which are T Hen transferred back to the ERP system. The advantage of transferring variant rules back to the PLM system instead of 100% BOMs are that the same rule can be appli Ed to the 150% BOP (Bill of process). The configured 100% BOP are then also transferred back to the ERP system as a customer specific routing.

Workflows still don ' t stop at System boundaries:extending the Plm-erp landscape by MES

To close the loop, customers is thinking about bringing the information from the MES system back to the MRO module of the PLM system as an "as built" structure. This loop can is closed using the Teamcenter Gateway Plus extensions (available for Teamcenter gateway for SAP (T 4S) and Teamcenter Gateway for Oracle EBS (t4o). These extensions enhance the Teamcenter Gateway solutions to a PLM integration platform, providing generic adapters to int Egrate other enterprise application. Visit us at Siemens PLM Connection Americas Booth #18 For detailed information on t4s+ and t4o+.

How to help manage complexity with PLM and PLM-ERP integration

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