3 Ways PLM Benefits Manufacturers of All Sizes

Will a product lifecycle management (PLM) system benefit your small to medium sized manufacturing company?

Absolutely.

An affordable PLM system brings the many tasks, and departments involved with bringing your product to the marketplace into one integrated product.

Let’s look at the benefits of a PLM system to manufacturers.

Save Time with an Effective PLM

Modern manufacturing companies use a host of technology products, such as spreadsheets, emails, and shared documents. But using each of these individual products require manually moving data between programs, long email chains, and even long interdepartmental meetings.

PLM software brings the many discrete processes from design through marketing under one software umbrella. This improves coordination and improves efficiency at every step of your manufacturing process.

One of the most frustrating and time consuming necessities of product management is finding manual entry errors. These errors either will cost you time in discovering them, or money if they are not discovered. By integrating the functions of your team in one piece of software, a PLM system eliminates most manual entry points, preventing errors and saving you time.

Save Frustration with a Cloud PLM

Not all PLM products will save frustration. Many PLM systems require a steep learning curve, resulting in delays as you begin to integrate the system and every time you want to bring on a new team member.

Finding an intuitive, easy to use PLM is essential to your company reaping the benefits of a PLM system. But the right PLM system can save considerable frustration. One easy-to-use solution will save you from regularly having to find and learn new software with different underlying GUI logic. The benefits to coordination between team members are also hard to overstate.

In today’s market, a cloud based PLM is essential. No matter where your team is located, or where they are logging in, a cloud PLM system brings the flexibility to meet whatever your team’s needs may be. This also enables your business to scale outside of one region, setting your business up to succeed now and in the future.

Save Money with an Affordable PLM

Let’s be clear here. A PLM can save you money. But there are lots of costs associated with a PLM that you should consider. Here are three costs to start thinking about.

• Software Cost – Most basic is the cost of the software itself. Industry experts place the average cost of PLM software at $80 to $150 per user per month. Though some quality options, such 4G:PLM, have launch prices as low as $50 per user per month.
• Training Cost – Once you have the software, of course, you need to take the time to train your team on how to use it. This cost will depend on how the training is delivered (whether training the trainer or through a vendor directly), and of course how difficult the software is to use.
• Maintenance Cost – You also need to consider the ongoing IT support costs associated with the software. How will the difficulty of the software contribute to those costs? How much IT support will your vendor offer themselves?

To realize your full cost savings, you need an affordable PLM that is easy to start and easy to use. Fortunately there are PLM solutions that meet those needs, including SolidPartner’s next generation 4G:PLM.

For a manufacturing company, PLM software can help you increase your efficiency and save time and money. But it’s important to look into the software you are considering to ensure it will actually provide the benefits you want.