Why PLM and ERP must go hand in hand

The combination of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) forms the backbone of your business and automates production processes, supply chains, and product lifecycle management. Both tools focus on sharing knowledge and data about a product.

However, you can't limit PLM to just a tool used in the design and development phase. It is, in fact, an essential part of the "digital thread" concerning technical, product-related data and plays a much broader, cross-functional role. A PLM solution provides a comprehensive overview of product data at every stage of the product lifecycle, including its history. This solution plays a larger role than merely passing data to ERP once production begins. The systems should complement each other, as some data inherently belongs to the PLM system, while other data belongs to the ERP system.

It’s crucial not to let the two systems operate in isolation; otherwise, you risk business data being scattered across different systems. This causes the loss of synergies and optimizations that come from the entire company working with the same up-to-date data.

The benefits of good interfaces

As we move toward more advanced data management, it becomes increasingly valuable to examine the interfaces between PLM and ERP. A concrete example is the interface between the EBOM (Engineering Bill of Materials) and MBOM (Manufacturing Bill of Materials). A PLM solution is capable of converting the EBOM into an MBOM before it is transferred to the ERP system.

To do this efficiently and error-free, it’s essential that both systems "speak the same language." For this, a seamless interface is crucial. Unfortunately, this step is often overlooked. This is a missed opportunity, because it’s exactly here where companies can gain the most benefit from the cooperation between both systems.

In short, most manufacturing companies already have excellent data and systems. Still, even more synergies and optimizations can be achieved by connecting the right data in the right way. This leads to more efficient business operations and a competitive advantage.