PLM to ERP Integration Conclusion: is it worth it?

Sure, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can work harmoniously together – but it takes time, analysis and careful consideration to ensure it really is an end-to-end process that everybody trusts in any product lifecycle.
To fully integrate and get maximum benefit a company must have a comprehensive, well planned strategy that considers:

• System Solutions
• Data
• People
• Processes
• Organization Technology

Both system integration and data consolidation share a common goal: they aim to bring clarity and cohesion to a confused situation; they aim to eliminate multiple data entry and obtain ‘one version of the facts’ available to all, ensuring that everything in a business resides in one place and remains correct for the foreseeable future.

There is no doubt that an product implementation project can be disruptive and complicated and this can bring its own challenges, but when ERP and PLM solutions are well integrated and successfully implemented they can deliver maximum value.
In addition, they can ensure that companies can develop the best products possible at the correct costs and deliver them to their customers efficiently and on time.

Any investment into a PLM and/or ERP solution is normally required to improve overall efficiency, reduce costs and therefore improve profits – and profitability is, as I’m sure you know, the magic word where any CEO is concerned.

However, every company is faced with the daunting prospect of needing constant product innovation. With that, organizations must also be able to maximize profits from existing products and introduce products in a way that you aren’t left with a pile of obsolete inventory. When organizations take a step back at which areas have the biggest impact on profitability then you will see that PLM is the essential solution you need.

After all, without innovation, new products, for how long can you survive in defense mode?