CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
6 July 2007
CIMdata News
Ask the Expert: Bridging ERP and PLM
CIMdata Director of Research, Ken Amann, addressed the questions: "I am looking at the requirements for PLM and ERP integration. Can you please explain how these two applications are integrated? Is there software available for the integration?" in Managing Automation 's Ask the Expert column.
Ken's answer:
What each customer needs to do is define their requirements for PLM-ERP integration (these vary by company and even divisions within companies). That analysis will indicate what functionality is needed for their specific implementation and which solution area should provide that functionality and/or be the master source/control for that function and the related information. Issues to be addresses are:
• Origin of information by type (design, cost, item master, etc.)
• Configuration and change management control - including what needs to be passed/managed between the two domains
• Information ownership over time (varies across the life of a product)
• Master location (e.g., some companies master change in PLM, others in ERP - same for item information, etc.)
• Frequency of update between the two domains - some need real time, others do not
For most requirements, either the PLM or ERP solution (or both) can support the need given some tailoring or customization of the integration between the two. Third-party solutions can be used for selected requirements but there is not a large set of them - again because the requirements are not "standard" across all implementations and it is difficult to develop a solution that is widely usable - but there are some.
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