Manufacturing challenges

Manufacturers are facing increasing pressure to stay financially and technologically competitive. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems like Siemens Teamcenter help organizations looking to optimize the whole product development process, from ideation and design to retirement and disposal.

Manufacturers can use low-code-developed applications to create integrations between PLM systems and legacy software. They can also develop intuitive applications that give different stakeholders a better overview of data and the ability to automate tasks like error reporting, resulting in more efficient decision-making and quicker production cycles.

As it stands, the manufacturing industry is characterized by complex processes and the constant need to adapt to technological advancements, globalization, and changing consumer demands. PLM systems and low-code technology can help address some of the issues below.

Data management

The increasing use of technology in manufacturing, such as Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) and AI, generates large amounts of data. Managing such complex data involves significant challenges like preventing data silos across different systems and departments, as well as ensuring data accuracy throughout the product lifecycle. These issues make efficient data management and decision-making much harder to achieve, leading to design errors, production delays, and increased costs.

Process optimization 

Automating PLM workflows can enhance efficiency but requires significant investment and careful integration with existing systems. Real-time monitoring and analytics are essential for optimizing processes and identifying issues early, although this remains a challenging task. Additionally, using PLM data for predictive maintenance to prevent equipment failures demands sophisticated analytics and seamless integration with other enterprise systems.

Engineering Data Challenges

Managing multiple versions of engineering data is critical to avoiding errors and delays. Well-planned collaboration and seamless communication among engineering teams spread across locations are essential but complex, especially when they use different tools and systems. Ensuring the integrity and quality of data throughout the product lifecycle requires systems that maintain accurate, complete, and traceable data; integrating legacy systems with a modern PLM system is not something that takes five minutes and a sturdy WiFi connection.

How can low-code and PLM help?

Combining low-code application development with a PLM system enables smoother collaboration between product development, engineering, and other critical functions—not to mention suppliers and partners. This is thanks to low-code applications that can be (relatively) easily developed and are designed to help with PLM integrations, data visualization, and any number of tasks like reporting and validating.

Low-code platforms provide several benefits, including increased speed of application development, accessibility for non-technical users, and cost efficiency. These advantages help manufacturers make the most of their PLM systems, resulting in accelerated deployment times, reduced costs, and more innovation. As companies seek to optimize their manufacturing processes, integrating low-code solutions with advanced PLM technologies is becoming a strategic priority.

Cost efficiency 

Low-code platforms reduce the demand for extensive coding skills and shorten development cycles when creating custom system integrations and manufacturing floor tools, significantly cutting operational costs. This enables manufacturing companies to allocate resources more effectively, focusing on innovation rather than administration.

Enhanced flexibility and agility

Businesses can quickly develop and deploy applications, reducing time-to-value and allowing quicker adaptation to changing business needs.

Better ways of working

Low-code applications and integrations facilitate better collaboration across departments, ensuring a cohesive approach to product development and lifecycle management. Enhanced collaboration is vital in manufacturing, where coordinated efforts between engineering, production, and supply chain management can significantly impact efficiency and quality.

Scalability

Low-code platforms provide the scalability to manage complex PLM processes, ensuring that solutions can develop alongside business needs. Scalable solutions allow manufacturers to expand operations without overhauling existing software and systems, which would otherwise be quite a costly maneuver.

Mendix for Teamcenter

The Mendix low-code development enhances Siemens Teamcenter PLM systems by enabling the rapid development of applications that improve data accessibility, streamline workflows, reduce manual errors, and boost collaboration. 

Easy-to-understand data portals can be created to collect data from disconnected sources with automated applications, giving all departments a better view of the bigger picture. This is also helped by custom integrations that create seamless data flows between CRM, ERP, and PLM systems. Of course, this also allows for real-time access to data, so there is no need to compare outdated, messy spreadsheets.

In practice, these features could mean:

• Getting a better idea of costs with comprehensive Bill of Materials (BOM) overviews integrating information from multiple sources.
• Creating simplified user interfaces that non-technical users can easily understand and navigate.
• Making better decisions more quickly by incorporating customer, employee, supplier, location, and product data—aggregated in one easy-to-use application.
• Reporting issues more easily with mobile applications connected to other parts of the wider PLM system.
• Streamlining workflows, minimizing human errors, and promoting collaboration are key to efficient PLM systems.

Low-code development helps manufacturers in key areas:

• Automating tasks allows users to design applications that can handle routine tasks independently, such as data entry and notifications.
• Reducing errors by incorporating validation rules and checks into applications that integrate with the overall PLM system.
• Encouraging better collaboration between departments with applications that allow real-time data sharing and communication through shared dashboards, as well as comment and task assignment functions.