Streamlining product development with SOLIDWORKS PDM Automated Workflow

Every manufacturer has its own distinct business processes for developing products, which an effective PDM system can help to automate. Specific protocols for handling design reviews, issuing release-for-production approvals, and processing engineering change orders (ECOs) are examples of the important business processes that constitute a product development organization’s “workflow.”

Learn about effective workflow from SOLIDWORKS PDM Expert Scott Ellery in the video below:

The ability to automate your organization’s workflow

While many PDM solutions attempt to impose a standardized workflow process on all manufacturers, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. recognizes that the series of business processes a product development effort follows can differ as greatly as the types of products under development. Instead of forcing a product development organization to adopt workflow processes based on some standard protocol, SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional is flexible enough to document and enforce a manufacturer’s specific and unique approach to developing products. Because SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional is fully configurable, it provides the ability to automate an organization’s workflow and approval processes today and to adapt and keep pace as procedures evolve over time.

Become active participants in product development-related processes

With a mainstream PDM system like SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, manufacturers can automate workflow. The system ensures that all employees adhere to a company’s own designated processes, and SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional provides the tools for defining and formalizing the organization’s approach to developing products. Well-defined processes, combined with the system’s built-in notification capabilities, ensure that the right people review and approve product designs and changes, as well as release designs for production, at the right time. The workflow functions of SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional enable users and personnel at local and distributed locations to become active participants in product development, design reviews, engineering change orders, quote approvals, and other product development-related processes.

Interactive customizable workflow paths

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional contains customizable workflow diagrams that define the path which product design-related information must follow through the various stages of a manufacturer’s specific development process. It also specifies the responsible individuals and the data access rights—such as read, modify, and approve—that they need to perform their specific functions. Automatic notifications prompt personnel to perform required actions at a specific stage. Furthermore, overall company workflow status reports can show key metrics about the number of workflows in process, the state of progress for each workflow, who is responsible, and more.

SOLIDWORKS PDM Workflow

Integrate with other business systems

Connecting SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional with existing business applications, such as material resource planning (MRP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, can provide additional operational efficiencies, eliminate duplicated efforts, and further reduce the potential for errors. The open system architecture of SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, utilizing Microsoft® SQL Server™ and its own standards-based, comprehensive (COM, Visual Basic®, C+®) application programming interface (API), enables manufacturers to integrate with other business systems, such as SAP and Microsoft Dynamics.

Automate your critical cycles

A mainstream PDM system like SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional gives product development organizations the tools they need to manage workflows, automate critical cycles, streamline operations, drive innovation, increase overall effectiveness, integrate systems, and accelerate time-to-market.

Learn more about SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional

Visit our SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional product page to learn about the features and benefits or attend an upcoming seminar or webinar and get your questions answered.