Do you already know that you have to organize your data better? Maybe you're even in the construction industry and have determined that investing in product data management (PDM) is essential? If so, the following article will help you to make a choice for the right PDM software.
Do you use a normal folder structure? Do you sometimes lose your documents? With PDM, you no longer have to search for your documents. If you have a company with more than 3-4 employees, it is worth taking a look behind the concept of a PDM system, because confusion is inevitable with more than one person. Give your data a structure and you will no longer need to search long.
As a next step, you should consider which processes take place in your company. To be able to streamline these, you need to become aware of your challenges and focus areas. Do you spend a lot of time searching for your documents, creating neutral formats, transcribing bills of materials, opening hundreds of drawings one by one and printing too much paper? What challenges do you want to eliminate? A PDM system can only help you to successfully save time if you are aware of your current time usage. A suitable software provider will help you understand your processes and customize the software to suit you.
Since your data is the most important asset in your company, you should give a lot of importance to its security. Data can be lost, whether through the mishap of an employee or through unwanted access. When selecting your PDM system, make sure you have an appropriate user rights system and find out how your data is protected from unauthorized access. Do you want to learn more about data security with PDM? Then read the following blog article: "How secure is my data"?
If you're in the construction industry, you have a lot of data to manage. Having trouble keeping track of it all? An appropriate PDM system can be combined with your CAD software and helps you to provide the right information to the right person based on access rights. In addition, some drawings and data require certain workflows to be completed before they can be processed further.
Many software developers submit their products to customers via resellers. However, the advantage of buying directly from a manufacturer with its own development is that individual adjustments can be made quickly. Through the own programming, changes can be made based on the specific processes of your company in a timely manner and in coordination with you.
Subscription for a PDM software? Sounds exciting at first and sounds like less cost. But the advantage of a purchase is that there is a break-even point where the rental exceeds the purchase price after a certain period of use. Also, watch out for unplanned dependencies. For example, if an unwanted rent increase threatens lost data due to revoked licenses.
This also leads us to the topic of costs. Of course, you will ask yourself relatively quickly what the costs are. But be careful with providers who can immediately give you a price. There is a high probability that you will be in for an unpleasant surprise. Since PDM does not make sense without individual adaptations to your processes, workshops and studies must first take place in order to be able to give you an estimate of the costs. But then the software is already fully adapted to your needs. Think about whether you want to save time and money in the long term.
Read more about this in our blog post "Why HELiOS is the best choice".
A modern document management (PDM) helps you to find your product data quickly by not having to search for a long time. Learn more about your options in our guide "Modern Document Management".