Product lifecycle management, or PLM, sounds like something only aerospace companies need. In reality, it's a simple idea: one reliable place for your product's designs, parts, revisions and changes.
Every manufacturer already does PLM. The only question is whether you do it with a system, or with shared folders, spreadsheets and memory.
Here's a quick way to find out whether it's time to change.
The test
Answer yes or no. Be honest; nobody's watching.
- Have you ever had to ask "which file is the latest version?"
- Do drawings or CAD files have names like
final_v7_REALLY_final? - Is your bill of materials kept in a spreadsheet?
- Has a wrong part or old revision reached the shop floor in the last year?
- Does checking where a part is used mean opening several files?
- Are engineering changes requested and approved by email?
- Do suppliers receive drawings as email attachments?
- Would losing one key engineer mean losing knowledge nobody else has?
- Does it take new engineers weeks to learn where everything is?
- Do customers or auditors ask for change history you struggle to produce?
How you scored:
| Your "yes" count | What it means |
|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | Your current setup is probably fine for now. Revisit it as you grow. |
| 4 to 6 | The cracks are showing. Errors and delays are already costing you. |
| 7 to 10 | Your engineering data is a business risk. It's time for a proper system. |
What PLM actually does, in plain words
| PLM capability | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| File vault | All drawings and CAD files in one secure place, with nothing overwritten |
| Revisions | Every version kept, with who changed what and why |
| Bill of materials | One current BOM, linked to the right drawings |
| Where-used | Every product affected by a part change, in seconds |
| Change management | Requests, approvals and releases, with a full record |
| Sharing | Purchasing, production and suppliers see exactly the right version |
Why "real" PLM feels out of reach
If you scored high, you may already have looked at enterprise PLM and walked away. You're not alone: in one survey of product companies, the main hurdles to adopting PLM were the cost of licensing, the difficulty of deployment and security concerns. (Digital Engineering)
Enterprise PLM systems are powerful. They're also built for large engineering departments, with large budgets and dedicated IT teams to run them.
What "light PLM" means
Most growing manufacturers don't need everything an enterprise PLM does. They need the essentials, done properly:
- A secure vault for drawings and CAD files, with revisions
- Bills of materials with where-used
- A simple change process, from request to release
- Easy sharing with purchasing, production and suppliers
- Software you own, running in your own cloud, with no per-user fees
That's what we're building: a light PLM for small and mid-size manufacturers, delivered on the Defender platform, with Triyas experts behind every stage. We're shaping it with a small group of early-access manufacturers, starting with the CAD tools they use most.
Still running your BOM in Excel? Read is your bill of materials still living in a spreadsheet?
Scored 4 or more? Join light PLM early access
Tell us how you manage drawings, BOMs and changes today. Early-access manufacturers help shape the product and get first access when it launches.
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