Managing change requests for design or Bill of Material (BOM) alterations in manufacturing is a complex process involving numerous stakeholders. While many PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software solutions offer the ability to manage these workflows, they often require extensive customization and training. They may not fully support your business's unique workstreams, forcing process changes. Additionally, adding users to PLM software solutions can incur high licensing costs, making it expensive to scale. These challenges can lead to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and delays, significantly impacting operational efficiency.
Low-code platforms, like Mendix, provide an innovative solution to these challenges, offering a streamlined and optimized approach to change management workflows that ensures efficient collaboration, timely approvals, and accurate documentation.
The Challenge of Change Management
In the manufacturing sector, change requests often necessitate alterations to product designs or BOMs. This process involves multiple roles, including engineers, quality control, procurement, and management, each requiring the ability to review, comment, and approve changes. Traditional methods of managing these workflows can be cumbersome, leading to delays and miscommunication. Additionally, many companies have users for whom it doesn't make sense to be licensed users of the PLM software, adding to the complexity and cost.
How Can We Solve the Problem?
Let PLM Systems Do What They Are Good At
By allowing the PLM system to handle its core functionalities, companies can simplify upgrades, "keep the core clean," and externalize customization. This approach offers technological flexibility and reduces the need for extensive customizations within the PLM software itself. Low-code platforms like Mendix can create tailored applications that interact with the PLM system, ensuring that customizations are managed externally and efficiently.
Customized Access for Approvers
For stakeholders who do not need the full suite of PLM functionalities, a low-code solution can provide customized access to the exact data they need in a more user-friendly format. This ensures that approvers can interact with the necessary information without the overhead of full PLM training and licensing, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
Incorporating Novel Technologies
Low-code platforms can also integrate novel technologies that may be difficult to embed directly into PLM software:
- AI with Textract: AI can automate the extraction and processing of information from change request documents, reducing manual effort and improving accuracy. This ensures that relevant data is quickly accessible to all stakeholders.
- Generative AI: Generative AI can assist in creating detailed and accurate documentation, proposals, and reports based on change requests, enhancing the quality and speed of information flow.
- Amazon Bedrock: Leveraging cloud services like Amazon Bedrock can provide robust data management and processing capabilities, ensuring that large volumes of change management data are handled efficiently. This integration enhances the overall performance and scalability of the low-code platform.
Conclusion
Low-code platforms like Mendix offer a robust solution for managing the complexities of change management workflows in manufacturing. By providing a centralized, collaborative, and efficient platform, low-code ensures that change requests are handled promptly and accurately, enhancing overall productivity and operational efficiency. Integrating AI and cloud services with low-code further amplifies these benefits, enabling predictive analytics, automated document processing, and real-time data management.
Embrace low-code platforms to transform your change management processes and stay ahead in the competitive manufacturing landscape.