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Proplanner Assembly PLM Compared to Generic PLM

By Grace Barton Updated

Proplanner’s Assembly PLM solution is the only Assembly-Focused PLM system available in the market today. 

Overview

While generic PLM systems can provide toolkits for companies to develop an Assembly PLM environment, this effort takes a great deal of time, money, and rare talent which companies should be spending on their own product development efforts (i.e. not re-inventing cost-effective, deployable solutions like Proplanner). 

In addition, Proplanner’s PLM system includes 3D CAD Model Visualization/Annotation Editing, Process Video Capture and Analysis, a full Manufacturing Data Management (MDM) environment with integrated Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP), Advanced Production Scheduling (APS), and downstream Manufacturing Execution (MES) which incorporates transactional Plan For Every Part (PFEP) electronic Kanban and Kitting.  These modules were developed by Proplanner to fit seamlessly into a well-managed workflow.

Can be Deployed Quicker

Companies who have selected Proplanner as their Assembly PLM environment, consistently tell us that this selection was made because our “out of the box” application satisfies over 90% of their requirements and user-based configuration can often make up the vast majority of this last 10%. 

This means that they can start receiving the benefits of this technology right away without excessive involvement by key manufacturing and IT resources.

Secure and Flexible Deployment Options

Proplanner supports Internal Client Server, One-Click or Azure Cloud Hosted environments with 128-bit encryption for data in transit and at rest. In addition, multiple Single Sign-On (SSO) and extensive login and user audit trails and history tracking make for a solution that meets even the strictest military-grade access and logging security requirements. 

More importantly, the multi-tiered architecture ensures that both data and analysis occur at locations and on systems which minimize network traffic while maximizing user performance.

Lower Upfront and Ongoing Cost

Proplanner’s unique subscription pricing model means that the entire suite of technology is available to ALL users IMMEDIATELY.  There is no software to purchase, no modules to select.  Every Proplanner capability (from 3D Visualization, mBOM and Routing authoring, through Time Studies, Line Balancing and Ergonomics, down to Shop Floor Instructions, ANDON, MES, and In-Plant Logistics execution), now and in the future, is available to all users from the first day of their subscription agreement. 

With the starter subscription agreement for 25 users available for only $60K/year, there is simply no lower-cost option for deploying the integrated solution offered by Proplanner.

Less Development/Configuration Cost

Much of the Proplanner suite is configurable in a way that minimizes or eliminates the need for additional corporate development.  This is possible because of the assembly-plant focused architecture, workflow, data flow, and user interfaces. 

With Proplanner’s open API and published XML schemas, companies can import, export, manipulate and integrate with Proplanner using industry standard methods which are quicker to implement and less costly to maintain.
 

Better Support by Assembly Engineers

Proplanner is supported by Engineers who know what you are trying to do and the best way to do it.  Proplanner’s global team of engineering Support organizations also ensures that an engineer will be available to help when you need it most.

Customers continue to select Proplanner over generic vendors because Proplanner’s responsive first level support comes from engineers who understand your problems and know the answers.

Vastly Superior Capabilities for Assembly Engineering

Designed by Assembly Engineers for Assembly Engineers, Proplanner’s functionality is broad and deep to address the most challenging assembly engineering problems from the moment the ECO is received to when the Shop Floor Instructions are executed by your workers. 

Proplanner’s solutions were engineered to handle the Largest Bills of Material, the Longest Routings, the Most Variants, and the Biggest CAD Models referenced by Line Balancing, Scheduling, and Shop Floor Execution domains. 

Our development and engineering team relentlessly develops and tests the performance of the ENTIRE WORKFLOW of Proplanner because, at the end of the day, your team needs the system to work with the data you have. This is why more companies with complex assembly operations use Proplanner for their assembly engineering tasks than all other commercial applications combined. 

Efficient Manufacturing Change Workflows

Proplanner has developed a powerful assembly-oriented process of implementing an engineering change (ECO) into a manufacturing change (MCO) onto the shop floor by collaborating productively with potentially many engineering teams. Each team works on the problem leveraging data from the other teams in a parallel but coordinated manner which supports circular data flows for iterative design.

Proplanner’s PLM solution is uniquely positioned between PDM and ERP and thus provides the ideal solution to collaborate, engineer and manage without unnecessary restrictive controls and limits which force people out of the system onto Excel spreadsheets.

Quotes from clients on what they use Proplanner to solve:

  1. Manual process that relies on emails
  2. Multiple misses through the process resulting in downstream losses.
  3. Groups outside of engineering like Purchasing and Logistics not always kept in the loop
  4. Multiple changes made to mBOM structure outside of engineering releases. No visibility of these changes.
  5. No time measurement on process. Certain sites are holding onto ECOs for several months.
  6. Lack of standardization between plants.
  7. No integration with PFEP and Warehouse Management Systems.
  8. No impact analysis of an engineering change to the shop floor

Quotes from clients about why they selected Proplanner

  1. Low cost (1/3 the cost) ~ 80K vs. 240K
  2. Quicker to implement (1/2 the time ~ 150 days vs. 430 days).  Applications such as Teamcenter requires a large amount of data to use the system and a large amount of integration with their other modules. 
  3. Less complex solution (big prerequisite list to start)
  4. Well established interface with PDM systems
  5. Well established interface with MRP systems
  6. Allows customization of workflows
  7. Allows measurements of workflow times
  8. Allow customizable checklist in per workflow stage
  9. Has a robust deviation management setup on authoring and execution environments (huge benefit as this allows tracking of local changes)
  10. Allow attaching files and documents to each change
  11. Automatic email alerts per workflow stage
  12. Part consumption at station, PFEP at station and interface with Warehouse management system
  13. Proplanner is responsive to support requests
  14. Experienced lack of support and maintenance for competitive analysis modules such as FactoryFlow
  15. Proplanner is willing to discuss and adapt the platform to solve new problems
  16. PFEP module is a differentiator
  17. Siemens process planning solution was incompatible with their desired engineering processes and was substantially more difficult to use.

Grace Barton

Marketing Specialist

About the Author Latest Posts

Grace Barton is a digital marketing and competitive intelligence professional who crafts strategic narratives by bridging marketing insights with analytical expertise. At Advantive, she creates engaging, data-driven content tailored to the distribution, manufacturing, packaging, and quality industries. Her goal is to deliver impactful messaging that drives engagement and growth based on specific gap closure needs, whether responding to sales organization requirements, pinpointing gaps in content, or meeting immediate market trends.
She thrives on transforming competitive intelligence into actionable insights for the sales organization. Grace manages Advantive’s competitive intelligence platform, Klue, to equip the sales team with the battlecards and market data they need to stay ahead of competitors. Since launch, she’s built 28+ battlecards across four lines of business, ensuring the GTM strategy stays sharp.
Grace has a passion for leveraging market insights with storytelling to guide strategic decision-making, empower sales organizations, and nurture organizational growth.

Areas of Expertise: Digital Marketing, Competitive Intelligence, Strategic Narratives, Marketing Insights, Analytical Expertise

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