ERP/PLM IT Systems for Defense Industry - the key challenges
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The Polish Defense Industry is currently undergoing substantial and fundamental changes. The emerging challenges require the proper response – particularly concerning how to satisfy growing Polish Armed Forces needs and simultaneously how to improve business efficiency.
Accordingly, defense manufacturers face challenges unparalleled in any other sector. I’d like to focus on two of them.
First, manufacturers in this industry often need to simultaneously manage many different projects that draw on the same resources and require similar materials. Particularly nowadays, it’s not uncommon to have several projects with deadlines that might conflict and delay each other. This situation, unless properly managed, could even jeopardize national security. One is expected to find a way to manage the entire enterprise in a way that minimizes those conflicts. And the only solution is a proven and properly implemented ERP/PLM (Enterprise Resources Management / Product Lifecycle Management) IT system with multi-project management capabilities built into the core feature set of this system in a way that makes those capabilities intrinsic to the manufacturing process. Such a system makes it possible to run multiple projects with tight cost and schedule control, at the same time maintaining contractual and military regulatory compliance within a single enterprise.
The second key challenge is that defense industry contractors have to manage a very deep and complex supply and cooperation network because of the nature of the products they build, plus the long life-cycle that they are subject to after they are delivered. This cooperation starts at the CAD/CAE stage and lasts until the life-cycle of the manufactured product ends.
Design and development cooperation requires control of the multi-CAD and multi-domain design processes, including mechanical, electronics, software and simulation data and management of that data from a single secure source. The quality of the data should be validated and the completeness of design data should be secured before the release to manufacturing. Moreover, it is not sufficient to manage just the date and quantity, but the contractor needs to uphold quality and contractual requirements imposed by the military customer.
The ERP/PLM solution addresses the needs, constraints and requirements of this network and provides the efficient management of cooperation. As a result, mechanical, electronics, software and simulation data, as well as documents and bills of materials (BOMs) are managed and shared in a single environment. Standardized workflows and processes can be extended to suppliers and subcontractors. Therefore, combination of the ERP solution and PLM system enables the life-cycle of a military product to be fully managed – from the concept/design stage to the final scrapping after many years. And, last but not least, a really experienced ERP/PLM implementation partner is strongly recommended, for there is no room for experimentation.
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