Enterprise System Integration

What is enterprise system integration?


Enterprise system integration for manufacturing companies connects various digital systems—such as ERP (enterprise resource planning), PLM (product lifecycle management), and MES (manufacturing execution systems)—into a unified, cohesive ecosystem. By integrating these systems, manufacturers can ensure seamless data exchange, which enhances visibility across the product lifecycle, from design and development to production and delivery.

Enterprise system integration helps manufacturers address key industry challenges, such as managing complex supply chains, reducing time to market, and meeting the rising demand for customized products. Integrated systems enable real-time data sharing and collaboration between departments, improve decision-making, and streamline operations. As a result, manufacturers can optimize resources, improve quality control, respond swiftly to market changes, and gain a competitive edge through efficient, data-driven operations.

Why is enterprise system integration important?

Enterprise system integration is crucial as it connects different software and data sources, creating a unified, real-time data flow across departments. This integration boosts efficiency by reducing manual tasks and redundant data entry, supports better decision-making with a single source of accurate information, and enhances cross-department collaboration. Additionally, it enables businesses to scale and adapt quickly, allowing them to respond to market demands and operational changes with agility.

What are the benefits of enterprise system integration?

Systems like PLM, ERP, and MES are complementary, and integrating them can unlock meaningful benefits for modern manufacturing challenges.

Systems like PLM, ERP, and MES are complementary, and integrating them can unlock meaningful benefits for modern manufacturing challenges.

Streamlined data management and data sharing 

Integration between systems like PLM, ERP, and MES ensures that consistent, accurate data flows across product design, resource planning, and manufacturing stages. Product data from the PLM system (such as designs, bill of materials, and specifications) is directly available from these systems, reducing data duplication and minimizing errors.

Integration between systems like PLM, ERP, and MES ensures that consistent, accurate data flows across product design, resource planning, and manufacturing stages. Product data from the PLM system (such as designs, bill of materials, and specifications) is directly available from these systems, reducing data duplication and minimizing errors.

Improved product quality

PLM manages detailed product specifications and design revisions, which can be directly accessed by MES during production. This ensures that the latest design and manufacturing specifications are followed, leading to improved product quality. MES can also provide real-time feedback on quality control to PLM and ERP systems, enabling early detection and resolution of potential quality issues.

PLM manages detailed product specifications and design revisions, which can be directly accessed by MES during production. This ensures that the latest design and manufacturing specifications are followed, leading to improved product quality. MES can also provide real-time feedback on quality control to PLM and ERP systems, enabling early detection and resolution of potential quality issues.

Cost savings

Integration helps eliminate redundant data entry and processes, which not only reduces administrative overhead but also lowers the risk of errors that can lead to costly corrections. Reduced process inefficiencies and less downtime in production or operations translate into significant savings in terms of labor and operational costs.

Integration helps eliminate redundant data entry and processes, which not only reduces administrative overhead but also lowers the risk of errors that can lead to costly corrections. Reduced process inefficiencies and less downtime in production or operations translate into significant savings in terms of labor and operational costs.

Increased collaboration

Integration enables a seamless workflow across various departments, ensuring that every team is working toward the same goals with aligned processes and shared data, reducing friction and boosting productivity.

Integration enables a seamless workflow across various departments, ensuring that every team is working toward the same goals with aligned processes and shared data, reducing friction and boosting productivity.

What are the challenges of enterprise system integration?

With any enterprise system integration strategy come challenges, like high costs, technical complexity, and data migration issues. Internally, resistance to change from employees and departments can slow adoption, while integration may cause system downtime and business disruption. Security risks and compliance concerns also arise, as does the difficulty in ensuring vendor compatibility. Lack of skilled personnel and maintaining flexibility for future growth can add to the difficulties. These hurdles require careful planning and expertise to overcome.
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Learn more about PTC’s PLM platform, Windchill

Explore PTC’s Windchill enterprise PLM solution. Streamline product lifecycle management with powerful tools for collaboration, data, and efficiency.
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Standards-based data exchange between enterprise systems

With Windchill you can connect to other product development and business systems so that your entire ecosystem is working from the same up to date product information. No longer will users be burdened with redundant and error prone data entry tasks.  With a rich set of APIs and out-of-the-box functionality, Windchill uses micro services and mashups to provide:

ERP and MES integration:  Publishing parts, bills of materials (BOMs), documents, changes, process plans, operations, and resource instructions Digital product traceability: OSLC (Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration) tracing among engineering applications - requirements, ALM, MBSE, PLM, test, and other OSLC-compliance systems Embedded software integration: Software configuration management and defect tracking, including BOM-level integration
Electronic design automation integration: ECAD visualization and BOM-level integration (partner supported) Cloud integration: CRM, ALM, social/collaborations, DevOps Standards-based data exchange: PLM Services 2.0 standard, STEP, AP214 AIM, PLCS, and AP242
Industry-prevalent integration architectures and protocols: MoM, RESTful, OSLC, SOAP, JMS, HTTPS, file-based Extensible out-of-the-box services: Product, document, CAD data, manufacturing process, product platform, and event management Extensible application connectivity and workflows: Low code configured with ThingWorx Flow

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