How Automated Product Design Data Exchange (PDX) Can Save Your Employee Experience
August 16, 2022
Team collaboration, individual performance and product accuracy are all critical for teams working within intricate industries with extensive supply chains that design and manufacture complex products (e.g., automotive, aerospace, defense, high tech). This is especially true for design teams performing manual product design data exchange (PDX).
Tight deadlines and strict design specifications make end-to-end PDX operations stressful and require employees to accurately perform tedious and repetitive tasks. Not only do these tasks consume design engineers’ time and keep them from more critical core design tasks, but they expose valuable design data to human error. One incorrectly shared or improperly formatted file can lead to a client rejecting the file, delays in product design activities or worse—which can quickly lead to friction among teams and unhappy clients.
Businesses that continue to leverage traditional PDX methods that require multiple solutions and manual processes are putting their employees and operations at a disadvantage. Moreso, the archaic and impractical techniques could deter future talent from joining the organization. To help improve the employee experience and entice future design talent, manufacturers must work to modernize and automate their PDX processes.
Facilitating Collaboration, Mitigating Risk & Reducing Workloads with Rocket Software’s TRUfusion Enterprise
Implementing Rocket® TRUfusion Enterprise into your product design data exchange methods enables design teams to integrate an automated, end-to-end PDX process alongside their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system (e.g., Windchill and Teamcenter). TRUfusion Enterprise instantly facilitates team collaboration by giving employees a unified and easily traceable view of their entire PDX process. Team members can quickly determine who sent what product design data and from where, as well as which employee received it. This way, team members can determine why the employee received that data and provide any support the employee may require—such as sourcing related to a specific RFQ or design collaboration project. All team members can also stay up to date regarding changes that need to be made to the product prior to manufacturing and where data has been released for manufacturing to commence, helping to ensure all tasks get actioned and completed.
TRUfusion Enterprise seamlessly integrates with multiple software tools to support PDX, including PLM system APIs, CAD translators, CAD checkers and more. Employees can easily send and receive CAD and other files directly from their PLM systems—creating a fully automated PDX process that reduces the risk of costly mistakes, including the exchange of out-of-date data. The software can be preconfigured to automatically perform any agreed-upon PDX processes with each supply chain partner to ensure frictionless design data interoperability between collaborating partners.
For businesses looking to alleviate workloads, TRUfusion Enterprise enables design teams to implement a fully automated PDX method. By leveraging automation, teams can reduce human error while relieving design engineers from many of the repetitive tasks that consume their time. TRUfusion Enterprise automates formatting, renaming, checking, allowances and many other file exchange processes with the click of a mouse. Designers can select, package, and send CAD files within minutes—compared to hours with manual PDX processes—directly from their PLM software.
TRUfusion Enterprise integration enables businesses to modernize operations and bring their PDX processes to the frontlines of innovation. And leveraging the software’s automation capabilities to perform tasks and streamline workflows frees employees from stressful manual tasks and reduces the risk of human error. The freedom and flexibility generated by TRUfusion Enterprise tools eliminate the friction manual PDX methods create within departments and give designers the opportunity to focus on more value-driven core design tasks.
Learn more about how Rocket TRUfusion Enterprise eliminates the stress and vulnerability created by manual PDX processes.
