How to reduce the time you spend supporting others in product information management?

At many manufacturing and product development companies designers spend hours every week maintaining and supporting other departments with product information. It may be, for example, supplying drawings in PDF format or delivering different kinds of specifications – time that could be spent in innovation, developing and improving products.

How to reduce the time you spend supporting others in product information management?

This work could become more efficient by automating the management of items and BOM (Bill-of-Material) structures. With a PLM (Product lifecycle Management) solution, the product information can be made available to the whole company, leading to improved quality. It would also ensure that everyone has access to the correct information at the right time. So, how does this work?

Well, for example, when you make design changes to a product, a smart PLM solution can automatically update and keep track of the item information and the BOM structure and publish drawings in the file format you require. This means that the product information is easily available to those who need it without you having to spend time on it.

PLM solutions are expensive and complex, aren’t they? Not necessarily.

My advice is to invest in a system with good processing templates that can then be extended. Start by focusing on one problem, for example how to reduce the time spent on maintaining and supporting product information to other departments in the company. When you have solved this, take on the next one, for example how to manage change orders and change requests in a structured way. And that’s what my next post will talk about.

Join the over 400 other industry professionals in Design Management Forum 24-25 April where PLM is one of the main topics.

PLM in DMF blog.png

At Symetri, we have a smart LEAN PLM solution called SOVELIA PLM. It can solve the above described challenges. Solution is based on a number of processing templates and 20+ years of collective experience in the industry. Sovelia is a solution that can be implemented gradually and extended as required. Take one step at a time and extend the solution with further functionality as required. Contact me and I’ll tell you more, andreas.nasman@symetri.com or call +46 31 703 40.


Slik velger dere riktig PLM-partner å stole på de neste 10 årene

30 september 2026

Det er lett å sammenligne PLM-løsninger som om de bare var enda et systemkjøp. I virkeligheten handler det om langt mer enn det. PLM utgjør en sentral del av virksomhetens arbeidsmåte. Det påvirker hvordan produktinformasjon håndteres, hvordan team samarbeider og hvordan beslutninger tas på tvers av organisasjonen. Over tid blir PLM en del av virksomhetens operative ryggrad. Derfor handler det viktigste valget ikke bare om hvilket system du velger, men også om hvilken partner du velger å samarbeide med på lang sikt.

Slik minimerer produserende bedrifter risikoen ved valg av PLM

23 september 2026

Å velge et PLM-system er en viktig beslutning, og virksomheter ønsker trygghet før de går videre. Det er ingen grunn til å utsette beslutningen dersom behovet faktisk er der. Det handler heller om å identifisere og håndtere potensielle risikoer på forhånd.

Sjekkliste: Slik velger du riktig PLM-partner

23 september 2026

Å velge en PLM-partner handler ikke om å kjøpe programvare, men om å ta en langsiktig forretningsbeslutning. PLM blir en del av virksomhetens operative ryggrad, noe som gjør valget av partner minst like viktig som valget av selve plattformen. Her er de viktigste faktorene du bør vurdere før du tar en beslutning.