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These developments form the foundation for meaningful digital transformation in manufacturing. At the same time, product complexity continues to increase. Variants multiply, regulations evolve, and teams operate across disciplines and locations.
For some organisations, this complexity creates friction. For others, it becomes a source of momentum.
Product lifecycle management, commonly referred to as PLM, plays a central role in this shift. By connecting product data, processes, and people across the lifecycle, PLM helps organisations create clarity, accelerate decisions, and collaborate with confidence.
This article explores how modern PLM solutions, including cloud-based solutions in the Autodesk ecosystem, support a more agile and connected manufacturing model, and why PLM is increasingly viewed as an operating model decision rather than a purely technical one.
PLM shapes how organisations make product decisions
In many manufacturing environments, product information is spread across CAD systems, spreadsheets, emails, and ERP platforms. Engineering, manufacturing, and quality teams often work with partial or outdated views of the product, slowing decisions and limiting the impact of digital initiatives.
PLM solutions address this by establishing a shared and structured product definition. It creates continuity across design, change, and validation processes, ensuring decisions are based on consistent and trusted data.
Product data management solutions such as Autodesk Vault manage design data and version control directly within engineering workflows, strengthening daily engineering collaboration. PLM platforms like Autodesk Fusion Manage extend this governance beyond product engineering, supporting change requests (ECR, ECO), approvals, and traceability across the organisation.
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The impact is tangible:
Earlier and more informed decision making
Structured management of engineering changes
Clear ownership across product lifecycle stages
PLM moves organisations from reactive correction to deliberate product governance, a critical step toward sustainable digital transformation.
Cloud PLM supports agility in distributed manufacturing
Manufacturing is increasingly distributed. Design, production, and suppliers often operate across regions, making locally hosted PLM systems difficult to manage and scale.
Cloud PLM reflects how modern manufacturing works. Cloud based PLM solutions enable teams to access product data, workflows, and dashboards from any location, supporting real time collaboration and reducing infrastructure dependency.
Autodesk Fusion Manage, delivered as a cloud PLM platform, allows organisations to introduce governed lifecycle processes incrementally. This supports flexibility, scalability, and continuous improvement without the disruption typically associated with traditional PLM deployments.
Common use cases include:
Cross site engineering collaboration
Faster onboarding of partners and suppliers
Incremental improvement of product and change processes
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Connecting design, manufacturing, and quality
Agile manufacturing depends on alignment between design intent and production reality. When design data is disconnected from manufacturing processes, issues surface late, increasing cost and risk.
PLM bridges this gap by connecting CAD data, bills of materials (BOM), and change processes into a single product context. Manufacturing and quality teams work from the same product definition as engineering, improving alignment and predictability.
Within the Autodesk environment, integration between design tools, data management, and PLM workflows ensures engineering changes are reflected consistently downstream. This enables earlier manufacturing input, proactive quality management, and fewer late-stage changes.
The result is not only speed, but stability across the product lifecycle.
How ARKANCE supports PLM in practice
ARKANCE offers a structured set of professional services to help manufacturers turn PLM strategy into operational reality. Engagements often begin with a manufacturing focused digital and process audit, which identifies inefficiencies, system gaps, and breaks in data continuity. This creates a clear roadmap for process optimisation and digital transformation.
Building on this foundation, ARKANCE delivers PLM implementation services centred on Autodesk Fusion Manage. These services establish governed lifecycle processes, including change management, approvals, and roles, aligned to how the organisation operates. Integration with Autodesk Vault, ERP systems, or internal databases ensures PLM becomes part of a connected digital ecosystem.
Many organisations extend this continuity into execution. ARKANCE also provides Autodesk Fusion Operations implementation services, enabling cloud-based production execution with real time shopfloor visibility. While not a PLM system, Autodesk Fusion Operations complements PLM by connecting product intent with production reality, reinforcing end to end digital continuity.
Across these services, the focus remains on embedding processes, governance and adoption, ensuring PLM supports long term agility rather than short term optimisation.
PLM as an operating model decision
PLM has evolved into a key enabler of agile and connected manufacturing. By structuring product decisions, supporting cloud-based collaboration, and linking design with execution, PLM helps organisations turn complexity into operational strength.
The organisations that benefit most embed PLM into their operating model. They focus less on tools and more on how product information flows through the business as a foundation for digital transformation.
At ARKANCE, we support manufacturers with this perspective. As a digital transformation partner, we help organisations align PLM, digital integration, and ways of working around a shared product truth, creating a strong foundation for sustainable transformation across engineering and manufacturing.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the main business value of PLM software?
PLM solutions improve product development efficiency by centralising product data, structuring change management, and enabling consistent collaboration across teams and systems.
How does cloud PLM support digital transformation in manufacturing?
Cloud PLM supports scalability, real time collaboration, and continuous process improvement, allowing organisations to adapt faster and work effectively across locations.
Can PLM integrate with existing ERP and CAD systems?
Yes. Modern PLM solutions are designed to integrate with CAD, ERP, and other enterprise systems to ensure data consistency, traceability, and process continuity.
How does PLM help connect design, manufacturing, and quality?
PLM provides a shared product definition that links design data, bills of materials, and change processes, enabling earlier alignment, proactive quality management, and fewer late-stage issues.
Related Resources
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