PDM software, often touted by its designers as a saviour of efficiency, has
been met in engineering practice with mixed feedback. However, though its
effectiveness may be questioned by some, one company has found it to be the
answer to global expansion.
Esmena Ltd. (www.esmena.com) opened its
doors in 1956 as a small metal parts fabrication company in northern Spain.
Nearly 50 years later, that same company operates as an international leader in
large-capacity, multi-level storage systems, with manufacturing facilities in
Spain and Brazil, as well as engineering centers and distributors in 50
countries, including the U.S.
While global expansion is generally good for a company, Esmena was finding
that the smaller local businesses had the upper hand in terms of quick customer
response. With expansion, Esmena had added more bodies to report to in different
departments-including engineering, manufacturing, sales, and customer
support-and as a result, it was delaying bidding response time and hindering
accuracy. The company sought an efficient solution to break down the obstacles
of growth.
What Esmena discovered was that PDM software could handle these issues. They
ultimately decided on SmarTeam (www.smarteam.com) from Dassault Systemes for
its web-based collaboration and project management. They needed a program that
would allow its employees worldwide to collaborate on projects in real-time, so
as to ensure accuracy, and they also required a management system to organize
everything from quotes and office documents to installation measurements and
analysis reports. So Esmena chose SmarTeam-Editor and SmarTeam-Web Editor, as
well as SmarTeam Workflow.
Already using AutoCAD and SolidWorks programs for CAD, Esmena needed a
seamless transition of the PDM software in order to continue with business as
usual for the now worldwide metal parts company. According to a statement from
Jesus Fernandez, R&D Director at Esmena, the Windows-based SmarTeam programs
feature an uncomplicated graphical user interface, so little training was
required.
So how has this transition to PDM software affected the expanding company?
With 50 floating licenses spread throughout the company's
departments-engineering, manufacturing, sales, purchasing, quality, and field
personnel-it means that every part of the project is now tracked in SmarTeam
from start to finish. It means simplified collaboration and communication on all
project phases, which translates to quicker response times for customer bidding
inquiries. And in the end, acquiring the new PDM software means that Esmena can
continue on its path of increasing annual revenue at a rate of 30 percent.
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Natura Cosmetics in Sao Paulo, Brazil is
under development using the Esmena multi-level storage
system.
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