New Microsoft ECM Solution – What’s in it for me?

• What’s the importance of an Engineering Change Management solution? 
• Why is there a need for ECM? 
• New Microsoft ECM – what customers and our partners need to know? 

What’s the importance of an Engineering Change Management solution? 

There is a need for a workflow-driven solution that plays a critical role in keeping a tab on product development through various stages of growth. It happens due to preferences and demands, resulting in different versions. So, before we understand the need for an ECM solution, let’s see what defines Engineering Change Management.  

What can be termed as Engineering Change Management? 

In scientific papers an engineering change is also defined as, “a change in the current state of the specification of the product or product variety being designed arising out of incompatibilities between the different aspects of product development, production, and maintenance. These include the changes initiated by the changes in the market, changes in customer preferences, and changes in the manufacturing methods, changes in vendors and suppliers, and changes due to human design errors. The timing of these changes varies from early phases of design up to the decommissioning of the product.” 

Thus, the process of managing and supporting the product lifecycle, especially when it is a complicated design, is Engineering Change Management.  

Why is there a need for ECM? 

The new Microsoft D365 ECM solution synchronizes and streamlines the entire product lifecycle process by using engineering change requests (ECR) and engineering change orders (ECOs). ECM also includes analysis of changes and their impact on ERP artifacts, like bill of materials, production orders, sales orders, purchase orders etc. The Microsoft Dynamics D365 ECM solution helps you to manage changes to product data (like BOMS, routings, documentation and more) in a structured way. 

There is a need for an ECM that can manage product development process and is workflow-driven. The important feature of an ECM is how well it integrates with the external system (like CAD/PDM/PLM). Also, providing an end-to-end solution, listing the product or parts that can be affected with the required changes, and take care of reviewing and approving change requests.  

When it comes to product engineering, managing various product versions gets crucial. And, how one can manage different versions if not for Engineering change management, which is indicative of the full product lifecycle. Along with version management, an ECM also helps in controlling and monitoring versions in logistics and shipping. 

ECM enables traceability. It makes possible tracking unlimited numbers of attributes for a product. An engineer can quickly search if a similar product might already exist with an engineering attribute search before starting the work on a new product.  

As we move forward in the blog after understanding the importance of ECM, let’s focus on how To-Increase PLM integration supports the transition to new ECM. To-Increase’s proven PLM integration solution is used by its partners to accomplish customized functionalities and improve the supply chain.   

Here’s what our customers and partners can look forward to: 

What lies ahead for the customers and partners with new ECM 

 The inclusion of our proven ECM into Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the beginning of new innings for To-Increase. To-Increase vows to bring the best of Engineering Change Management implementation for the customers and partners ahead. Our training, workshops, consulting, and support services will enable you to maximize ROI.  

We are offering different services packages, including solution design, building, and deploying the solution to bring into line with your partnership model and implementation plan through project phases.  

Here listing the benefits brought to you by To-Increase: 

• Seasoned business and technology experts from manufacturing/engineering are working in tandem with your business goals. 
• Efficiently deliver an array of specialized services related to ECM by understanding our implementing partners. 
• Coordinating data migration and integration during workshop sessions. 
• To-Increase will also deliver Configuration, Testing, and Training Services, assisting clients throughout the project lifecycle, enabling the use of ECM without any hassle. 

What is in it for you? 

A structured ECM also helps manage the effects of product changes on bill-of-materials (BOM) and routings. It becomes crucial as product managers or stakeholders need to be aware of changes and consequences concerning customers and vendors.  

The most challenging aspect of an advanced product engineering solution for any organization is for the program manager or managers to manage change. Engineering Change Management is the backbone of product development in manufacturing, driving version management, supporting PLM and CAD integration, streamlining engineering requests and orders from different disciplines, tracking history, and product release.  

For To-Increase, the driving force is to help companies with our goal-oriented services. Learn and get trained from the experts to jumpstart your Engineering Change Management implementation. We have got you.