PLM Software / Product Lifecycle Management

The PLM system for better collaboration and faster processes during product engineering

CIM Database PLM supports the lifecycle management of your products from the very first ideas right through to customer application. We combine data management for virtual products with the functions required for collaboration and for process and project management in product development.

This allows you to speed up your processes and projects, reduce the number of errors and the effort involved in routine tasks, improve your results and meet regulatory obligations. CIM Database PLM is also particularly cost-effective as it can be adapted to new, future requirements more easily.

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Advantages for enterprises and employees

Using virtual product models for digitization
Promoting cooperation − Sharing documents and knowledge
Executing PLM processes with best practices quickly and reliably
Work on projects together and control them perfectly
Connecting systems for up-to-date data anywhere in the company

Use virtual product models for your digitalization campaign

The comprehensive model of the virtual product is the motor for consistent lifecycle management. It makes it possible to use data and procedures in digital form, and therefore far more efficiently, from the initial ideas right through to production release. This is because digital models simplify frontloading, thus speeding up the decision-making process and avoiding cost-intensive changes.

Get to grips with complex content in PLM thanks to visual navigation
Virtual product models bring together a vast amount of information throughout the product engineering process. To make this possible, users need navigation and visualization functions that create transparency. CONTACT's Elements User Experience System helps users make optimum practical use of their skills.

Encourage collaboration and share documents and knowledge

Efficient, trouble-free collaboration is the key for the development of demanding products and the harmonization of complex processes. With the “single source of truth” principle, your employees all access the same information and share their knowledge throughout your enterprise. To make this possible, they benefit from high-performance integrations for Microsoft Office, e-mail and CAD, viewing capabilities for all commonly used Office, CAD and multimedia formats, reliable change and release procedures and high-speed search functions through the entire data stock. This speeds up your work processes, minimizes search and archiving activities and ensures reliable know-how protection.

Run your PLM-processes qickly and reliably with best practices and templates

The systematic definition and implementation of best practices offer a number of different ways to improve performance. In this way, processes become more efficient and compliance management becomes more reliable. CIM Database helps companies map their processes to templates in order to support workflow organization and project work. Your employees can perform their routine tasks faster and with less effort directly on the CIM Database platform.

Make consistent use of workflows, status networks and tasks
Product development characteristically involves a high level of shared, parallel work. The starting point for improving process efficiency is therefore to replace manual processes and ineffective process interactions with digital procedures. This includes the synchronization of associated tasks with workflows and the qualification of the results through status networks. At the same time, your employees benefit from integrated task management and direct access to all the information they need for their tasks.

Combine project management and processing methodically perfect

With AgileRules, CIM Database provides the optimum methodology for combining project control and implementation. Every member of staff along the entire product lifecycle benefits from its integrated project functions.

Product development is an agile project undertaking. The key challenge lies in responding to changes within the bounds of a reliable framework. To make this possible, you need functions that permit changes to be made both bottom-up and top-down. Project structure plans, schedules, quality gates, checklists and deliverables are established planning and control instruments. CIM Database combines them intelligently with the functions for agile work by employees and teams working largely on their own responsibility.

Connect systems containing up-to-the-minute data throughout the enterprise

CAD data such as 3D models, drawings and circuit diagrams is a key source of information in the development process. With CONTACT Workspaces, you benefit from outstanding CAD and multi-CAD data management for better collaboration and reliable processes that interact with the PLM backbone. Workspaces also allows you to ensure cross-enterprise collaboration with partners and suppliers. It enables you to exchange CAD and product data faster and more reliably.

Achieve reliable synchronization with Catalyst Enterprise systems
The open, service-oriented architecture of CIM Database ensures the end-to-end consistency of business processes during their interactions with other enterprise-wide IT systems such as SAP. The application's capabilities range from the transfer of articles and BOMs, through the synchronization of document and project data and on to the parallel provisioning of data to multiple ERP systems. Catalyst Web Services therefore support the SOA concept with Internet-based protocols that interact directly with other enterprise services.

CIM Database PLM has proved its worth in every way as an open platform for our wide-ranging requirements and processes.
Benjamin Müller
PLM Project Manager
KIRCHHOFF Automotive

Everything for your PLM initiative – powered by CONTACT Elements

Powered by CONTACT Elements means: You use the world's most up-to-date platform and technology for the data management of virtual products, collaboration, and process and project management in the product engineering environment. CIM Database helps you do this with a comprehensive application portfolio and a range of best practices. Flexible like Lego, CONTACT Elements' modular design principle stands for solutions that are far more than the sum of their parts: each impressive in its own right – combined outstanding!

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