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1 Overview

Product-data management (PDM) helps cut the time and cost of bringing new products to the market. Computer systems can handle, process and control the mass of data needed to cope with today's fast- moving markets. Computer-based PDM systems are designed to:

  • Store, control and manage documents (text, graphics, drawings etc) and other information about products, whether on paper or in computers.

  • Enforce and manage the processes of creating and using these documents.

  • Enable engineering teams to share information on products and processes quickly and with consistent accuracy.

  • Permit the integration of techniques such as computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) into coherent business systems across an entire enterprise.

Experienced early users of PDM are reporting:

  • Engineering costs reduced by at least 10 per cent

  • Product development cycles shorter by at least 20 per cent

  • Change-handling time reduced by at least 30 per cent

  • The number of changes themselves reduced by nearly 40 per cent

  • When used in conjunction with concurrent engineering techniques, time-to-market falling by up to 50 per cent.

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Last Revised: Mon Dec 1 11:31:21 1997