What is the Need for Integrated CAD-ERP Software?
Manufacturing companies combine Engineering (CAD) and Production (ERP) to make products. However, industry giants like SOLIDWORKS (CAD) and Infor SyteLine (ERP) do not directly link with each other. Is there a need for integrated CAD-ERP software?
For most of the engineers that I know, their passion is new product development. They are at their best while working within SOLIDWORKS where they are inventing and creating. Unfortunately, a large portion of an engineer’s valuable time is spent inputting data to recreate the critically important BOM (Bill Of Materials) within SyteLine (or CloudSuite Industrial). On average, each engineer creates an hour of BOM data entry time per day. Without a way to connect SOLIDWORKS to SyteLine, that BOM data will have to be duplicated again within the ERP software.
CADLink’s interface serves as your SOLIDWORKS SyteLine Link
ERP software ultimately drives the production process but the BOM originates within CAD. The BOM work that is necessary to take a model from ‘designed’ to ‘manufactured’ is disconnected from the ERP system.
As a result, the BOM must be transferred to the ERP software somehow. Without a link, engineers are required to retype the same information into their company’s ERP system. This process not only wastes an engineer’s time on manual data entry but it leads to costly clerical errors.
There is a clear need for a SOLIDWORKS SyteLine link.
A typical production process that uses SOLIDWORKS(CAD) and Infor SyteLine (ERP) looks like this:
Prototype & BOM creation in CAD (SOLIDWORKS) → Retype info into ERP (SyteLine) → Job creation → Routing Assigned → Parts Purchased → Inventory Assigned → Labour assigned → Part created
With an integrated CAD-ERP system, your company can:
- Increase the speed of data flow throughout departments
- Reduce costly clerical data errors
- Keep your engineers focused on designing instead of data entry
- See significant improvements in production speed, on-time shipments, and accuracy of SyteLine engineering data
- Reduce engineering costs, scrapped parts, and shop floor confusions
Integrated CAD-ERP software, like QBuild’s CADLink for SyteLine, allows companies to pass data between CAD and ERP to handle engineering changes in both systems at one time. CADLink takes CAD data directly from the on screen drawing and pushes it directly to your ERP through a SyteLine CAD interface and SyteLine BOM import.
Time saving features of CADLink include:
- Part numbers are automatically transferred into the SyteLine BOM from SOLIDWORKS
- Auto checking of part numbers: Part numbers are picked up from CAD and then matched up in the ERP to see what part numbers already exist and what are new. Any errors or discrepancies are visually noted and easily adjusted to ensure they match long before inventory is ordered.
- 100% fidelity between SOLIDWORKS and SyteLine and bidirectional data to ensure both systems have the same data at all times
QBuild Software is first and foremost an engineering company. Our integrated CAD-ERP software was built by engineers for engineers. As a result, we pride ourselves that our software comes equipped with the features engineers need the most. The majority of implementations can be done in less than a month with a typical ROI of less than 6 months. Engineers can be trained to use CADLink in less than an hour.
QBuild’s CADLink software works with all of the popular systems, including SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD, Inventor, Creo, Solid Edge and, of course, your ERP Infor SyteLine. Set up a free demo to see QBuild’s CADLink in action!
