The company I am working for is upgrading its ERP system since the current system will be losing support soon (E2 Shop to E2 MFG). We are trying to reduce BOM building for whenever orders are placed, and reducing confusion and mistakes that are rooted in mismatching information between the ERP and PDM files. To solve this, I am looking into solutions that can link the ERP and PDM Professional SQL databases so that part/product entries in the ERP have the same descriptions and part numbers as PDM.1, 2, 4, 5
I was told by the CEO (this is a small company) that the ERP guys highly recommended against any sort of link with SolidWorks (PDM). My manager has also heard from people at Netsuite and other enterprise business software companies that linking the PDM engineering document information to the ERP system so the entries match does not provide advantages.
However, there are a number of ERP/PDM link solutions on the market, some of which came recommended in this thread:
https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/216333
(CADLink is discussed briefly, but 2 years is a long time for software to either get better or worse. I also read that it has a relatively quick ROI time depending on the situation.3)
Three questions:
A. Do ERP/PDM links cause more problems than they solve?
B. It appears that QBuild's CADLink may be the only product currently able to link the new ERP and PDM. What are your experiences with CADLink?
C. Out of genuine curiosity, how much would it cost to build a solution by hiring a SQL/software guy? Where would a good place be to find out how much this kind of solution would cost?
Sources:
2. https://elmosolutions.com/cad-erp-integration/
3. https://www.erpsoftwareblog.com/2017/02/cadlink-integrates-cad-erp-saves-1000s/
Paywalled Papers:
4.
Theory and Practice of Industrial and Production Engineering, edited by Arkadiusz Gola, and Gola Arkadiusz, Trans Tech Publications, Limited, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/wmichlib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4415126.
5.
Wang, Cheng, Shi Bo Wang, and Feng Ling Zhang. "Research on Integration of PDM and ERP System." Applied Mechanics and Materials 33 (2010): 337. ProQuest. Web. 21 May 2020.