GE and PTC expand collaboration to deliver integrated PLM-MES Solution

GE is to resell the PTC Manufacturing Process Management software in combination with with its own Proficy MES software. While manufacturing information can be passed directly from the PTC Windchill solution to the GE Proficy for Manufacturing Discrete product today, the companies expect to deliver an expanded closed-loop integrated solution in 2014.

PTC and GE share a common vision of an ‘Industrial Internet’ where the future of manufacturing is transformed through the use of smart, connected products. 

GE and PTC will integrate offerings based on industry best-practices for product lifecycle management (PLM) and MES business processes. The joint solution will manage a closed loop of product information among engineering, manufacturing production and service. Product structures and 3D product representations defined by engineering become the basis for manufacturing routings and manufacturing bills of materials (mBOMs) which are then used to manage shop floor activity and coordinate with ERP systems. 

Shop floor information, such as the ‘as-built’ BOM, can also be shared with PLM and ERP systems to complete the closed loop with engineering. The complete view of a finished product can also be shared with a company’s service organisation to optimise service delivery and performance.
 

 “Manufacturers place a premium on their ability to introduce products faster, keep production costs low, and keep product quality high,” explained Jim Walsh, general manager, Software and Services, GE Intelligent Platforms. “Essential to meeting these goals is ensuring that products are built precisely as they were designed. PTC’s PLM solution is the best complement to our GE Proficy solution and our organisation is energised by the opportunity to offer a differentiated solution to solve one of our customers’ most significant challenges.”

Closing the loop between early-stage engineering design activities, production processes on the plant floor and the service organisation, manufacturers can reduce errors, increase flexibility in how they manage late-stage engineering changes, reduce work-in-process, and, ultimately, accelerate new product introductions.