Research on ERP and PLM Integration Based on R&D Project Management
Xu Zhao , Kai-chao Yu
Faculty of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering,Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming,China
(zhaoxu417@126.com, kmust.aaron@163.com)
Abstract - Due to the uncertainty of characteristics of
demand, technical and periodic progress of Product R&D
projects, The conventional project management software is
generally difficult to meet the demand of the product R&D
projects management. The integration of PLM and ERP can
make the project time, cost, task and resource integrated, in
order to achieve the needs of R & D projects involving the
effective management of costs, resources, and progress. In
this paper, built a project management system architecture
based on Windchill PLM and SAP ERP integration, and
have been studied the key technologies of system
implementation.
Keywords - PLM,Product R&D, Project Management
ERP, System Integration
I. INTRODUCTION
Under the aggressive process of globalization, more
and more companies have recognized the importance of
the success rate of new product R & D, continue to
introduce competitive new products and improve the corecompetitiveness of enterprises are the fundamental way to
ensure the sustainable development of enterprises[1].
Project management, as an advanced management
methods, not only contribute to comprehensive
management the progress, costs, resources of product R &
D projects, but also improve product R & D efficiency
and quality [2]. Therefore, the project management of
product R & D has become a new research topic.
Based on domestic and foreign research and
application of IT project management, project
management software can be roughly divided into project
management and non-project management of two major
categories. project management software is based on the
project's construction methods, use of network planning
techniques, integrated management of a class of
application software during the construction progress,
costs, resources, etc. [3], such as P3, (the Primavera the
Project Planner), the MS the Project, Harvard Total the
Project management,, Harvard Project Manager, and so
on. At present, many types of project management
software have a well developed. On the other hand, nonproject management software, is a business management
project based on project management and enterprise
management integration of enterprise management
applications such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
and PLM (product lifecycle management), project
management is usually one of the core functionality[4].
Because of the uncertainty of demand, technical and
periodic progress of R & D project management, the R &
D enterprise is often use ERP and PLM project
management software. However, due to the different
focus of the ERP and PLM project management - ERP
system focuses on the project time and cost management,
while PLM system focus on the management of project
tasks and resources. Therefore, ERP and PLM integration
can be achieved effectively manage all the work involved
in the project. In other words, based on the PLM and ERP
integration project management can achieve the needs of
product R & D projects, costs, resources, and the progress
of a comprehensive, systematic management, it is worth
in-depth study[5].
II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF R&D PROJECT
MANGEMENT
R & D enterprise project management focuses on the
whole process of management of R & D projects, R & D
projects from the decision-making, project control,
acceptance, trial production, the market reaction processes
formed a large circle, while each of the specific
implementation process a link composed of many small
processes. R & D project has the following
characteristics[6-8]:
1) The uncertainty of demand, R & D projects can
only be a rough target, may be the entire development
process is a learning process, it is difficult to take a whole
consider of the project details in the feasibility analysis
stage.
2) The technological uncertainty, R & D project
needs to overcome one or more technical problems in the
process of research and development. It requires repeated
judgment established the feasibility of technology
roadmap, and the need to rely on external forces, etc.;
3) R & D projects have characteristics of the type of
material parts of many but a small number.
The difficulty of R & D project management is:
1) R & D projects the need for timely follow-up
market demand, resulting in a lot of R & D projects to the
lack of overall R & D project strategy, in order to seize
market opportunities, to accelerate the progress of the
project, resulting in the increase in the rate of failure of
the project.
2) R & D projects need in the project
implementation process does not stop the overcome the
technical problems and technical research, project
progress is difficult to control, despite the project have a
detailed project node program, but the actual
implementation of it is difficult to achieve, and unable to
timely carry out risk tips and alarm[9][10].
3) R & D project process knowledge information,
the need for careful knowledge management, need a
reasonable knowledge management and sharing of ways
to make that knowledge can be passed to improve the
similar R & D projects in enterprises, and improve the
efficiency of the Enterprise Project Management[11].
III. THE MAIN METHOD OF PLM AND ERP
INTEGRATION
There are three type methods of PLM and ERP
integration. First, the public interface platform developed
by PLM-owned or ERP-owned software company, such
as SAP XI, SAP's exchange infrastructure is an
application integration platform SAP NetWeaver
middleware products the part is used to provide a platform
for other heterogeneous systems with SAP data and
processes interact. Public interface platform provides a
variety of heterogeneous systems interface, easy to
operate, but requires companies to purchase the module,
and employ the module consultants for guidance, the costs
incurred are generally spend so much, many enterprises to
take difficult to apply,it is Applies to to large enterprises,
and enterprises are involved in many kinds of information
systems of the type of underlying database[12][13].The
second way is direct database access, after the analysis of
PLM and ERP systems database, direct access to the
interaction between the two systems database[14].Third
through business self-developed intermediate data in the
middle of table conversion, real-time transmission of data,
the investment in this way is small, quick, but generally
only applies to data transfer between two systems. The
multi-system will have a greater risk[15].
This study only involved in PLM and ERP systems, so
choose the third approach for integrated design and
development.
IV.THE INFORMATION MODEL BASED ON PLM
AND ERP INTEGRATION
PLM and ERP integration module release the WBS
and BOM data to the ERP system, publish the module to
split the project to the specific tasks and split into parts
data of material data, then integrated package in the form
of release, release data stored as XML in the specified
directory of the ERP system, ERP system conversion ERP
WBS and BOM data. PLM and ERP integration
information model in Fig 1.
Working
hours
management
The project
cost control
Project
budget
Purchasing
Inventory
Management Management
ERP
WBS
BOM
PLM
Product R & D R & D projects Component
data
architecture Master Data
management management Management
Database
Fig 1 the PLM and ERP integrated information model diagram
The biggest difference between ERP -PLM integration
based on Project management and general ERP-PLM
integration is that the transfer of information between the
two systems is not only based on the BOM information,
but also require the transfer of the project WBS, and
project task split and issued. The BOM transfer between
ERP system and PLM system makes the enterprise as a
whole to the parts in the process of R & D projects for the
control of the whole process, from the drawings, digital to
analog models, assembly drawings to the relevant parts
procurement, vendor selection, inventory control, and
overall management of the R & D projects in various
parts. However, if the R & D projects as a whole control,
the WBS elements are the important elements need to
pass between two systems, In the PLM system to build
the project in the project WBS structure to determine the
time of the project node and key nodes, after the interface
through the middle of the WBS architecture and the
corresponding project node and transmission of
information to the ERP project in the ERP project budget
for the project funding programs, materials and working
hours, consumption control. Thus, it is reasonable to
control project costs and tasks of the various stages of
time, reduce the cost of doing business risk, and improve
enterprise efficiency.
The data release from PLM to the ERP system:
(1) The WBS structure of project and various stages of
time node split the middle of the program WBS for
specific tasks planned by the project management module
of the ERP software implementation of the mandate.
(2) parts, including the encoded version, the drawing
version and the involved manufacturers model attribute
information by the corresponding modules of the ERP
software, parts procurement, and various parts inventory
management.
(3) BOM structure information, Cloth to ERP BOM
structure information BOM three elements: the parent, the
number of sub key and sub key.
Data dissemination rules PLM-side data table to the
three types of information from the ERP interface table
one-to-one mapping, and ultimately through the program
interface in the ERP software to create the appropriate
project structure, corresponding to the procurement plan,
the implementation of the project tasks[15].
V.THE KEY TECHNOLOGIES OF INTEGRATED
DEVELOPMENT AND REALIZATION
Establish a standardized and unified interface data
structure design is a key technology integration and
implementation of PLM and ERP, PLM integration output
to establish a unified data structure of the base table, the
other systems required to enter all the information
classified in the base table in a seemingly close actually
very
flexible
integration;
implementation
and
development is fairly easy to do so in the application of
the integrated system. Only need to create the same data
structure and the same name of the base table view, this
integrated approach and procedures designed to naturally
have a comprehensive migration and inheritance.
The integrated solution is the most important technical
point is the data reorganization technology, construction
code generator.
(1)The data reorganization is one of the ultimate goal
of PLM and ERP integration, data sharing and use of data
reorganization to achieve data consistency, to reduce the
complicated types of interfaces between systems;
(2) When integration of the two systems using the
middle of the table, the structure of the code generator is
very important. Generally, the formation of the concept of
parts and materials generated at the stage of product
development and design, this time also generate the
formation of the items code in the PLM system,
production planning, procurement, use of the above items
code. However, the heterogeneous ERP system and PLM
system may exist to express the mutual opposite sex and
multiplicity of the same items encoded. So in the design
of the integrated program will generate a code translation
table to construct a code generator translates the
information of the two different encoding WBS coding,
and data transfer between two systems.
VI. Conclusion
PLM solution of the product development process,
data and process management, and R & D department, the
relevant departments of the enterprise, collaborative
applications on the product data between enterprises and
R & D projects in the tasks and the cycle of detailed and
accurate control; and ERP is overall balance and optimize
the management of human, financial, material,
information, time and other resources owned by
enterprises. PLM and ERP integration, play to the
strengths of the two management software, to solve a
large number of special needs exist in the R & D projects.
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