Manufacturers leverage Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software to oversee the entire life cycle of a product, from design to disposal. A PLM solution collects various data points tied to other enterprise software applications and makes them accessible to users across manufacturing departments. These data are essential for manufacturers to optimize their production process, comply with regulations, promote employee collaboration, generate documentation, reduce quality issues, etc. There are many PLM software solutions available, but they don’t always have the same capabilities and differ in their approach to product visibility. To help simplify the purchase decision process, this blog post compares 7 renowned PLM software options from ABI Research’s PLM for Large Manufacturers competitive ranking.
Table of Contents:
What Is PLM Software?
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software is a centralized data repository for manufactured products. It contains crucial information about changes from the design to the shipping process. The data-richness of a PLM solution is crucial, enabling manufacturers to design, develop, and ship their products more efficiently and sustainably. In today’s complex global supply chain, having a central repository of product information is not just beneficial, it's crucial. In this regard, PLM software helps enterprises manage parts orders, documentation, regulation compliance, engineering changes, and more. To keep track of all up-to-date product information, PLM software integrates with other enterprise software applications, such as Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Quality Management System (QMS) tools.
1. PTC
Boston-headquartered PTC was deemed the leading PLM software company in ABI Research’s most recent competitive assessment. PTC has a strong customer base of large manufacturers such as Raytheon, the U.S. Navy, Volkswagen, Cummins, ABB, Johnson & Johnson, and Nextracker. PTC offers two PLM solutions: Windchill (on-premises and SaaS) and Arena (SaaS). Companies in the industrial, A&D, automotive, electronics & high tech, and medical devices spaces are key users of PTC PLM software.
Manufacturers in highly regulated industries, such as A&D and medical devices, will appreciate PTC’s industry-specific cloud deployments of PLM. Moreover, PTC PLM software integrates new technologies like generative AI and AR/VR.
Overall, PTC is one of the biggest names in the PLM market. Its PLM software integrates with a PTC portfolio of solutions and third-party software to develop a complete digital thread of a product’s lifecycle. This ensures that manufacturers can quickly and efficiently design, produce, deliver, and service their products.
2. Siemens
Siemens’ Teamcenter platform placed second in our ranking, being one of the most forward-looking PLM software solutions available today. The PLM product can be fine-tuned to accommodate any manufacturing vertical, as Siemens helps customers design software for specific industries. The German company offers all the same features with a cloud-based SaaS version called Teamcenter X.
Teamcenter Assistant, an AI chatbot supported on both Teamcenter and Teamcenter X, is a distinct feature of Siemens’ solutions not included in most PLM offerings. Teamcenter Assistant helps with repetitive tasks, problem-solving, and action recommendations. Teamcenter X also comes with AR/VR support to facilitate real-time collaboration between the design and production tracking processes.
3. Dassault Systèmes
Placing third in ABI Research’s PLM vendor assessment is French software company Dassault Systèmes, offering a PLM software solution called ENOVIA since 1999. Today, manufacturers can either choose from an on-premises version of ENOVIA or a SaaS version built on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Discrete manufacturers are the main customers of the on-premises ENOVIA solution, enabling them to track product data.
When ENOVIA runs on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, manufacturers can integrate the PLM software with renowned enterprise applications such as CATIA for CAD, SIMULIA for product simulation, and DELMIA for manufacturing simulation. Moreover, a notable application of Dassault Systèmes’ PLM solution is Classification Manager, a system that tracks/records and classifies product components, and compares and cross-references the prices/viability of various parts from vendors.
Discrete and processes industries will also appreciate that Dassault Systèmes delivers regulatory compliance with quality management. Finally, the company’s integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) signals its commitment to pushing PLM software to new heights. For example, AI can recommend product redesigns that help a manufacturer meet its sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
4. Autodesk
Autodesk is a well-known manufacturing software provider based in San Francisco. The company’s two core PLM software tools are Vault PLM and Fusion 360 Manage with Upchain, the latter being a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) PLM. Fusion 360 Manage with Upchain has strong Computer-Aided Design (CAD) data extraction capabilities and supports a smooth shift between Product Data Management (PDM) and PLM. The platform ensures product data—down the manufacturing line—are updated in real time. Autodesk’s PLM solutions pull data not just from the usual Mechanical Computer-Aided Design (MCAD), but also from Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM), Electronic CAD (ECAD), and Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE).
The biggest customers of Autodesk’s PLM software come from discrete industries, including automotive, electronics, and Aerospace and Defense (A&D). This is because these industries benefit the most from Autodesk’s focus on large-scale PDM and Bill of Materials (BOM) management.
5. Aras
Aras, founded in 2000 and based out of Andover, Massachusetts, offers PLM solutions with its main product, PLM Innovator, as a configurable cloud-enabled SaaS platform. Innovator leverages AI to simplify compliance processes by converting complex documents into usable data, enhancing product integrity and regulatory adherence. While it lacks AR/VR capabilities, Aras is exploring these technologies’ potential applications for future integration into Innovator.
Aras Innovator PLM is popular among discrete manufacturing companies like General Electric and Kawasaki but lacks tailored solutions for process industries requiring manual configuration. Despite being available through various channels, including Aras, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), and Microsoft Azure, its market share ranks lower compared to competitors.
6. SAP
SAP ranked seventh in the PLM software vendor assessment. While SAP PLM isn't as prevalent as its ERP software counterpart, it's widely adopted by large-scale manufacturers across various industry verticals. Integrated with SAP's S/4HANA ERP cloud system, SAP PLM enhances product visibility and transparency, ensuring compliance and regulation adherence.
However, SAP PLM lacks direct AI integration and AR/VR features, relying on SAP Business AI for Supply Chain Management. Despite its extensive partner ecosystem, SAP PLM faces scalability challenges and offers limited user customization options. In terms of market share, SAP ranks 5th with 10.36%, trailing behind Autodesk.
7. Infor
Infor offers three cloud-based PLM solutions: PLM Process (Optiva), PLM Fashion, and PLM Discrete. PLM Process (Optiva) is tailored for food, beverage, chemicals, and life science manufacturers, providing the product visibility capabilities required to comply with regulations and labeling protocols.
PLM Fashion, as the name suggests, is designed to support the fashion industry’s efforts in driving insight through various product information across the value chain (line planning, design, consumer trends, etc.).
The PLM Discrete offering allows discrete manufacturers (automotive, electronics, A&D, etc.) to quickly share vital product data with key stakeholders to ensure design efficiency and optimal time to market.
Infor prices are based on an employee’s role, such as operator, line manager, or engineer. This way, you only pay for the PLM functionalities that your organization actually requires. Finally, Infor PLM comes with customized dashboards so that users see all the key metrics, graphs, and product quality alerts they care about on the homepage.
A Further Look at the Top PLM Software Companies
Product lifecycle management software is rapidly evolving to accommodate manufacturers’ increasing requirements. A single source of truth is critical for enterprises to optimize product designs, tweak supply chain strategies, meet regulatory compliances, etc. New technology integrations like AI and mixed reality enhance PLM software capabilities by automating tasks and promoting immersive means of coordination for engineers and other manufacturing employees. At the same time, a growing number of SaaS-based solutions reduce costs and minimize deployment complexity. The increased adoption of PLM software is expected to result in an estimated US$25.7 billion market valuation by 2033, according to ABI Research’s most recent forecasts.
The vendors compared in this article are at the forefront of cutting-edge PLM software. But which companies are the best? ABI Research recently ranked 11 PLM vendors, with the top three unveiled in the Research Highlight Selecting the Right PLM Software Supplier as a Large Manufacturer.
