NOTE: Check out our other post on engineering change order process with 3D PDF here.

PROSTEP continues to expand the world’s leading PLM integration platform OpenPDM by adding standard connectors that allow a wide range of different PLM, ERP and other backend systems to be connected “as-is” and the data to be synchronized or migrated. The company recently created a seamless integration between the cloud PLM solution from Arena Solutions and SAP’s ERP system, which is already in productive use at customer sites in the USA.

Arena Solutions, a US American PLM manufacturer, is a true pioneer when it comes to cloud PLM. The company has been offering its customers cloud-based SaaS applications for product lifecycle management and quality assurance for over 15 years. They are primarily used by smaller start-ups and leading high-tech companies in the USA but also by customers in 80 other countries.

The company has created an integration solution between Arena PLM and SAP together with PROSTEP’s US subsidiary that makes it possible for customers to bring their new products to market faster. The OpenPDM-based integration ensures that manufacturing is always working with the latest version of BOMs, article master data, approved manufacturing lists and associated documents.

The OpenPDM connector accesses the Arena PLM module ERP Exchange, which exports product information like BOMs, change orders, article master data and parts master data as a PDX package in XML format. OpenPDM validates the data and any changes made to it and then automatically imports it into SAP. It is also possible to supply different instances of the ERP system with data. Data transfer is logged and can be monitored in a dashboard to enable immediate response to any errors that occur while the data is being transferred.

With its OpenPDM connector for Arena PLM, PROSTEP demonstrates that the world’s leading integration platform can also be used to connect cloud-based PLM solutions with on-premise enterprise applications. The company is currently developing an enhanced connector to the cloud-based ERP solution SAP S/4 HANA, which will allow OpenPDM to also support hybrid cloud/cloud scenarios in the future.

Watch the ARENA PLM and SAP ERP Integration Demo Below

In the demo you’ll see how an ARENA PLM change order is integrated with SAP for complete, up-to-date information in both systems.

ARENA PLM and SAP ERP Integration Demo

Here is the Engineering Change Order with Arena PLM and Integration with SAP Workflow

• 00:00:05
  • Create an engineering change order with ARENA PLM.  Note that you have three materials in an unreleased state.
• 00:00:55
  • Verify that these materials are not located in SAP.
• 00:01:35
  • Create an engineering change order to move the materials into production.
  • ARENA PLM shows you the tab used to create the change.
  • The process to create a change includes adding a title and a description to the ECO.
  • After you create the change order, you will attach the materials to the change.
• 00:03:13
  • Materials are added to the change order – ECO-000044.
  • Your changes are submitted for approval.
• 00:03:45
  • The changes will need to be approved by your designated approver.
• 00:04:40
  • After the changes are made, your SAP should reflect the changes.
  • PROSTEP OpenPDM ARENA SAP integration connector makes this happen.
• 00:05:25
  • The green light on OpenPDM’s interface indicates the SAP integration connector is connected.
  • Create a new activity in OpenPDM to pull data from ARENA ERP Exchange and import the necessary information into SAP.
  • This is a manual trigger of import.  OpenPDM allows for scheduled import.
• 00:05:55
  • The export/import process begins.
  • OpenPDM pulls ARENA information and imports the materials into SAP.
• 00:06:24
  • After successful transfer into SAP, you notice the materials are created in SAP.
• 00:06:43
  • You can verify that these materials were successfully imported in SAP
• 00:07:43
  • Your change order ECO-000044 was released to SAP.
• 00:08:05
  • You can verify that the parts are in SAP
• 00:09:10
  • The changes are reflected in ARENA change master.
• 00:10:10
  • The changes are reflected in ARENA BOM.

About ARENA PLM SAP ERP Integration

PROSTEP’s OpenPDM connector for ARENA PLM and SAP integration uses ARENA ERP Exchange to automate the transfer of released product record information from Arena to SAP.

The integration validates data changes before importing them to SAP.  An audit trail records success and failure for product data and change order transfers.  You can monitor changes and the success of the product record transfers through the Arena dashboard.