Arena PLM + QMS for AWS GovCloud
Arena, a PTC businessReviews from AWS customer
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Simple, straightforward PLM/eQMS system
What do you like best about the product?
Arena is a very simple PLM system with eQMS hooks. It mostly works one way out of the box with very limited customization required. Importing and exporting of data is very straightforward. Engineers are familiar with it.
What do you dislike about the product?
Part of Arena's simplicity is driven from its rather limited ability to be customized. That's not inherently a bad thing, but there are a few flows that could stand to be a bit more customizeable.
The off-the-shelf connectors get so, so close to offering something totally workable out of the box, but managed to miss the mark in some small way that required some customization.
For example: the SolidWorks connector doesn't pull the solidworks BOM automatically, despite sales literature showing that was indeed a feature. We developed our own quick script to do so.
Similar challenges were had with the integration to ERP: estimated costing, approved vendors, and some item metadata one would assume would be transferred to ERP were not, requiring some scripting on our end or incurring additional integration costs.
Still, it's a lot closer to being off-the-shelf than pretty much everything else out there we've used.
The off-the-shelf connectors get so, so close to offering something totally workable out of the box, but managed to miss the mark in some small way that required some customization.
For example: the SolidWorks connector doesn't pull the solidworks BOM automatically, despite sales literature showing that was indeed a feature. We developed our own quick script to do so.
Similar challenges were had with the integration to ERP: estimated costing, approved vendors, and some item metadata one would assume would be transferred to ERP were not, requiring some scripting on our end or incurring additional integration costs.
Still, it's a lot closer to being off-the-shelf than pretty much everything else out there we've used.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Dramatic reduction in effort to release a part
QMS behavior that links to parts
Connectivity with ERP
Better value chain
QMS behavior that links to parts
Connectivity with ERP
Better value chain
Recommendations to others considering the product:
The usual recommendations of figure out flows, try early and often to find annoying and goofy behavior
Clean, powerful PLM which hits a sweet spot for early implementation
What do you like best about the product?
Intuitive environment and UI, relatively easy training for new users, simple supplier access
What do you dislike about the product?
Many mass import/export or environment reconfiguration operations exist outside of Arena entirely and are performed in offline excel.
Some supplier visibility and approver routing operations are limited and complicated.
Supplier item changes versus item changes and relationships can sometimes be unpredictable.
Some supplier visibility and approver routing operations are limited and complicated.
Supplier item changes versus item changes and relationships can sometimes be unpredictable.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Design and documentation revision tracking, clear supplier communication, BOM tracking.
We've realized efficiency benefits in having a centralized revision controlled BOM for numerous products and test fixtures, while improving supplier communication. Also serves as a high confidence design file storage location.
We've realized efficiency benefits in having a centralized revision controlled BOM for numerous products and test fixtures, while improving supplier communication. Also serves as a high confidence design file storage location.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
Start early.
Rigid But Powerful
What do you like best about the product?
Arena's ability to track and record item data, provide access to suppliers, and release changes in a structured manor are its strengths. Items in Arena are separated between internal and external [supplier] items and provides a platform to set up complex relationships between the two sets - this along with the ability to control files/attributes for each item type separately creates a powerful way to control procurement and build to order specifications. Setting up partner access is quick and access parameters are straight forward. The change record features are sufficient and if processes can support supplier feedback in Arena, tracking implementation discussions and status of change records are available. The floor to implement Arena PLM is very low so long as the standard workflows align with company processes. The nature of Arena being a cloud based application makes accessibility its greatest feature. Item data is available anywhere in the world and complex supply chains are unified on one unified platform.
What do you dislike about the product?
Process workflows and power user tools are somewhat rigid. Complex revision policies, proper product development tracking, and mass item update tools could all use improvement. Item revision policies force the latest revision to be the effective revision universally - in this model there is no control over the effectivity of incremental updates to BOM items. There are ways to get around this issue, but it leads to unnecessary complexity which is something a small business can't afford. Other PLM products offer linked/mirrored developmental and production workspaces, Arena does not have this feature. There is no straight forward way to track the incremental development stages for items that have already been released to a production lifecycle phase. For a small business in a constant state of growth and change - mass updates of item attributes is unfortunately a common place thing. Arena is constantly improving, but mass changes are largely still an incredibly manual process.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Arena provides a baseline and straight forward source of record. Despite some shortcomings that can often lead to confusion, processes can be created around the Arena platform that align worldwide suppliers together to build complex products.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
For a platform with such a easy set up, Arena is quite powerful. To get the most out of the platform, however, it would need someone familiar with the its limitations to properly set up the categories and item attribute fields to get the most out Arena from the start.
Good but not Great!
What do you like best about the product?
The BOM management, layout, and structure are very clean. The only thing I don't like is that you cannot have design version and a production version live at the same time. This causes issues for the we perform engineering studies.
What do you dislike about the product?
The Quality World templates are too wide open for editing. The reporting tool is not very useful. There needs to be a way to duplicate quality processes and changes like there is for items. A lot of our quality processes repeat themselves over time and it was be a very useful tool.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
BOM management and change control. Huge savings in time for our previous paper based system.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
Great System.. I don't have any knowledge of the price
Best Option for small to medium size company
What do you like best about the product?
Arena is very easy to setup and best cloud option out there for small to medium size company. I also like the validation services that'r provided (with extra cost) but makes it easier for medical device companies. It's configurable somewhat but not always. It has helped make our Document Management and BOM control process very easy.
What do you dislike about the product?
Arena offers all kinds of reports although not very intuitive reports are available and it's pretty painful process to extract exact data. Weak Training Module and reporting functionality. It's almost of no use at this point as everything has to be done manually in Training from a Training Manager's perspectives. It requires you to create your own internal work instructions for your users.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
BOM Control, Electronic Document approvals, Electronic DHF using Project functionality
Recommendations to others considering the product:
It's a great PLM system for starters and small size companies. It's not THE solution for your QMS though. It still needs lots of more enhancement features to make it a great product for Medical Device companies. Do you own research on what you will be mainly using it for. It's definitely great for BOM Control just not what we would ideally want for Document Control, Training and Quality functionalities.
Sr. Document Control
What do you like best about the product?
Arena PLM System is user friendly, very easy to use and very straight forward. I've been using this system for the last 15 years and it been wonderful, I'm a very heavy user on a daily basic and Arena seems to really help make my job so much easier to manage all the BOM's/ECO/Items and so on. I would highly recommend Arena to all new start up company, easy to use and very affordable.
What do you dislike about the product?
Just like any other PLM systems, there are always room to improve over time and Arena seems to have lots of new released and new feature that they do add to their new released it
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Manage a lots of changes that Engineer make on a daily basic it's very hard to keep track of but with Arena system it's very automated and it does keep track of all history and traceable of all changes.
Using Arena PLM in startup transition from pre-revenue to production
What do you like best about the product?
1. Product and quality management that helps us scale a global supply chain.
2. Analytics provided integrated analysis of product development activities prior to establishing a production baseline; the change analysis feature was critical during the NPI phase.
3. Configuration management process metrics.
4. Initial implementation of Arena Project shows promise due to its seamless integration with item/change management and associated workflows.
2. Analytics provided integrated analysis of product development activities prior to establishing a production baseline; the change analysis feature was critical during the NPI phase.
3. Configuration management process metrics.
4. Initial implementation of Arena Project shows promise due to its seamless integration with item/change management and associated workflows.
What do you dislike about the product?
1. Entering password on every approval seems a bit much and cumbersome from a user perspective.
2. More integration with ERP and Salesforce needed.
3. Continued improvement in reporting is needed.
2. More integration with ERP and Salesforce needed.
3. Continued improvement in reporting is needed.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Arena PLM has helped Kymeta make the successful transition from the lab to commercialization for our first product. It is a critical operational tool in NPI and product development that yielded real benefits in achieving time-to-market with a quality product.
Good Hybrid of PLM and QMS
What do you like best about the product?
1) Linkage between products, changes, and quality processes makes it very effective for finding specific information quickly.
2) Flexibility of the modules and process workflows makes it easy to customize and update to meet FDA and ISO requirements.
3) The Validation Package is worth every cent. Arena provides the full validation file online for every update, and that saves my team a lot of time.
2) Flexibility of the modules and process workflows makes it easy to customize and update to meet FDA and ISO requirements.
3) The Validation Package is worth every cent. Arena provides the full validation file online for every update, and that saves my team a lot of time.
What do you dislike about the product?
Reporting functions are weak and not intuitive. When I export my Quality Process data into a report, I need to do a lot of clean up to make it useable in Excel.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We've been able to connect our Change Management process to Risk Management Files and Design History Files to make it easier to conduct a thorough impact assessment of changes.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
This is a great software for a small company. Validation is provided, it's easy to implement and it's expandable as you grow.
Easy implementation and great product support. Software is very easy to use.
What do you like best about the product?
Easy implementation, super product support, Software easy to use. It's been a great experience working with the Arena team.
What do you dislike about the product?
Email notifications is all or nothing, instead of only notifying when an action is needed. Emails are very busy, wish we had the ability to create our own email format.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Documenting Bill of Materials and Engineering Change Orders and communicating them to suppliers. Ensuring all documentation and backup Eng data is available in one master system and not sitting on individual computers.
Say What it Does....Does What it Says
What do you like best about the product?
Price point can't be beaten when your company has moved past the use of spreadsheets to manage BOMs.
What do you dislike about the product?
Interface could use a refresh. Although there have been recent updates, the many checkboxes within the app are archaic.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We now have a POR (Plan of Record). Once source for information.
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