The best Product Life Management platform I ever used

I have been using it for the last three months, it required that I attended a one hour training to learn the ropes, after the training it was very easy and simple to work with it. It's the PLM tool I have ever used.

Pros

Since it works on the cloud, you don't need to invest in a dedicated computer server to operate it. It runs in Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android OS so I can easily switch from one device to another and keep track of the approvals on my documents. It's user friendly, which reduced the learning curve and allowed me to ramp up my productivity in a short time. You can upload several documents, and the system will merge them as only one, which is very useful. It's an excellent tool for document control, it helps me to update versions, and nobody has to worry about finding the new version, they only need to know where is the master document.

Cons

There are some process that has to be done manually, like for example when you request the approval of a document once all the approvers give the ok, the platform still requires that an administrator approves the process.

PLM Project Mgr

I have implemented Arena PLM over the years. The basic PLM information is easy to create and control. The new features and functionality always make for a centralized location for all information on Products in all lifecycle phases. Supplier access allows seamless communication for critical changes incorporation to product lines throughout various product lifecycles. Change Order/Deviation/ Corrective Action Request interface for contract manufacturer to collaborate actions to take on factory floor with critical actions for inventory dispositioning, for material planning and procurement. Centralized location for compliance documentation associated to items within a product. Workflow for Change Orders and Change Requests. Redlines for all Change Order controlled revisions on BOM's. The system is easily modified for unique requirements per company policies. Cloud application eliminates maintenance and hardware requirements which reduces IT cost. Incorporation of best business practices for the release and controlling all product data. New enhancements make this PLM a gem in a fast pace industry.

Pros

Ease of use and all the features to control changes of product lines. On cloud enhancements and maintenance done by software provider. Many ways to make this software

Cons

Spellcheck. Minimal issues

Ease to use the software

Pros

Visibility on key information that we need and ease in the set up of new account for access . Turn around time is short and approval process is easy to manage

Cons

No historical record on pricing and Arena pricing could only keep the price of one source , does not allow weighted cost for dual or multiple sources .

VERY FLEXIBLE AND POWERFUL, BUT ALSO CUMBERSOME

Arena has served us well as our PLM. It does what we need it to do!

Pros

The thing I liked most about the product was the ability to customize it to fit our needs. Once you understand how to use it the software can keep an excellent record of your product, parts, documents etc. that is easy to navigate.

Cons

The thing I like least about this product is the number of steps required to complete a task. Updating information for lots of items is cumbersome and the import tool that is meant to speed this up lacks documentation making it frustrating to learn. While I understand that some of this might be related to the flexibility that it offers there are a few features that could greatly improve efficiency, specifically related to making the same change to a large batch of items.

Arena is a FANTASTIC solution for the small to midsize company

Ability to manage the product record and collaborate with supply chain partners

Pros

In the startup environment with fewer than fifty employee Arena is simple to deploy, maintain, and exceptional for collaborating with key supply chain partners. Arena's ability to scale with the growth of the company and our expanding supply chain is critical to our success. As the company evolves and grown to more that 200 employees, Arena can evolve and keep pace when your business model. The ability to add additional features such as Quality, speaks well for the capability of the Arena Solution to grow.

Cons

As an Arena system administrator and user I would like to see more flexibility to develop custom work flows. The stage one, stage two methodology is perfect for managing the review and release process gates. However, I need the ability to customize the workflow after the change orders has been released and locked. There is a need for review and approval after release with supply chain partners that can not be addressed and part of the Implementation process.

Arena for a Small Materials Start-Up

Pros

We primarily utilize ARENA for part and document management. The main feature of ARENA that makes it an efficient tool is the ability to easily connect related parts. If a new part is generated, it is very easy to build out a BOM and attach all relevant documentation. And from the other side, it is easy to locate these items when searching for a particular part. Generating new items and documents is simple and straightforward, and the reviewing system is simple to use (and includes notifications for those who need to complete reviews).

Cons

The search function can be tricky to utilize, and is occasionally glitchy. Sometimes searches for known item numbers of document names will return no results, and wild-card searches seem finicky at best. On occasion, the behavior of the Changes functions can make Revisions somewhat difficult. Depending on whether a change has been rejected or withdrawn, it is sometimes impossible to make further edits to a revision until that change is "deleted", even though it had already been rejected. So there are a few minor issues that can impact the ease of use of the system.

Great for planning an expansion without risking huge CapEx.

Overall this is a really great product. The high level actions are easy to understand, and there are even graphics that can be used as specific inputs and outputs so that a presentation can have products rather than widgets. Also, the negatives of the strange statistical anomalies really are not a big deal. An experienced operations manager or engineer will know what to pay attention to and what is noise.

Pros

This program's biggest upside is its ability to provide a testing ground for potential upgrades, expansions, or new factories, facilities, etc. without needing to spend huge dollars on a physical pilot or building or the labor cost of a time study or statistical analysis from a Black Belt or other highly paid employee

Cons

Some of the random variables do not take into account reality well enough. I understand that true AI is not possible right now, but the fact is that purely statistics based tools can produce results that would never occur in the real world (i.e. A factory only attempts to build 3 units in an entire day and 3,000 the next day because it is possible in a Poisson Process).

It needs some efforts to start with it, but it worth it.

Good product organization, and control of the history of all revisions for all components, even their end of life. Suppliers use it as well.

Pros

THat after you add your products, then easily you can find each detail in it and the history review.

Cons

The time it needed to learn the process, and start to implement it. but it is like that when you start to learn a new process.

Recent Updates Have Improved it, but still missing bulk vendor permissions update

Pros

Approval signature flow works very well. Analytics is very powerful, but of course it comes at extra cost

Cons

The notification emails are too frequent and can be very cryptic as one learns the system. There is not bulk permissions update, so when vendor has a new person come on board, that person has to be manually added one-by-one to every Engineering Change Order they need to view.

Arena Review

Overall, Arena does the job it is supposed to, but the user experience could be better.

Pros

Arena is a good tool for managing complex Bill of Materials and supplier/sourcing relationships. Sourcing info is easy to find, and it's easy to see where a specific component is used.

Cons

The user interface is a bit outdated and not very visually appealing. The search functions are not always the best.

Easy to use, very user friendly software.

Pros

I use the software since 2014 and I love it. As I already mentioned, it's super user friendly and it takes no time to work comfortable with it. I contact support service few times and received the feedback in less then 24 hours. I like that developers listens users inquiries and improve Arena in new releases. Also it's very important that they provide webinars before software updates and send video that Administrators can share to all users.

Cons

It's hard to say because the product is great. However I wish it would be less limitation with number of items mass uploading. For example sometimes our ECOs have more then 100 items but we can not upload more then 50 in one shot

Arena has been a great tool for transitioning from no PLM to being able manage our products globally

Organization. The software has helped me organize and manage all of our part numbers. It has also allowed me to share the most up to date, and controlled information with our suppliers.

Pros

The learning curve is not too steep and the Arena team is regularly improving the functionality. Additionally the customer support has been top notch

Cons

Management of suppliers and sharing information (especially files) with suppliers leaves some room for improvement. Another key improvement would be improving the already useful search function to be able to exclude items from a search.

Arena provides a high degree of value; lots of functionality relative to the cost.

We aren't using all the potential benefits at present, but are working to take advantage of them. It is a solid tool for Configuration Management; we are just starting to use some of the capabilities that go beyond classic CM.

Pros

This tool allows an organization with limited Configuration Management experience to do an effective job of CM.

Cons

Some of the user interfaces could be improved to be more intuitive for those unfamiliar with CM or databases, but this is more a user training issue.

Intuitive, easy to use and flexible

Pros

- The advanced search tool I like the most. It helps me to filter what I need for change orders or part numbers regarding to any given attributes. - I also like the that you can customize attributes for ECRs, ECOs and items

Cons

Product revision control is a bit too manual (no auto-rev-up for parent items). Some GUI at the request level is confusing.

Very good system once you learn it, routing a bit complex for change orders.

Esig with all records and as EDMS both for Design and Production, Training records consolidated for those records, now ad hoc capability for external training records.

Pros

Training system now available, configurable for design and production environment. The company appears to listen and be responsive to problems when encountered in the released product.

Cons

Training system does not allow cloning for job specific tasks to be combined for higher level employees that perform multiple functions.

Very easy to get started and arrange Arena standard systems to match our way of working

All documentation in one place with all spec's and info attached to the BOM. Creates overview, peace of mind, reduces time to search for info, reduces confusion in the organization etc etc

Pros

Minimal set up, only create settings to match our need, and all files, data and info is linked to items so all info is in one place

Cons

Some User interface details, like the multifunction back key, top right corner is not so intuitive, i often need to explain the function. Moving from one item one level up in the BOM is not so easy, so moving between multileve partlists is not so intuitive. Editing BOM/spec can only be done when you in that level, so you have to first go into the subassy to be bale to add/remove items. There must be a way that this is not needed so you can do it anytime as long as you see the item you want to modify.

Easy to use cloud-based PLM system provides a stable and reliable source for controlled data

Reliable PLM controls

Pros

Mature software with many quick views and links to related information. Easy to train users, intuitive interface

Cons

Report writer is old and awkward and needs overhaul. Inability to provide searches/filters/reports based on stage of route for change orders.

Feature rich Web 2.0 application for product lifecycle management

Product is continuously improving

Pros

Greate once you understand how to use it. Easy to use, reliable, cloud provisioned. Help and support are available online, training videos, too.

Cons

Hard to learn, difficult for users who are familiar with rich application interfaces. It's a hard sell for people used to modern applications.

Good

Pros

Simple and easy to use and access. Our users easily to find information and document they looking for.

Had a positive experience using the software, and keeps a great record of the history of changes.

Pros

Ties items and assemblies together to find full history of the changes, ECO's, and Deviations. The new changes included a header change to show the progress of the ECO, which helps to view the status.

Cons

Sometimes hard to navigate and search for requested items. The "Changes" View doesn't show a list of items, so unless you know what you're searching for specifically, it is hard to see it on the changes tab.