PLM software reduces time-to-market for formula-based manufacturers by centralizing operations, creating a single source of truth, and facilitating cross-department communication and collaboration.
Trace One Devex PLM further reduces time-to-market by providing out-of-the-box configurations specifically tailored to each of the formula-based industries we serve: food and beverage, specialty chemicals, and personal care and cosmetics. These out-of-the-box setups can be further fine-tuned and customized—because even within the same industry, no two companies are alike—to achieve even greater efficiencies.
This baseline configuration is also a highly flexible, modular architecture that can be further customized through Trace One Devex PLM modules. Modules simplify future upgrades and reduce the total cost of ownership by eliminating the need for extensive customizations to the base configuration.
Each module addresses a unique phase of the innovation-production-release cycle. In addition to the time-to-market benefits that adopting PLM in the first place brings, the four Trace One Devex PLM modules listed below further reduce time-to-market by bringing greater efficiency to the specific process they address.
With the Product Formulation and Recipe Development module, formulators can adjust formulas on the fly, and even incorporate real-time regulatory calculations specific to each industry.
Food manufacturers, for example, will find views preconfigured to include bakery ratio calculations. Juice and alcoholic beverage manufacturers will see recipe views that incorporate target alcohol or juice percentages, while fragrance manufacturers will see views similarly customized to fragrance development. For paint companies, on the other hand, this module houses volatile organic compound (VOC) calculations. All of these calculations are included by default, so there’s no need for manual calculations or wasting time tracking down specifics in a bunch of disparate, disconnected places.
The Regulatory module automates regulatory checkpoints at every state of product development. All regulatory data, from region-specific requirements to global regulations, is housed in the Regulatory module.
Food manufacturers can quickly verify compliance with GMO or kosher requirements, for example, whereas chemical and cosmetics companies can easily pull up safety data sheet (SDS) information. Cosmetics manufacturers, meanwhile, can use the Regulatory module to drill down into product information file (PIF) data.
As a result, product compliance gets easier through more efficient, centralized processes. Non-compliance risk is more easily mitigated, and ingredient data can be tracked down quickly. And because past formulations are all in the same place and easily accessible, non-conformant ingredients can be updated in a snap to bring formulations back into compliance.
The Labeling module also improves traceability using streamlined and standardized processes. It includes ingredients statements and nutrition facts panels for food manufacturers, and INCI statements for cosmetics companies.
Of course, labeling requirements differ across regions, but the Labeling module puts it all (ingredient, allergen, nutritional, and claims compliance data) in the same place. With the Labeling module installed, labels can even be reworked in real time when recipes or regulations change.
Supplier collaboration is one of the greatest sources of inefficiency for all formula-based industries. The Supplier Collaboration Portal (SCP) creates a single place for all supplier data, and standardizes data so it can be retrieved, read, and incorporated quickly.
SCP is questionnaire-based: manufacturers create a questionnaire, which each supplier then fills out. Any field can become a required question, eliminating the back-and-forth of trying to track down supplier data. If a field is required, that supplier simply cannot submit the questionnaire until the field is filled.
And because manufacturers can incorporate their own calculation standards (such as rounding rules), all supplier data follows the same formatting, making data standardization easy. That makes auditing a much less painful affair—supplier documents are standardized and all in the same place.
SCP also provides a quick overview of the entire supplier network to quickly weed out any inefficiencies.
Industry-specific, pre-configured Trace One Devex PLM bundles include spec templates, pre-configured data sets, documents and reporting capabilities, and process workflows. Together, these out-of-the-box capabilities reduce time-to-market by creating a single, central data repository. Rooms full of binders become a thing of the past, collaboration gets easier, and efficiency becomes the norm.
In addition to those default benefits, the Trace One Devex PLM module framework offers an à la carte approach to product lifecycle management. This approach ensures flexibility and agility, allowing Trace One Devex PLM to conform to the needs of your business—even if those needs change down the road.