The renowned English mathematician Isaac Newton once said, “If I can see further than anyone else, it’s only because I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.” This statement rings true for the business world as well. Success often comes from a combination of old realities, new dreams, and the strength to chase new ideas.

For example, today, many OEMs opt for SolidWorks as preferred 3D CAD design software. As the world’s most popular CAD software, SolidWorks has helped many businesses design their products by speeding up the design of large assemblies and validating models. However, an organization’s journey from idea to product cannot be conceived by a 3D CAD design software alone; it remains a team effort across the supply chain. And, considering that today products are no longer developed by a brand’s in-house engineering team, it has become paramount to have seamless collaboration between internal and external engineers, designers, and project managers throughout a product lifecycle. Cementing its expertise around this need of the hour, the SolidWorks partner that helps OEMs maintain a collaborative environment across the entire OEM supply chain is Upchain.

What makes Upchain a preferred choice for many OEMs is the fact that its PLM solutions are user-friendly even for non-engineers

“Our vision is shaping a completely interconnected supply chain from the first nut to the final bolt where collaboration is the default setting and the mission-critical data is simultaneously accessible and secure,” highlights James White, VP of partner enablement at Upchain.

Based out of Toronto, Canada, Upchain is a cloud-based PLM company that offers a CAD-neutral PLM experience. In stark contrast to conventional PLM, where all data need to be migrated, Upchain users can layer the PLM tools onto a company’s existing legacy environment through a series of prepackaged APIs. Clients can run the PLM tool within the SolidWorks interface and integrate it with other mainstream systems of record, such as CAD, PDM, CRM, ERP, and even other PLM systems. The system can automatically push or pull lighter weight data from those systems and offer full visibility into the client’s process at a glance. This helps in spotting roadblocks, prioritizing issues, securing feedback, and signing off from stakeholders in real-time using tools like Outlook and Gmail.

This way data is never outdated or missing, and all product stakeholders can access the information as and when required. Therefore, users can focus on turning their ideas into great products.

What makes Upchain a preferred choice for many OEMs is the fact that its PLM solutions are user-friendly even for non-engineers. As a result, businesses can avoid many of the pitfalls of launching a new PLM implementation. In addition, considering many companies have similar business processes, Upchain has created template workflows that suit most businesses. White states, “Since our solution does not have to go through the extensive custom configuration, it helps the team get our product up and running much faster, giving a head start to our clients for making any specific configuration later.”

"Our vision is shaping a completely interconnected supply chain from the first nut to the final bolt where collaboration is the default setting, and the mission-critical data is simultaneously accessible and secure"

Having been recognized as a fast-growing PLM solution provider and a reputed SolidWorks partner, Upchain has already established itself as a force to reckon with. The company plans to grow its capabilities and evolve further in the coming months. “Businesses do not stand still, and we do not expect them to either. Thus, we are ever-changing and adapting to clients’ configured workflows so that we can mirror any probable business process changes faster,” concludes White.