“New product development has become increasingly complex for manufacturers. Connecting mechanical and electrical CAD data, PDM, and PLM enables a product digital thread that provides consistent, up-to-date product information across the organization. As a result, companies can better address complexity, improve collaboration, and achieve the agility they need to compete in dynamic markets.”
– Howie Markson, Tech-Clarity Director of Research
The Core Problem: Engineers waste 20% of their time (one full day per week) searching for files, fixing errors from outdated data, and dealing with poor collaboration across CAD systems leading to delays, cost overruns, and quality issues
The Solution: A "digital thread" connects all product data (MCAD, ECAD, PDM, PLM) so everyone works from the same accurate information resulting in 85% easier data access, 72% more accurate data, and 69% better cross-team collaboration
Why Manufacturers Should Care Now: 74% face supply chain disruptions, 79% experience delays from multi-CAD challenges, and 66% say digital thread integration is critical to staying competitive against new market entrants and offshore manufacturers
What the Research Recommends: Use the 80-20 rule to focus on high-value use cases, connect existing systems without ripping-and-replacing, take a phased approach, and choose CAD-agnostic SaaS solutions especially for regulated industries needing compliance tracking.
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