Systems Engineering in PLM and SAP System Landscapes

SAP Intelligent Product Design - an important step on the way to the Single Source of Truth

Published 10/24/2019 | updated 07/25/2023

Data integrity means a competitive advantage for manufacturing companies: The higher the standard achieved, the more successful the end-to-end digital management of the product lifecycle. As one of the leading PLM providers, SAP has developed a solution that supports the implementation of Single Source of Truth scenarios. The collaboration platform SAP Intelligent Product Design (SAP IPD) helps the responsible employees to apply the methods of system engineering in a structured way. Coristo expert Christian Markus gives an introductory overview of the central user dimensions.

Systems Engineering in PLM and SAP System Landscapes

The complexity of today's product engineering processes (PEP) is growing at an increasing speed. As a result, the requirements for the methods and processes applied are also changing. Multidisciplinary approaches and cross-company cooperations are becoming common place.

Many companies turn to the approach of systems engineering to tackle this situation. The new cloud solution SAP Intelligent Product Design (SAP IPD) offers the possibility to seamlessly integrate this concept into the SAP PLM toolchain.

There are essentially three basic functions in SAP IPD:

  • A dashboard for the system developer (Live Product Cockpit)
  • Collaboration features
  • A tool for Model Based Systems Engineering with SysML (Enterprise Architecture Designer for IPD)

Advantage for Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

Especially in the integrated, model-based development of new systems, beginning with requirements engineering and management, there is a high potential for innovation. First, there is SysML as a ‘lingua franca’ of system development and the use of different SysML diagrams for structured documentation and cross-disciplinary communication. In addition, the integration of the SAP IPD solution into SAP and non-SAP system landscapes offers various advantages. To be especially emphasized is the traceability from requirement to business object in the SAP system.

Increased efficiency in change management

The objects modeled in SAP IPD can directly be linked with documents, bills of material, products, etc. This makes it very easy to determine which objects are affected by changes to requirements. When reengineering a part of a product, employees can immediately realise and evaluate the resulting effects on the overall system and which additional factors need to be taken into account.

SAP IPD as a component of digitalization

If you use SAP IPD, structured data is available for your downstream processes. The SAP product structure becomes the digital core in SAP PLM and ensures data consistency from requirement to digital twin. Normally, a digital thread of this quality can only be achieved with significantly greater effort. These two examples show how such a digital core of continuous, structured data can be used:

  • Faster to IoT scenarios: Values linked to requirements are communicated to the SAP Asset Intelligent Network AIN and serve as thresholds and threshold intervals for sensors. IoT scenarios can be designed throughout, starting at an early phase of product development, and can then be implemented much easier than without the integration of the system model and your IoT scenario in SAP AIN.
  • Efficient metric monitoring: There is also great potential in the constant and automated comparison of target values and actual values. Requirements can be adapted more and more to actual use during the evolution of systems. With IPD, the administrative effort is minimal.

Closing the loop with the experts of Coristo

Therefore, SAP IPD is an excellent solution for integrating Systems Engineering into the PLM and SAP system environment of your company.

As experts for end-to-end product lifecycle management, we would be pleased to advise you on how to use SAP IPD to integrate the earliest phases of product development into your existing PLM system landscape.

Take the next big step toward an fully integrated tool chain - without redundant data maintenance and with the highest level of data integrity ever!

For an initial consultation, simply contact us via. E-Mail: christian.markus@coristo.com. We look forward to your challenges!

CENIT Systems Engineering SAP IPD: SAP IPD fills the gap and supports the PEP from the requirement to the validated final product. The generated data is available for downstream processes in a structured form. Field data can be compared against these and trigger requirement driven change processes.

CORISTO: THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT EXPERTS

Coristo GmbH is a consulting and technology company in the SAP sector and is a part of the CENIT Group. Our focus is on process and IT consulting in SAP Product Lifecycle Management and integration into logistics and production processes in (SAP) ERP. We optimize your processes from method consulting to the implementation of the solution in the system.

Contact person

Swetlana Isaak

Swetlana Isaak

Communications Manager

Author

Christian Markus

Christian Markus

Coristo GmbH

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