Communications between manufacturer running 3DEXPERIENCE and Suppliers introduces numerous challenges. There are challenges at the development level in different design practices and development processes which slow information exchanges. Managing many suppliers increases the complexity to coordinate work and share the right information between the various stakeholders efficiently. Movement of data that makes up the IP underlies these challenges. Handling of the data is affected by three types of interaction between the supplier and the manufacturer.

• Standard system/components supply - In this scenario, the manufacturer and supplier work on separate platforms and share limited IP (“as-result”). Business rules are often different between manufacturer and the supplier. Since data only moves in one direction, neutral formats (IGES, STEP) are commonly used unless a specific CAD to CAD relationship has been established. 

• Engineering Partnership - Supplier works directly on manufacturer IP by direct access to the same platform. From a data standpoint, the ideal relationship is when no movement of IP is necessary. 3DEXPERIENCE is ideal for this environment with multiple tools to control access and specific user rights when working on the platform. This relationship is further bolstered by a cloud-based environment that established an independent security structure outside of the walls of the manufacturer and supplier.  

• Engineering IP Sharing - In this scenario the manufacturer and the supplier work on separate platforms. Full IP is shared based on contract (“as-spec”) Business rules that are often the same between manufacturer and supplier. This last case provides the most challenges from the standpoint of moving data as it ideally must move bi-directionally. This is impractical due to unlike CAD systems and differing releases of CAD being used. Suppliers try to address this by maintaining multiple versions of CAD releases in-house to address development efforts with multiple manufacturers.

3DEXPERIENCE platforms assist suppliers using CATIA V5 by managing the CATIA V5 version data that was created when starting a particular design session.

3DEXPERIENCE platforms are also sensitive to scenarios where the data from one version of CATIA V5 is opened in a different version and combined such that a mixed version structure is created. These use-cases are managed by persistent settings on the system that monitor the activities of users and notify them if the data integrity may be compromised.

Although these tools effectively address a problem in collaboration, they do not address the general case that affects the broader customer base. I recognize that there are many variations of relationships between manufacturers and partners but I think they can be reduced down to four types:

​​​​​​​Type I is a peer-to-peer environment where the manufacturer and the supplier are both using the platform though independently. In this environment, 3DXML can be the primary method of communication.

Type II would have the supplier using CATIA V5. Import and export of CATProduct/part structures would likely be the most viable option.

Type III would be other CAD-based firms beyond CATIA such as Inventor, Solid Edge and NX. Converters available on the platform address the most of the “XCAD solutions” current available. Communication can occur in the native format of these systems or through neutral formats such as STEP.

Type IV would involve sharing the management information along with the IP. This would require a close business relationship and common philosophies in the business processes both companies use. Ideal communication for these situations would be to use XPDMXML. XPDMXML is Dassault Systèmes proprietary neutral schema. It is an XML file containing the PLM structure and non-CAD information. XPDM enables the users to exchange the PLM Data between 3DEXPERIENCE platforms and other external management systems.