PLM System Integration, PLMSI

AnnetteGarcia · ‎03-25-2024

PLM System Integration 3.0 for SAP S/4HANA is here! This new release brings a host of functional highlights and improvements that will help you create an end-to-end digital thread.

In combination with software from an external PLM system, for example, the corresponding Teamcenter Gateway for PLM system integration from Siemens, it offers yet another set of enhancements, further improving the collaboration between engineering and “business".

In this blog post, we'll cover some of the key features and functions of the new release, as well as the related business process content that comes with the software (refer to our What’s New Viewer).

Enhanced Master Data Quality

Advance your business process integration with semantic information and enjoy improved master data quality as well as increased transparency across different domains. Thus, you can easily share information between the engineering department and the extended supply chain, increasing collaboration and efficiency. Check out the following features:

Sales Order-Specific Bill of Material Scenario

With this new release of PLM system integration, we are introducing the integration of sales order-specific bills of material:

Increase transparency across different domains by sharing customer order-related information between the engineering department and the extended supply chain.
Use data federation to access data directly where it is stored, rather than transferring it between systems.
Implement your customer-specific logic for the Domain Model entities CustomerOrderItem and CustomerOrderItemProductStructure via BAdIs.
Implement an engineer-to-order (ETO) business process seamlessly across departments.

Domain Model Entity CustomerOrderItem

Domain Model Entity CustomerOrderItemProductStructure

Maintain BOMs with Subitems

Another useful addition is the ability to maintain bills of material (BOMs) with subitems. With this feature, you can retrieve additional reference designator information for a BOM component and maintain it as the installation point of a specific subitem. This helps in accurately describing the usage of materials as alternatives for specific BOM items.

Maintain BOMs with Substitutes

PLMSI 3.0 lets you retrieve substitute or alternative information for a bill-of-material (BOM) component. You can then use this substitute information to describe the usage of a material as an alternative for a specific BOM item.

Use File Federation to Avoid Replicating Sensitive Engineering Data

To avoid data replication and security concerns, PLM System Integration now offers file federation within your SAP S/4HANA system. The new Document Version File Redirect Service allows you to access a file or original document stored in an external PLM system without the need for replication. Instead, a reliable and stable link redirects the business user to the source system, ensuring data security and compliance.

Leverage the Benefits of an MDM-driven Master Data Creation Process

In terms of master data management, the new release enables the integration of a master data management solution within the material master creation process. This allows for a more streamlined and efficient creation process, ensuring data accuracy and consistency. You can also define BRF+ applications with corresponding functions for Change Message Request and Change Message Response payloads.

SAP MDG-M Integration - Create/Update Material Master

SAP MDG-M Integration - Material Number Reservation

Maturity Enhancements

We have implemented the following maturity enhancements for bills of material, routings, and variant configuration. These enhancements can help you make the most of the already delivered product features.

Bill of material: We have enhanced the compatibility mode for the Meta Domain Model entity StructureVersion. Moreover, the integration now supports the grouping of version BOM items. You can group related BOM items together, making it simpler to navigate and understand complex BOM structures. This can be particularly useful when dealing with large and intricate bills of material.

Variant configuration: You can now remove a rule assignment and its history. This enhancement gives you more flexibility and control over variant configurations and lets you make changes and adjustments as needed without any complications.

Routing: As part of the new release, you can maintain model unit effectivity on suboperation level for the MPD PiP scenario. This means that you can now define specific timeframes or conditions for individual suboperations within a production operation list. This fine-grained control over unit effectivity can help optimize production processes and ensure efficient resource allocation.

Moreover, the integration offers XML handling support for the manufacturing process definition for extension fields within SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing for Production Engineering and Operations (PEO). This enhancement enables you to define and manage custom fields in the manufacturing process definition using XML, allowing for more tailored and customized manufacturing processes to meet specific business requirements.

Business Content

For those looking to implement these features and functions, the 3.0 release comes with a comprehensive set of business content (BC) sets. All existing BC sets have been updated, and two new sets have been added specifically for customer order item settings and customer-specific product structure settings. For details, see Initial Configuration.

For a comprehensive list of our new and enhanced features for release 3.0, check out our What’s New Viewer.

As PLM system integration for SAP S/4HANA is a standard SAP product, you can find more information in the usual places:

And last but not least – our excellent forum if you have any questions.

Functional Highlights of the New 3.0 Release of PLM System Integration for SAP S/4HANA