Case: Blum-Novotest

Blum-Novotest GmbH has existed for more than 50 years and is a company that has been passed on for generations. The company is renowned for its innovative and high-precision measuring and testing technology and is developing solutions of highest quality. Until 2016, Blum-Novotest GmbH didn’t unify its data on a single platform. Instead, each of its five departments used very different tools to manage and work with data, creating great challenges with both cooperation and efficiency.

To solve this issue, Blum-Novotest sought to implement a system that consolidated all its departments and allowed them to manage all their data on a uniform platform. They chose to turn to a PLM system, more precisely Bluestar PLM. Such an embarkment requires careful considerations of a company and although Blum-Novotest had taken other alternatives into consideration, Bluestar PLM was concluded as the best solution, time and time again.

Years after the implementation of Bluestar PLM, Blum-Novotest decided to scan the market for other integrations, that offered solutions to functions that Blum-Novotest believed they were missing with Bluestar PLM. However, by the time they had found what they considered being valuable contesters, they came to the same conclusion, yet again, that Bluestar PLM was the right solution for them. Amongst other reasons to stick with the Bluestar PLM platform, the most significant reason was the fact that Bluestar PLM was and is the only PLM system on the market that is native to and firmly embedded in Microsoft Dynamics D365/AX, the ERP system essential to Blum-Novotest’s Production.

It was not without complications when Blum-Novotest had to transfer their operations to Bluestar PLM. As beforementioned, the absence of a unified platform to manage data and insight resulted in Mechanics, Electronics, Software, Documentation and Engineering departments all having their own tools and ways to operate. The five departments had to conform to a common ground in order to streamline their processes and share useful information, a very different approach than the one they were all used to.

Now, by implementing Bluestar PLM, Blum-Novotest is more effective and integrated in all processes of sharing information, documents and product data, amongst others, greatly decreasing their time-to-market and expenses. Although requiring a well-established company to restructure and rethink, Blum-Novotest has won in the end.

After years of using Bluestar PLM, Blum-Novotest has benefited from the platform offered by Bluestar PLM, not only because it provides a common denominator for all intercompany operations, that has made a significant impact on the company’s long-term efficiency, it’s also due to the flexibility offered to and from Production, Sales and Procurement, using Microsoft Dynamics D365/AX.

• Seamless data flow between all departments
• Same way to work with the ERP-system
• PLM solution that works inside Microsoft Dynamics D365/AX
• One system to ensure accuracy and efficiency

Improved collaboration

Collaborate efficiently across destributed multi-discipline engineering and manufacturing teams, as well as sub-suppliers and the extended enterprise.

Eliminate redundant data entryn

Unifies data in the CAD, PDM and ERP inside D365/AX, bringing an end to manual data entry and the existence of redundant data. 

Easy access to CAD, PDM and ERP data

 CAD users gets direct access to ERP data directly from the CAD system. Users in the supply chain have access to related information on BOMs and items, allowing everybody to work with the same set of information.  

Reduce errors & save time

 By automatically updating changes to product data, the task of manual data handling is reduced, leading to fewer errors.  

Optimized efficiency

By minimizing the time spent on clerical tasks, such as manually transferring data to other teams, the engineering team can spend time where it is most valuable: executing projects and perfecting designs.  

Future-proof & scalable

Paves the way for an easy implementation of ERP-based PLM in the future that is integrated with your existing PDM and CAD tools.