Arena PLM Reviews

User friendly

Pros:

Very easy to use and implement in the manufacturing environment.

Cons:

The interface could have been more intelligent.

Locating files on ARENA

Comments: Over all I have really liked using the software as it makes my job easier and allows me to be a lot more efficient. I am able to recall things quickly and get the information I require. As well the security measures that are implemented allow me to know that we will not lose or have unauthorized access to our systems info.

Pros:

I've really liked using ARENA for a lot of the information we are able to store and use. I am able to access files and work instruction very easily and be able to efficiently do my job. The ease of use is what i have really liked the most.

Cons:

While using the program i am not able to find key terms very easily. Because of this I have to track down part numbers and this eats away at the time I have to get my job complete. if there was an easier or more accurate way to find names of parts it would make my life as lot easier and allow me to do my job quicker.

Functional but could have better usability

Pros:

The search menu is intuitive and easy to use

Cons:

Creating new entries and searching doesn't have any smart features like auto complete.

Arena in Manufacturing

Comments: Good, we use for BOM, Chane Management and document archives. Researching Quality World for expansion

Pros:

Revision history and search capabilities. Available reporting works well for data extraction and offline analysis (Power BI).

Cons:

Reporting does not have some key fields available to users.

Preferred over Windchill, but still leaves a bit to be desired

Comments: Overall, I'm happy with my interaction with Arena.

Pros:

I love the simplicity of some functions that other PTC products, like Windchill, overly complicate.

Cons:

There's no way to truly customize the dashboard to show ALL items where you are involved - instead of creating a quick link to a search which opens a separate window view of Changes I have open, I want to see a direct list of items I have open. It would also be nice if it could develop an interface to SolidWorks so we wouldn't have to use a convoluted process of getting our information between both programs.

Arena is a good system

Comments: Easy to use. This is one of the better PLM systems I've used.

Pros:

Easy to use. The Change Order system works well. Tracking history of Items created is good. Creating BOMs is easy. Approval system flow is basic and works.

Cons:

More difficult if administrator doesn't configure it correctly. Some sections are little vague on how to use properly like the Sourcing section. Everyone enters the information differently due to it's flexibility to use it. Redlines section is confusing how to use (I still don't know how to use it!) so I end up just attaching a document for redlines.

User Friendly Platform

Comments: Simple to use, easy access to multiple file types and BOM locations. Even as a beginner the platform was very intuitive.

Pros:

Arena PLM is extremely user friendly. The ability to link products together combined with the BOM capability is top notch.

Cons:

We have experienced issues with integration between platforms, although these issues are usually simply fixed.

Love the Organizational Aspect of Arena PLM

Comments: I work with Arena PLM in a "user" capacity versus an "administrative" capacity. It's quick and easy to input the information needed to process DCOs.

Pros:

The best part of Arena PLM for me is the organizational aspect of the platform that allows me to stay on task. It's a fantastic time saver.

Cons:

Nothing, everything is good about Arena PLM; especially the fact that new enhancements are added often.

Solid Quality Product

Comments: It works well for our companies needs for our quality system! We can control the process of uploading and revving documentation for our product with relative ease!

Pros:

Allows our company to collaborate on releasing and control documents and trainings

Cons:

The UI is semi clunky and takes time to learn and parse

Document Management

Comments: very bad

Pros:

It's bad that I didn't like it very well, It could be more intuitive. Pros are overshadowed by Cons

Cons:

No technical supports Documentation Management and Quality Management not relevant to medical device applicatons/

Arena Review

Comments: Tough to learn, but overall pretty good

Pros:

Very customizable

Cons:

Steep learning curve

Document Control Specialist

Comments: Overall very positive. There isn't anything negative that would persuade me to not use it.

Pros:

Easy to look up and retrieve information.

Cons:

If only the redline can be display and be shown by itself.

A Great PLM for Medical Device Manufacturers.

Comments: Close integration with our Contract Manufacturers and Suppliers. Ability to link the PLM with Non-Conformances (NC), Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA), and Complaints.

Pros:

Ease of use, customization, integration with Arena QMS, CADTALK, Rimsys, and FlowEQ.

Cons:

The Help Pages are text only; remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Alternatives Considered: SAP Analytics Cloud

Reasons for Switching to Arena PLM: Price, price, price.

Arena For Product Develpment

Comments: Overall it has been a very positive experience. It easily allows us to review part history, have a single source of truth for file releases, and provides easy to find/read/review BOMs. It also allows for a great amount of flexibility on release workflows and approvals, as well as easy to review sharing settings for releasing parts to suppliers

Pros:

Arena easily allows for a single source of truth for parts, assemblies and related documentation. It provides a quick way to view part status, history, and release state and easily allows these parts to be shared with external suppliers. It allows for a complex linking of files between multiple parts, as well as being able to track parts through the development cycle

Cons:

Setup, migration, and training were difficult. Some things still need manual interaction on a daily basis such as marking primary files. Integrations with external software such as Jira and SolidWorks are non-existant, and custom integrations need to be created and maintained. Workflows need to be manually created to match workflows in other systems.

Arena PLM an excellent tool for managing product data

Comments: Arena PLM has been a core part of my work for over 5 years, it continues to improve with helpful features that improve user experience. I've never felt like I was forced to change my workflow with any of the updates, and if I need any help their customer service is excellent.

Pros:

I really like the continual effort to provide more features and customer support to implement your PLM environment in a way that works for your company.

Cons:

The only thing that I have a difficult time with is making editing multiple lines easily if all parts are rolling to the same status, but that's a minor issue.

Worth considering

Pros:

The integration aspect into the business was not too difficult for us

Cons:

Setting up the views when you have multiple projects is hard at first

Great system for a small company

Comments: It's been pretty great. it definitely has a learning curve to get things set up and understanding what you can do, but once that's done, it's pretty straightforward to use

Pros:

I liked how easy it was to see how each part and product is connected across Bill of Materials and revisions.

Cons:

I don't like that we can't overwrite a revision in Design.

Best PLM Tool in the Business!

Comments: Central repository for all intellectual property, brought all departments on board

Pros:

Easy of use and implementation, configuration for specifics to my company is easy and consise

Cons:

Upgrades change the look and feel of things, which impact my daily usage

A Base User's Look at Arena PLM

Pros:

Relatively easy to take care of trainings required and review current and prior versions of documents.

Cons:

The dashboard feels unintuitive and sometimes seems like activities are left longer than expected, leading to times I second-guess if I've completed a training.

Support our eQMS/PLM Needs

Pros:

The product has the built in features we require but allow us to configure them to suit our needs.

Cons:

There is a steep learning curve when onboarding new employees.

Essential PLM tool for large companies

Pros:

The document control, the BOM, the ability to connect multiple components of manufacturing needs via links for different projects and the 'where used' tab..it all makes Arena PLM an essential tool for any manufacturing departments

Cons:

The learning curve is rather steep. You would need someone's active help to understand how it is used for your own company's needs.

Arena,

Comments: Support folks are good, software is stable and will allow us to present to auditors what we do and how we do it.

Pros:

Integration was a bit time consuming and that is on me; should have started with initial intent (Quality process's) and then moved to items- which we finally have a grasp of.

Cons:

User interface still is a hang up as we on board / cross train new folks

Great value and features

Pros:

Many useful features that allow for supported processes to be robust

Cons:

many clicks needed to execute tasks such as adding items, adding files

Alternatives Considered: Polarion REQUIREMENTS and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM

Arena Review

Comments: Excellent

Pros:

Searching for parts and pulling up the drawings to compare them to like parts. Also to look up BOMs to see what we need for certain assemblies.

Cons:

Adding parts to an assembly is one by one. Would be nice to be able to add multiple parts in one go.

Great for planning an expansion without risking huge CapEx.

Comments: Overall this is a really great product. The high level actions are easy to understand, and there are even graphics that can be used as specific inputs and outputs so that a presentation can have products rather than widgets. Also, the negatives of the strange statistical anomalies really are not a big deal. An experienced operations manager or engineer will know what to pay attention to and what is noise.

Pros:

This program's biggest upside is its ability to provide a testing ground for potential upgrades, expansions, or new factories, facilities, etc. without needing to spend huge dollars on a physical pilot or building or the labor cost of a time study or statistical analysis from a Black Belt or other highly paid employee

Cons:

Some of the random variables do not take into account reality well enough. I understand that true AI is not possible right now, but the fact is that purely statistics based tools can produce results that would never occur in the real world (i.e. A factory only attempts to build 3 units in an entire day and 3,000 the next day because it is possible in a Poisson Process).