Organizations understand how important it is to capitalize on market opportunities. This is crucial if companies want to stay competitive and relevant. According to a report from Aberdeen, 29 percent of executives have identified capitalizing on marketing opportunities as a top priority to improve their product development.

29% of executives identify capitalizing on market opportunities as a top priority to improving product development.

Product lifecycle management, or PLM, is the tool organizations need to make this goal a reality. Since PLM is so heavily integrated into the product development process, organizations must be critical when selecting a PLM solution or quality management software.

PLM Comparison

To help you make this important decision, we have decided to provide you with a PLM comparison to weigh the pros and cons of PTC Windchill and Siemens Teamcenter. While both solutions offer the basic PLM functionalities, we will deep dive into some of the specific features that differentiate the two.

Remember, as a PTC reseller, we do have a slight bias toward PTC Windchill, but we hope that our Windchill vs. Teamcenter PLM comparison will at least help you come up with an informed decision. We work with a range of customers in a variety of industries, so we understand what options are out there and don’t always push our clients toward PTC solutions.

Windchill vs. Teamcenter: The Breakdown

Sustainability and Environmental Compliance: PTC Windchill

Siemens Teamcenter includes a sustainability framework that can help organizations toward the end of the product lifecycle when products need to be disposed or recycled. The sustainability framework monitors the phasing-out process of nonsustainable components and practices in an effort to promote green design.

It also monitors and ensures that organizations are compliant with various regulatory acts like REACH, RoHS, and Conflict Minerals bans. With the increased focus on sustainability and recycling in the marketplace, organizations need to ensure that environmental impacts are considered throughout the design process.

Although Siemens Teamcenter does provide tools to support green design and sustainability, PTC Windchill offers additional compliance tracking that includes specific solutions for:

  • Conflict minerals
  • Substances of concern
  • Country of origin for materials
  • Audits for evidence of due diligence

These specific tools provide a more comprehensive approach to compliance, which is why PTC Windchill has a slight advantage in this category.

Integrated Quality Management: PTC Windchill

With technology constantly changing and the product development processes speeding up, it should be no surprise that PLM has taken on roles typically associated with other systems. Both PTC Windchill and Siemens Teamcenter have extended their functionalities into areas typically associated with Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Corrective Action Preventative Action (CAPA) solutions.

PTC Windchill and Siemens Teamcenter have extended their functionalities into areas typically associated with Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Corrective Action Preventative Action (CAPA) solutions.

Teamcenter is able to track and capture compliances, defects, and non-conformance issues, monitoring progress until resolution. PTC Windchill has a similar functionality but goes further into traditionally QMS functions. Windchill includes tools for:

Rather than simply acting as a documentation repository like Teamcenter, it can perform a root analysis and provide a complete report indicating quality issues throughout every development stage of the product. These extended functionalities make Windchill the clear winner of this category.

Integrations: Tie

In order for a PLM to achieve full functionality, it must integrate with the other systems and tools your organization already uses. In this case of our Windchill vs. Teamcenter showdown, we have a tie.

In order for a PLM solution to be useful, it must integrate with the other systems and tools your organization already uses.

PTC Windchill can integrate into multiple CAD programs, including non-PTC solutions. It includes the Windchill Info*Engine, which allows users to integrate the solution into a variety of business applications and ERP systems. Similarly, Siemens Teamcenter has pre-built integrations into numerous ERP systems like SAP and Oracle E-Business Suite. It also includes process and data mapping templates for other MES and CRM applications.

Internet of Things (IoT) Support: PTC Windchill

PTC Windchill wins this category simply because Siemens Teamcenter does not support IoT design. With the increasing trend of IoT products and solutions, this could be a critical functionality for some organizations.

Windchill allows users to collect and analyze functionality data from their products that are being used in the real world.

PTC Windchill uses IoT connectivity to track calls to PTC technical support and uses Windchill FRACAS technology for IoT analysis. Users can analyze data from IoT devices to understand the root causes of problems and examine product performance in real time.

Search and Analysis: PTC Windchill

In the Windchill vs. Teamcenter faceoff, Teamcenter just misses the mark on data analysis and search capabilities. Although Teamcenter has some data analysis functionality, it has a much more traditional approach. The analytics and performance metrics are presented in a simple and easy-to-use UI, but with the increased importance that organizations put on data and analytics these days, it just isn’t enough.

In contrast, Windchill utilizes its Windchill FRACAS analysis technology to further support quality control. This helps organizations make long-term corrective actions that also increase the speed of engineering changes and service activities. Although FRACAS includes much more comprehensive analytics and data, it still supports an easy-to-use web-based interface with clear and concise graphics.

Windchill also includes intuitive search tools that combine the PartsLink classification system with the traditional functionality of a web filter, making it easy for users to find the parts and products they need right when they need them.

Manufacturing Process Design and Simulation: Siemens Teamcenter

Siemens Teamcenter brings really strong integrations across the entire TeamCenter platform to provide a complete data management and simulation environment. It integrates with a variety of software including:

  • Manufacturing Process Planner
  • Advanced Assembly Planning
  • Process Designer
  • A Web-Based BOP Manager

These integrations allow teams to bring together tools and processes into a single environment and ensure that all parts work together before sending them off to manufacturing. PTC’s offering, MPMLink provides similar functionality for PTC and it is perfectly adequate. However, Teamcenter’s superior integrations bring it the nod in this category… for now.

Collaboration: PTC Windchill

Gone are the days of organizations being contained within a few office buildings or manufacturing warehouses. Organizations are spread across the globe, forcing them to utilize new tools and technology to collaborate on projects. Teams require a secure location where they can share all of the necessary plans, notes, and documentation that goes along with a design project. Addressing these needs becomes even more complicated as third-party customers and suppliers become involved in the development process.

PTC Windchill includes extensive secure collaboration tools, while Teamcenter has only included a supplier and design data exchange portal. Windchill’s tools include critical security check-ins for displays at the components level and product copy points. This security method ensures that your designs are secure even while you promote open collaboration within your organization.

Windchill vs. Teamcenter: PTC Windchill Wins

Again, we will admit that we have a slight bias toward PTC Windchill, but the breakdown of components and features makes Windchill the clear winner. It also doesn’t hurt that Windchill has been around for a long time. While many organizations get stuck in the past with a “this is how we have always done it” mentality, PTC is able to stay on top of the current needs of their customers. They understand how the workforce is evolving and are supporting those changes with tools like remote collaboration, IoT, and risk and compliance management tools.

Overall, PTC Windchill provides better tools and functionality to help organizations improve their product development process and capitalize on market opportunities.

Ready to improve product development with advanced PLM tools? Contact us to answer any of your questions and get PTC Windchill pricing information.