Building a Business Case For Cloud-based SAAS Solutions

Shipbuilding has never been a simple undertaking, and that’s true now more than ever. Requirements in the industry are growing more complex, new technologies are being introduced, and external partners are increasing in number, making it even more challenging to deliver projects on time and on budget. At the same time, doing so has never been more important. Today’s shipbuilders must satisfy quality requirements, meet industry standards, and hit deadlines to remain competitive and navigate a volatile global economy. Those with inefficient communication or data-sharing practices put deadlines at risk and increase the likelihood of delivery delays and associated penalties.

Traditional design and data management approaches do not provide the efficiency or traceability shipbuilders need to manage complexity and mitigate risk in today’s environment. These methods, which often rely on disconnected documents, spreadsheets, and emails, can make it difficult for stakeholders at every stage of the ship lifecycle to find, update, and share information. Stakeholders may then act on outdated or inaccurate data, increasing the likelihood of errors that affect everything from design to manufacturing. These errors lead to delays, quality issues, and lower margins, which can put entire organizations at risk.

In contrast to traditional tools, product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions provide shipbuilders with a centralized, connected, easy-to-access design and data management system that maintains a single source of truth across the ship lifecycle. This allows shipbuilders to manage critical changes more efficiently and ensure that stakeholders throughout the supply chain can collaborate more easily. As a result, shipbuilders can keep quality high while shortening design and development cycles and reducing costs. Such advantages can be the difference between success and failure in today’s ultra-competitive, increasingly complex, and ever-evolving shipbuilding industry.

This eBook is one of a series focusing on the challenges facing shipbuilding companies and how PLM solutions can address them.

Access a complimentary copy of these eBooks on Siemens' website.