Item: Arena PLM and QMS
Rating: 7
Author: Zachary Meyer

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It helps with BOMs and change orders. Keeps everything nice and organized. I am able to easily reference quality documents and processes, link part numbers and suppliers, train to updated procedures and work instructions, and create easy to navigate change requests and change orders. It really helps to use this product when lots of projects are ongoing simultaneously.

Pros and Cons

It is easy to update BOMS in Arena
It is easy to write NCR's and tie them into any other item or process in Arena
Makes it easy to track level 1 training.

The Deviation feature is difficult to use. If there is a deviated document, it should be available to grab from the pulldown menu the same way regular revisions are.
Sometimes the pages reload over and over again
Sometimes, when I have multiple quality process windows open at once, the page refreshes to display the content of a different NCR than the one I submitted just now.

Return on Investment

Easier product developement
Faster processing of quality issues
Easier BOM updates

Key Differentiators

Price
Product Usability
Prior Experience with the Product

The price was right when adopting this service to be used at the company. Also, the features that allow for optimal organization makes it easier to manipulate and revise documents and processes without stepping on other people's toes. Our administrator had already used this at a prior company and understood the tangible benefits we'd get by adopting this service.

Arena Implementation

Although I was not part of the implementation team, I was counted on for feedback on it's usability. It took some time to port over the information from the old system, but it was worth effort. item history is easy to look up now, and the team is very satisficed with the results.

Key Insights

Do you think Arena PLM and QMS delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Arena PLM and QMS's feature set?

Yes

Did Arena PLM and QMS live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Arena PLM and QMS go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Arena PLM and QMS again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

It allowed us to stay in business while while we had issues with the servers. It makes organization easy! It makes communication with team members a breeze. the audit trail is a nice feature which allows you to assess the history of a document and or process. Easy to assign training.

Works for us!

Overall Satisfaction with Arena PLM and QMS