🚀 A journey toward secure, seamless collaboration
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
For those following this blog series, you’ve already started your journey in product outsourcing. Along the way, you may have encountered hurdles with partners and suppliers, particularly in securing collaboration. Let’s explore how Siemens can help you overcome these challenges, bringing you closer to a seamless digital thread that integrates your entire supply chain.
🔒 Engineering requires secure collaboration
When collaborating with partners or suppliers, securely transacting engineering information is essential to protect the interests of all parties. Some relationships favor an “over-the-wall” approach to information sharing, while others require a more “integrated” approach, where the supplier is closely involved in product development. This interaction model depends on factors like product type, relationship dynamics, and regulatory requirements. Teamcenter supports both models with tailored solutions, including Partner Connect, which enables secure, contract-driven collaboration.
🌐 A holistic solution for the supply chain: supplier collaboration and Partner Connect
🔐 Secure data with Partner Connect
Partner Connect enables seamless collaboration with partners and suppliers within an integrated Teamcenter environment, giving you control over data access for external users. Each external company can have its own contract that specifies access to particular product lines, sub-assemblies, or parts. This approach allows you to share specific bill of materials (BOM) details or engineering changes with external users for a defined time, ensuring secure, controlled collaboration. External users can log into the OEM’s Teamcenter to access only the product information specified in their contracts. Partner Connect builds on Teamcenter’s vendor management foundation, offering secure access to critical product data like BOMs and engineering changes.
🤝 Building confidence through secure collaboration
Partner Connect also includes pre-set access rules that protect sensitive company data, ensuring suppliers cannot view each other’s information. This security increases suppliers’ confidence in collaborating directly with OEMs.
📑 Assigning contracts to BOM and engineering changes
Engineers and designers can assign these contracts to BOMs, granting external users access to specific information. The OEM and supplier views of the BOM below illustrate how access is tailored for each user:
- OEM view: Displays both suppliers with their respective contracts.
- Supplier view: Shows only assemblies accessible through the contract.
Similarly, engineering changes can be shared securely. Change analysts can add sub-assemblies or components to a change notice, with contracts routed to the respective suppliers. The OEM and supplier views of an engineering change display only the assemblies accessible to each supplier.
🔎 Modern, trusted access
In summary, Partner Connect provides a modern, trusted approach to securely sharing information with suppliers. It ensures all stakeholders have access to the latest product information, fostering effective collaboration and reducing the need for costly rework.
Reach out to your Siemens sales contact to learn more about how Partner Connect can support your supplier collaboration needs.
For more on secure collaboration, explore these resources:
Sourcing & Supplier Integration
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