Project Background

Zhongke Weizhi is a leading provider of intelligent logistics equipment, smart vision systems, and industrial sensors, serving major domestic express delivery, logistics, and e-commerce enterprises. The company has expanded its operations to numerous countries and regions worldwide and is committed to becoming a globally recognized leader in intelligent logistics equipment and smart manufacturing.

As one of the few companies globally possessing integrated capabilities in R&D, design, and production of intelligent logistics systems and their core components, Zhongke Weizhi delivers comprehensive intelligent solutions for conveying, sorting, and warehousing to clients in the express delivery, e-commerce, airport, and manufacturing sectors. Additionally, the company supplies critical components essential for smart manufacturing applications, including electric rollers, industrial-grade barcode/2D code readers, dimensioning systems, 2D/3D vision-guided positioning, and defect inspection technologies.

Project Objectives

Through the implementation of the SIPM/PLM project, the following objectives will be achieved:

Standardize design practices: Establish and refine integrated 3D and 2D design standards and specifications based on PLM, ensuring standardization and consistency of engineering drawing data at its source.

Centralize product data management: Build a BOM-centric integrated product management model to enable precise and structured association of technical documentation.

Digitize approval workflows: Implement end-to-end electronic approval processes for both 2D drawings and 3D engineering documents.

Enhance cross-system data flow: Integrate enterprise information systems to ensure seamless and effective data exchange across platforms.

Establish a corporate knowledge base: Capture and systematically organize knowledge, issues, and lessons learned throughout the product lifecycle. This enables design teams to efficiently reuse existing knowledge in future projects, improving design efficiency and minimizing recurring errors.

Product Management

Product Classification:Products are automatically categorized by department, year, and time. A system-level product classification structure is established and embedded into the PLM system, creating a unified management platform.

BOM Management:Design BOM serves as the central hub for product data. All design data is integrated in a structured format, enabling effective control, traceability, and management of the entire bill of materials.

Automated Material Classification and Management

Materials are automatically classified and managed based on their material codes and associated departments.

Automated Technical Document Classification and Management

Technical documents are automatically classified and managed based on their major and minor categories as well as the associated departments.

Routing Management

Process routes—including assembly and machining routings—are created directly under the corresponding materials within the system. This ensures that each material is associated with its specific manufacturing or assembly sequence, enabling structured and traceable process planning.

Design Management

Design Software Integration:A seamless interface with 3D design software is established, using the design environment as the authoritative source of product data. Through this integration, the design BOM structure is automatically and rapidly generated directly from the 3D models—replacing the previous manual Excel-based bill of materials. This ensures greater accuracy, consistency, and reliability of the BOM structure while eliminating errors associated with manual data entry.

Master Data Management

Through the implementation of the SIPM PLM system, standardized management of foundational design data has been significantly enhanced. The PLM platform enables centralized control of core databases, including a unified part numbering system that minimizes duplicate codes. Component coding rules are systematically embedded and enforced within the platform, ensuring consistent and orderly management. Additionally, standard operations, workstations, and process workflows are managed on a unified, platform-based foundation.

1）Coding Management:The SIPM PLM implementation has established a material and technical document coding scheme tailored to the company’s operational requirements. Leveraging SIPM PLM’s automated coding functionality, the system ensures “one item, one unique code,” eliminating redundancy and enhancing data integrity across the product lifecycle.

2）Standard Routing (Operation) Management:Using the standardization module in SIPM/PLM, standard operations are managed by department, ensuring that each department maintains and controls its relevant set of standardized processes.

3）Operation Activity Management:Each operation is associated with specific operation activities—such as labor hours or setup tasks. Process engineers can define and attach the required activities when maintaining an operation, enabling detailed planning and accurate resource estimation.

4）Work Center Management:Within PLM, every operation must be linked to a designated work center. The system requires complete maintenance of work center information, including work center code, name, and category, to support accurate production planning and capacity analysis.

5）Operation Control Strategy Management:For each operation, a corresponding control strategy must be defined and maintained. This includes key parameters such as processing type, reporting method, rework procedure, and other operational rules, ensuring consistent execution and quality control throughout manufacturing.

6）Process Workflow Management:Leveraging the standardization module in SIPM/PLM, workflow categories are established based on departmental business differences. Approval and review workflows are then standardized and embedded into the system according to specific business management objects (e.g., parts, documents, change requests), ensuring consistent, traceable, and efficient sign-off processes tailored to each type of deliverable.

PBOM Release

Zhongke uniformly generates the Production Bill of Materials (PBOM) package based on the Process BOM structure and transmits it to the ERP system. The PBOM is derived from the materials consumed in each operation defined within the routing. By publishing the PBOM in this manner, accurate and structured manufacturing data is effectively transferred from PLM to the ERP system, ensuring seamless integration between engineering and production planning.

R&D Request Management

A dedicated "R&D Suggestion Ticket" module has been added to the system based on Zhongke’s actual business needs. All requests requiring design modifications from the R&D department—such as changes to drawings or technical specifications—must be submitted through this module. Submitters are required to provide key details including the suggestion title, description, and relevant context before routing the ticket to the R&D team for review and approval. This ensures a standardized, traceable, and efficient change initiation process.

One-Click Generation of Virtual Routing

To accommodate Zhongke’s actual business needs, the system supports a one-click virtual routing function for certain components that do not require a full, detailed process route. For such parts, users can directly add child components under the routing structure via a dedicated menu option—bypassing the need to create a complete operation sequence. This streamlines BOM-to-routing conversion, improves data maintenance efficiency, and ensures flexibility in managing non-manufactured or standard items within the production structure.

Inventory Information Access

The R&D team can search for or batch-select multiple materials directly within the PLM system and instantly retrieve their real-time inventory quantities from the ERP system. This seamless integration enables designers to make informed decisions during the development phase—such as considering material availability, avoiding obsolete parts, or optimizing designs based on stock levels—without leaving the PLM environment.

SRM Purchase Requisition

A dedicated SRM Purchase Requisition module has been added within PLM. R&D personnel can now create and submit detailed purchase requests directly in the PLM system, including item specifications, quantities, and technical requirements. These requisitions are automatically transmitted to the SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) system, where Zhongke’s procurement team can review, process, and act on them—ensuring efficient cross-functional collaboration and streamlined procurement initiation from the design phase.

Copy-Paste Function for Operation Component Quantities

To streamline the creation of process BOMs, a copy-paste feature has been implemented for operation subcomponents. Process engineers can now quickly replicate material quantities from one operation or source and paste them directly under the relevant operation in the routing structure. This significantly accelerates the calculation and assignment of material requirements during process planning, reducing manual effort and minimizing errors—thereby improving overall efficiency for process engineering tasks.

Alternative Solution Management

In accordance with Zhongke's actual business requirements, the system has been enhanced to include substitution methods, substitution strategies, expiration dates, priority levels, and other relevant attributes, with all substitution relationships seamlessly transferred to the ERP system.

PDF Factory

After download, employee watermarks are automatically added. Users can choose whether the downloaded physical file includes the material code, name, and drawing number.The system enables electronic signing of design documents and technical files, streamlining the traditional approval workflow, reducing enterprise costs, and enhancing efficiency. Each electronic signature includes a timestamp that is automatically generated upon completion of the signing process.

Through the successful implementation of this PLM project, Zhongke Weizhi has effectively helped Zhongke establish its product BOM and continuously optimize the company's design and R&D management capabilities. The initiative has enabled centralized, paperless, online management of all documentation and drawings throughout the entire product development process—from planning and detailed design to R&D and manufacturing engineering—across all relevant departments. This streamlined approach allows design engineers to quickly access data, significantly enhancing their work efficiency.