Arbortext vs SAP PLM

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Our analysts compared Arbortext vs SAP PLM based on data from our 400+ point analysis of PLM Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Arbortext Software Tool
SAP PLM Software Tool

Product Basics

PTC Arbortext is an end-to-end publishing and content authoring solution designed to help manufacturing organizations streamline the delivery of technical publications. It allows users to maintain a digital thread of dynamic data to boost consistency with real-time synchronization and a single source of data truth.

Users can create high-quality content by writing XML documents and creating stylesheets, complete with 2D and 3D illustrations. Automation capabilities include auto-generating content, automating publishing, formatting and printing. It also supports multi-channel delivery and multi-language formatting.

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SAP PLM offers portfolio, project management and product lifecycle costing solutions for the complete product lifecycle experience. Users receive full clarity of teams, costs and fresh product innovations while also managing whole project lifecycles in one place. Users can also conduct portfolio traceability, planning, estimation accounting and closure.

Other notable tools include resource management, analytics and reporting, inbound and outbound integration, thorough product scope and more.
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$700/Seat, One-Time
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$15,600/User, Annually
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Improve Productivity: Save time with reusable XML component-based content and automated formatting. Minimize programming by creating, updating and simplifying stylesheet creation.
  • Simplify Content Management: Gain a single source of truth for all your technical documentation. Centralize stylesheets, layouts, formatting, and service and product information, eliminating scattered information and streamlining your content lifecycle.
  • Enhance Technical Content Quality: Deliver error-free documentation by enforcing stylesheets that automate information layout and delivery. Improve content reusability, enforce style guides and ensure regulatory compliance with approved information.
  • Increase Automation: Minimize manual tasks by automating publishing processes, formatting, layout tasks, and the delivery of multi-channel and multi-language service and product information.
  • Reduce Publishing Production Costs: Develop a single source for styling criteria and formats to eliminate disparities and rework from multiple stylesheets, languages and document types. Minimize the costs of distributing and printing paper copies of product information.
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  • Increase Efficiency: This solution offers product engineering, quotes and lifecycle costing so users can improve and boost their productivity on projects.  
  • Forecast Costs: SAP PLM allows users to evaluate and predict the costs of projects before implementing them. It enables users to cipher and determine various product costs in the preliminary brainstorming and design phases before committing to its production, saving money and resources.  
  • Rapid Market Time: The application enables collaboration so users can streamline production, enhancing the research and evolution of a product. This allows the product to go to the market quicker and minimizes expenses.  
  • Centralized Insights: Users can evaluate prompt insights on project progress and cost efficiency throughout numerous worksites. All of these insights are stored in the platform and conveniently accessible in one central place. 
  • Manage Priorities: This solution helps users to align workflows and procedures with corporate policies and business objectives while freeing financial and human resources to guarantee victorious project achievements. 
  • Combine Departments: Users can link project management with financial and logistics hassle-free to draft project reports for stakeholders and important decision-makers effortlessly. 
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  • Content Creation: Use the editor to create standardized content for multiple media formats. Auto-generate text using language-specific collation rules. Incorporate editable, intelligent graphics and embed 2D and 3D animation or illustrations in web and interactive content.
  • Structured Editor: Simplify technical content creation with word-processing capabilities like change tracking, drag-and-drop editing and keyboard macros.
  • Real-time CAD Data: Gather and use real-time CAD data to develop illustrations and animations more quickly. Ensure product information and graphics are accurate with IsoDraw’s ability to update objects and change specifications throughout the production cycle. Create output in multiple data formats including raster graphics, 2D, 3D and animations.
  • Automated Document Creation: Automate formatting and document layouts prior to publication with the Advanced Print Publisher tool. Minimize time spent manually editing graphics, text and other features in formats including XML, JPG, GIF, CGM and SVG.
  • Stylesheet Creation: Create stylesheets with the styler tool, which allows users to develop a set of standards and rules across stylesheets. Ensure content and product quality and consistency along the product lifecycle in multiple layouts and languages.
  • Multichannel Content Delivery: Generate one or more different types of dynamic output simultaneously to multiple formats. Take single-source content and publish it across multiple channels.
  • Multi-Language Formatting: Export generated text as a separate file to translate and create multi-language stylesheets. Increase reusability by using multiple numbering schemes to meet regional numbering rules and mirroring page layout definitions for right-to-left languages.
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  • Portfolio Management: This software's portfolio management tool offers users rapid reliable overviews of their whole portfolio consisting of projects, programs, services and more. This tool facilitates enterprise project portfolio management (EPPM) for whole visibility on capital expenses, R&D efficiency and the skills of professional and IT tasks. 
  • Project Management: The project management accessory authorizes users to tackle numerous responsibilities such as project structuring, scheduling, visualization and more. Users can also advocate several implementation and finance supervision models such as Six Sigman, phase gate, critical path and product and cycle-time excellence (PACE). 
  • Resource Management: The project and portfolio management solution offers resource management that enables users to enhance their capital and equipment assets based on project needs, qualifications and availability. Users can also pinpoint future resource needs and allocate them accordingly with their company structure, location, skill and business requirements.  
  • Product Cost Formulation and Simulation:  This accessory enables users to carry out cost calculations with manual overrides and recalculation abilities. Users can also implement what-if scenarios and target costing with the simulation tool.  
  • Data Modeling and Extensibility:  Users can employ the data modeling and extensibility module to receive several costing sheets and component splits. They can administer local master data support and integrate with Microsoft Excel and enterprise software.  
  • Inbound and Outbound Integration: SAP PLM permits users to import and export crucial company data through SAP ERP, Microsoft Excel and other platforms using the application program interface (API) component. 
  • Pricing: Users can leverage the pricing accessory to work with countless currencies and dimensions. They can also cipher overhead costs through multiple counting sheets.  
  • Analytics and Reporting: The analytics and reporting module can be implemented throughout the entire product lifecycle, costing categories and other areas. Users can also access version comparisons and use this module for management reporting. 
  • Teamwork and Security: Users can control who has access to projects and activate traceability to track who works specific projects and products. They can also implement collaboration tools for various roles and users.  
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Product Ranking

#9

among all
PLM Software

#17

among all
PLM Software

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 26 reviews
Good User Sentiment 81 reviews
84%
of users recommend this product

Arbortext has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 84% when considering 26 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

77%
of users recommend this product

SAP PLM has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 77% when considering 81 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.2 (25)
3.5 (46)
n/a
4.42 (12)
n/a
4.4 (12)
4.0 (1)
4.0 (11)

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Improved Collaboration: Foster seamless collaboration across engineering and design with manufacturing and marketing departments. The centralized platform eliminates information silos and ensures everyone has access to updated product data, reducing communication errors and delays.
Enhanced Product Quality: Facilitate a controlled and standardized approach to product development with features like change order tracking and revision control. Real-time updates ensure everyone is working on the latest version of product specifications, minimizing the risk of errors and improving overall product quality.
Streamlined Supply Chain Management: Integrate with supplier databases and other supply chain management tools to improve communication and coordination with suppliers, leading to more efficient procurement processes and faster time-to-market.
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Streamlined Collaboration: Enables seamless communication and data sharing among design, engineering, and manufacturing teams, fostering collaboration and reducing errors.
Comprehensive Product Data Management: Provides a central repository for all product-related information, including design specifications, manufacturing instructions, and quality control data, ensuring data accuracy and consistency.
Advanced Change Management: Facilitates efficient and controlled change management processes, ensuring that changes are tracked, approved, and implemented effectively, minimizing disruptions to product development.
Integration with Other Systems: Integrates seamlessly with ERP, CRM, and other business systems, providing a holistic view of product information and streamlining processes across the organization.
User-Friendly Interface: Offers an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users of all technical backgrounds and reducing the learning curve.
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Complex Implementation: Implementing a PLM system can be complex and time-consuming. Businesses need to invest time in data migration, user training and system configuration to ensure a smooth transition.
High Initial Investment: The cost of PLM software is not as cheap as chips, especially for larger companies with complex product lifecycles. Licensing fees, implementation costs and ongoing maintenance charges can add up quickly.
Data Migration: Migrating existing product data from legacy systems to a new PLM platform opens a whole new can of worms. Incomplete or dirty data or inconsistent formatting can lead to problems down the road, so data quality and consistency require careful attention during migration.
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Data Management: Limited capabilities for managing complex data structures and relationships, leading to data inconsistencies and difficulties in managing large product portfolios.
User Interface: Complex and outdated user interface that can be difficult to navigate and use, resulting in reduced productivity and user adoption.
Customization: Limited customization options and a rigid architecture that makes it challenging to adapt the software to specific business needs, hindering flexibility and agility.
Integration: Difficulties in integrating with other systems, such as ERP and CAD tools, leading to data silos and inefficiencies in product development processes.
Performance: Slow performance and scalability issues, especially when handling large product data sets, affecting productivity and collaboration.
Cost: High licensing and implementation costs, as well as ongoing maintenance expenses, making it a significant investment for businesses.
Support: Limited technical support and documentation, leaving users frustrated and facing challenges in resolving issues.
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PTC Arbortext is a content authoring tool designed to streamline the creation, management and delivery of technical documentation. Its focus on reusability through XML components and automated formatting helps users save time and reduce errors. Additionally, it centralizes product information and enforces stylesheets to ensure consistency across various media formats.Beyond core content creation functionalities, it offers features like real-time CAD data integration, automated document creation and multi-channel content delivery. While pricing isn't publicly advertised, it likely follows a tiered licensing structure based on required features. Overall, it offers organizations an effective way to optimize technical content creation and delivery and maintain a digital thread.

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SAP PLM is a popular PLM software that has received mixed reviews from users in the last year. Many users praise its powerful features and integration with other SAP products, but some find it complex and expensive. One of the main strengths of SAP PLM is its ability to manage complex product lifecycles, including engineering, manufacturing, and service. It also offers a wide range of features for managing product data, such as CAD integration, bill of materials management, and change management. SAP PLM is well-integrated with other SAP products, such as SAP ERP and SAP CRM, which can provide users with a single view of their product data across the entire enterprise. However, SAP PLM can be complex and expensive to implement, and some users find it difficult to use. It is important to note that SAP PLM is best suited for large enterprises with complex product lifecycles. Smaller businesses may find it too expensive and complex for their needs. In comparison to similar products, SAP PLM is a more comprehensive and feature-rich solution. However, it is also more expensive and complex than some of its competitors. One of the key differentiating factors of SAP PLM is its ability to manage complex product lifecycles. It also offers a wide range of features for managing product data, such as CAD integration, bill of materials management, and change management. SAP PLM is well-integrated with other SAP products, such as SAP ERP and SAP CRM, which can provide users with a single view of their product data across the entire enterprise. Overall, SAP PLM is a powerful and comprehensive PLM software that is best suited for large enterprises with complex product lifecycles. However, it is important to note that SAP PLM can be complex and expensive to implement, and some users find it difficult to use. Smaller businesses may find it too expensive and complex for their needs.

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