Worldwide vehicle development of Volkswagen and Audi will be based on Siemens PLM Software’s Teamcenter platform 

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division, has received a major order from Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft for delivery and implementation of its Teamcenter product data management (PDM) software.

Volkswagen, Europe’s leading car maker, will use Teamcenter throughout the entire vehicle design and manufacturing process to create transparency in its processes, so that obligatory information on product maturity, productivity and cost will be available at any and every point in the process.

The enterprise-wide project for product data management (K-PDM) at Volkswagen is laid out over several years and will include up to 45,000 users in the end stage. The essential goals are to establish efficient and consistent processes within the global development and planning network through the entire product development process – with K-PDM as central point for the product process within the Volkswagen group.

Contributing to the success of the programme are several elements – accurate data and a synchronous supply for all brands, locations, individual sectors and levels, including suppliers and development partners. The K-PDM project also encompasses the existing IT landscape, which will be consolidated and the costs optimised. The goals will be achieved through a specific Volkswagen change project that is based on a unified company wide product data management solution.

The decision to standardise on the Teamcenter portfolio was based on the software’s ability to integrate and provide a consistent solution beyond PLM, the market maturity of the software and Siemens PLM Software’s experience in the market.

The project will be executed over the next few years in committed car projects and different levels throughout the entire Volkswagen group. Following the successful completion of phase 0 and the “Go Live” decision in November 2007, Teamcenter will be used in production for future vehicle projects at Volkswagen and Audi.

“It is a pleasure for us to offer our services to a world-class company like Volkswagen and have them use our software, the market’s leading technology, on all future vehicle projects,” said Tony Affuso, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Siemens PLM Software. “Siemens PLM Software’s Teamcenter technology is proud to support Volkswagen’s continuing initiatives on innovation, collaboration and speeding-up their vehicle development cycle.”