Even though they operate in the same organisation, different teams don’t always work well together. But, help is at hand. Let’s find out more.
Information silos happen in companies when teams that are supposed to be on the same side don’t share information with each other. This is inadvertent (most of the time), but it’s a massive cause of frustration. It also affects the time and cost of creating products, while product quality can also suffer.
In this article, we’ll look at information silos in more detail. We’ll also suggest a way to break them down. Let’s go!
What is an information silo
An information silo is when teams within an organisation that work on product development processes are disconnected from each other and don’t share the correct information. It can happen, for example, between engineering and manufacturing teams, leading to a lack of visibility on product development, procurement, quality, service and more.
Many companies experience information silos, even blue-chip giants like Johnson & Johnson. The good news is, there’s tech out there that can help.
Why information silos must be destroyed
When the teams in your company share accurate, current information with each other, it makes your product development more effective:
- Fewer product failures
- Minimal instances where products need to be scrapped or reworked
- Higher first pass yields
- Improved ability to pinpoint the impact of proposed changes
- Faster introduction of new products
Now, let’s look at the tech that helps you achieve this vital goal.
Eliminating information silos
The best way to break down information silos and enable transparent information between teams is through product lifecycle management (or PLM) software.
By leveraging PLM, you can create a digital thread, a continuously-updated record of the entire lifecycle of your product, which everyone involved can view on a real-time basis, contributing to it if necessary. PLM gives users fast and easy access to all the data they need, boosting opportunities for collaboration across teams. Your PLM becomes the hub of your workflow, from planning and design, to engineering and manufacturing, even into sales and service. It makes information silos a thing of the past.
You can take your PLM one step further by incorporating an enterprise collaboration platform that allows more users to contribute, teams to collaborate on a deeper level, and leaders to make better decisions. It becomes the single source of truth in your organisation, so everyone is on the same page, and information silos are gone forever.
Get started
If you have information silos in your organisation, it could be the thing that’s stopping you from gaining an edge over your competitors. Don’t settle for silos when you can have total transparency with a PLM solution. The tighter your digital thread, the better your product.
Windchill is a PLM solution that works right out of the box, creating your digital thread, boosting collaboration and integrating seamlessly with other enterprise systems. To find out more, click the link below:
