How Business Process Management in 3DEXPERIENCE Can Improve Work Across Your Organization

April 4, 2026 3DEXPERIENCE Like: 0

ByMarc Young

In a recent xLM Solutions webinar, Marc Young explored how companies can use Business Process Management in 3DEXPERIENCE and other PDM, PLM and enterprise systems to bring more structure, visibility, and automation to repeatable business processes.

For many organizations, process improvement conversations start in engineering especially when dealing with companies implementing, configuring or enhancing their PLM system. This makes sense as engineering teams rely on clear approvals, controlled workflows, and strong data management to keep work moving. But we also discussed in a recent webinar, the value of process management goes far beyond engineering alone. With the right approach, companies can use Business Process Management (BPM) to support processes across departments, connect people to the right information at the right time, and reduce the delays and confusion that often come from email-based or manual coordination. If you missed the live webinar, the recording is now available to watch on demand.

Why Process Management Matters

One of the biggest takeaways from the webinar was that inefficient processes create real business risk. When work depends on emails, tribal knowledge, or informal handoffs, it becomes harder to track status, keep projects moving, and improve performance over time. We walked through several of the common challenges organizations face when processes are not well managed, including:

Unclear ownership of tasks
Delays caused by missed emails or follow-ups
Limited visibility into where something stands
Overreliance on specific individuals who “know how it works”
Difficulty measuring cycle times and identifying bottlenecks

These issues are not limited to product development. They can affect nearly any repeatable process in the business. That is where a BPM solution like ITEROP within 3DEXPERIENCE can help. It gives organizations a way to define, manage, automate, and monitor workflows in a more controlled and scalable way.

BPM Is Not Just for Engineering

Since we work so closely with PLM and engineering-driven organizations, many of the companies we speak to naturally think about BPM in the context of engineering workflows. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s also a greater opportunity to consider. BPM can absolutely be used to enhance engineering-related activities such as BOM reviews, simulation approvals, supplier validation, transmittals, and engineering change processes… but it can also support business processes outside of engineering, or processes that span multiple teams. During the webinar, we explored examples such as:

Employee onboarding
NDA approvals
Expense approval workflows
Sales request and quoting processes
Deviation management on the shop floor
Vendor drawing and document review

That flexibility is important. Companies do not need to limit BPM to one department or one type of data. Any repeatable process that benefits from structure, timing, accountability, and visibility is a candidate for automation.

Unpacking xLM’s ITEROP Demo

A major part of the webinar focused on showing BPM in action. We walked through two examples that helped illustrate both the usability and the power of the tool. The first example showed a component requisition process. An engineer initiated the request, logistics reviewed supplier and timing considerations, purchasing uploaded the purchase order, and the workflow tracked delivery back to the original requester. Along the way, the process used forms, logic, wait states, reminders, and file attachments to keep everything organized and moving. The second example demonstrated an engineering change approval process tied directly to 3DEXPERIENCE. In this case, promoting a document to a specific maturity state automatically triggered the workflow. The process then routed the task through review and approval steps, locked manual promotion outside the workflow, and finally released the document only after the process had been completed successfully. As the example used a document object, any 3DX object like a Physical Product, Drawing, Bill of Material (BOM), etc., could also be used within the BPM/Interop – 3DX Release process. Together, these examples showed that BPM is not just about drawing flowcharts. It is about turning those flowcharts into working processes that can guide users, enforce business rules, maintain traceability, and connect directly to the platform.

Start Small, Then Build from There

Another important point from the session was that companies do not need to automate everything at once. It’s helpful to recognize that the technical side of building a process is often not the hardest part. In many cases, the bigger challenge is identifying which process to improve first and defining how it should work. That is why a practical starting point matters. A small, well-defined workflow can often be created in just a few days. From there, teams can learn from the initial rollout, refine the process, and expand into more complex use cases with greater confidence. This approach helps organizations reduce risk while still moving toward larger process transformation goals.

Extending the Value of 3DEXPERIENCE

Another helpful takeaway was that BPM can extend the value of 3DEXPERIENCE in meaningful ways. Standard lifecycle states and built-in workflow capabilities are useful, but BPM offers additional flexibility for companies that need more advanced logic, richer forms, broader process coverage, deeper reporting, or tighter coordination across teams and systems. While the BPM solution is cloud-based, it can still support hybrid approaches for organizations with on-premise environments. Through web services, events, and integrations, it is possible to connect BPM with 3DEXPERIENCE and other systems as part of a broader process strategy. For companies looking to improve how work moves across engineering and the rest of the business, that opens up a lot of possibilities.

Watch the Recording

If your team is looking for better ways to manage repeatable workflows, reduce manual coordination, and bring more control to cross-functional processes, this webinar is a great place to start. The recording offers a practical look at how Business Process Management in 3DEXPERIENCE can help companies move beyond disconnected tasks and toward more efficient, scalable ways of working. Watch the webinar recording to see how BPM can support engineering workflows, business processes, and broader digital transformation efforts across your organization. Questions are always welcome. Please get in touch with our team if you’d like to discuss BPM, 3DEXPERIENCE or any other aspects of your processes in more detail.