MESSRING puts mechanics, electronics, and ERP on one digital thread

In short: MESSRING, which designs and builds crash test facilities for the automotive industry, replaced disconnected engineering and business systems with one governed PLM platform: PTC Windchill delivered through myPDS VRS PLM. Mechanical engineering, electronics, and business operations now work from a single authoritative source of product data, integrated with SAP Business ByDesign. The foundation went live in months, alongside a simultaneous ERP go-live.

“PDSVISION was an excellent partner throughout the project. They responded to our requirements, adapted to our very ambitious timeline, and maintained an open and intensive dialogue with us from start to finish.”

— Matthias Winkler, CTO, MESSRING

One business, many systems, no single source of truth

MESSRING’s product is not a single machine. A crash test facility brings together mechanics, electronics, automation, measurement technology, and the business processes that surround them, engineered largely to order for customers whose own safety programs depend on the result. Delivering that reliably requires every discipline to work from accurate, current product information. 

For years, that information lived in pieces. Native engineering data sat on shared server drives where the rule was effectively whoever saves last wins. SolidWorks PDM held CAD data as an isolated stand-alone solution, with legacy data migrated by hand. Altium Vault held E-CAD data separately. Control cabinet design, electronics, and automation each ran on their own track. Every system did its job. What no system did was connect to the others. 

The cost showed up in the spaces between them. There was no clean change history, so it was not always clear what had been altered, by whom, or why. Data hand-offs to external manufacturing partners were manual. Bills of materials were not consolidated end to end, which meant they had to be reconciled rather than simply read. Bringing information into change requests in a controlled way was difficult. 

At this point a company has to decide not only what it needs, but how it wants to get there. MESSRING knew it needed a single source of truth. It was equally clear about the shape of the project: the endpoint had to be defined before the work started. 

Choosing a delivery model, not only a platform

There is more than one credible route to a working PLM environment. A configured implementation designs roles, attributes, workflows, and governance around a company’s own processes, which is the right choice when those processes are distinctive enough to be worth building the system around. MESSRING wanted the other trade: working within a proven structure in exchange for knowing the endpoint, the timeline, and the cost before the work began. 

“We chose Windchill to manage the product lifecycle in a central system and consolidate our product data in one place. The solution also gives us the flexibility to integrate additional systems as our requirements continue to evolve.”

— Matthias Winkler, CTO, MESSRING

The platform came delivered with myPDS VRS PLM, PDSVISION’s productized turn-key solution, pre-configured and supplied as a single package covering migration, training, integrations, support, and customization, with commitments on time, scope, and price agreed up front.

The decision came down to three factors:

• One platform for MCAD, ECAD, and ERP data. Mechanical and electronic product data come together in Windchill, integrated with ERP, removing the overhead of reconciling them across separate systems.
• Risk moved to the front of the project. A turn-key solution and delivery model meant commitments were established at the outset rather than discovered along the way.
• Standard first, adaptation second. Through the evaluation, PDSVISION helped MESSRING see where standard functionality already met its requirements, and where targeted adaptation would genuinely add value. Knowing the difference before contract signature is what keeps a PLM scope honest.

Why a proven foundation accelerates value

MESSRING was not starting from scratch. PTC Windchill with myPDS VRS PLM arrived pre-configured, with predefined roles, attributes, and workflows already in place. Each connection was defined precisely: mechanical data flowed in through MCAD connectivity from day one, MESSRING migrated its electronic data itself using OpenDXM from PROSTEP, and the myPDS Connector linked the platform to SAP Business ByDesign.

The team could check whether the standard fit and adapt only where it didn’t. That kept customization and clarification cycles to a minimum and directed the project’s attention to business requirements rather than to designing core PLM processes from the ground up. The implementation timeline was very short. Commitments on time, scope, and price held throughout, and time-to-value was measured in months, not years.

Then MESSRING raised the stakes, pushing for an ambitious parallel go-live of ERP and PLM. Either program alone demands significant coordination; running both together multiplies the dependencies between engineering, IT, and business teams, and forces decisions about product structures, material master data, and system ownership to be settled across two projects at once. PDSVISION delivered the PLM implementation while working hand in hand with the ERP project team, ensuring both programs remained aligned and on track for a synchronized go-live.

“Implementing a PLM system is a major step for any company. You know you need it, but you do not always know exactly what it should look like. PDSVISION helped us understand the process and explained every step in detail.”

— Matthias Winkler, CTO, MESSRING

That is the harder half of a PLM engagement. A company that already knows exactly what it wants does not need a partner, and most companies do not start there.

From siloed data to connected development

MESSRING now has a single governed source of truth for product data, with teams working from the same information under complete traceability and controlled permissions. 

The everyday change is the one people notice first. Instead of disconnected systems and shared drives, employees work in one environment where every change is tracked and everyone can reach the latest approved information. 

“Before Windchill, information was spread across teams, departments, and disconnected tools. Today, everyone works on a shared data basis, making information easier to find and collaboration much more effective.” 

— Manuel Huber, Head of Dynamic Devices (R&D), MESSRING

The structural change runs deeper. MESSRING’s mechatronic disciplines are now connected around a common product structure: mechanical engineering, electronics, and business operations work from synchronized data, with Windchill serving as the authoritative source for material master information. That single decision, naming where a given class of data is authoritative and holding to it, is what turns a set of integrated systems into a genuine digital thread. It has improved cross-functional collaboration and reduced dependence on ERP licenses for engineering-related activity. 

Governance improved alongside it. Requirements management and change processes moved out of disconnected SharePoint lists and into a controlled PLM environment, giving product management earlier visibility and involvement through development rather than notification after the fact. Leaders can track progress more effectively; teams have a clearer, more structured way to manage product change.  

The partnership

For MESSRING, this was never a project sized purely on effort. The relationship has been proactive in both directions: a dedicated sales contact for ongoing exchange on innovations, and a project manager who is consistently reachable and able to mobilize the technical team behind him. 

PDSVISION listened, advised, and adapted, without ever losing the discipline of the productized myPDS VRS PLM offering that makes a fast, low-risk go-live possible in the first place. That balance is the point. A partner who only listens ends up designing everything from scratch. A partner who only delivers a fixed package ends up fitting the customer to the product. The value sits in holding both. 

Live today, and what comes next

MESSRING’s transformation is continuing, and it is worth being precise about where the line falls. 

Live today. A governed PLM environment with defined roles, access rights, workflows, and version control. Mechanical engineering, electronics, product management, IT, ERP specialists, the internal key-user community, and external manufacturing partners work from a connected product information foundation that holds MCAD and ECAD data and is integrated with SAP Business ByDesign (ERP). 

Being expanded now. Formal change management on myPDS VRS PLM, followed by advanced and expert-level extensions that further strengthen governance, collaboration, and lifecycle control. 

Next milestone. Connecting Eplan-based control cabinet design to PLM and ERP so that procurement data flows automatically, ending the manual transfer of bills of materials and closing the last gap on the way to a complete mechatronic product structure. This is the intended next phase, not a result of the initial implementation. 

The lesson for PLM leaders

For Matthias Winkler, the lesson for any company facing the same starting point is straightforward, and it is not about software. 

Engage intensively with potential implementation partners before you decide. The evaluation is not only a comparison of products; it is where you find out whether a partner will tell you when the standard already fits, and whether their commitments on time, scope, and price are ones they intend to keep. 

Get clear about what you are trying to achieve with the tool inside your company, and define the leading systems in your landscape, naming which one is authoritative for product data across ECAD, MCAD, and the processes that depend on them. Most PLM disappointment traces back to that question being left open. 

Get that right and the rest gets a lot easier, especially with the right partner alongside you. Technology stops being the project and becomes what it should be: an enabler of growth, collaboration, and innovation.