The Overlooked Data Problem Slowing Down Manufacturing AI | SPONSORED
While manufacturers invest in AI and digital twin programs, the Adlib ebook “AI-Powered PLM in Manufacturing” reveals that most of the data required for those initiatives is buried in documents that machines can’t read.
Across the industry, 80% of operational data is unstructured, and 90% of it is never used because it sits inside PDFs, CAD files, supplier packets, spreadsheets, and scanned records that no system can interpret reliably. The ebook points out that this is why teams spend over 60% of their time hunting for information instead of acting on it.
The ebook illustrates this challenge through ENOVIA—the product lifecycle management system (PLM) from Dassault Systèmes. PLM systems were designed to store and route files, not understand their contents. When a supplier drawing arrives in the wrong format, when a compliance certificate lacks metadata, or when an SOP is missing a signature, the system can only move the document—not interpret it. These seemingly small gaps slow quality reviews, delay submissions, and create the kind of bottlenecks that modern digital strategies are supposed to eliminate.
What the ebook shows clearly is that manufacturers are closing this gap not by redesigning PLM, but by fixing the source material. Adlib standardizes, validates, and structures documents before they enter PLM, QMS, or compliance workflows. It doesn’t add another layer of process—it cleans the inputs so downstream systems can finally do their job.
The operational gains are significant:
• A global aerospace manufacturer eliminated 90–100% of formatting and data-extraction errors in supplier documents.
• LyondellBasell converted a year of CAD backlog in one month by automating document standardization.
• A life sciences company cut audit remediation time by half once submissions passed compliance checks on the first attempt.
Manufacturers don’t have an AI problem—they have a document problem. Once files are accurate, structured, and machine-readable, AI, compliance, and workflow automation finally deliver the results companies expect.
Sponsored by Adlib
