Blog 4.0

CAD, ERP and Document Management: Efficient Integration & Traceability

Written by Javier Alvarez Fernandez | Oct 7, 2025 7:00:00 AM

The integration of CAD, ERP and document management is one of the pillars of the digital factory. In many industrial companies, design, administrative management and technical documentation work in silos or watertight compartments, leading to data duplication, errors, delays and cost overruns.

Integrating these three tools into a single flow not only avoids these problems, but also ensures traceability, regulatory compliance and overall efficiency.

Why integrate CAD, ERP and document management in industry?

Fragmentation of data between design, management and documentation causes errors, extra costs and delays. Integrating them ensures a single, efficient flow.

The challenge of information silos

When CAD design is managed in isolation, engineers work with their own files, ERP calculates materials and costs in parallel, and documentation is stored in scattered folders. This multiplies the risk of inconsistencies and errors.

How the lack of integration affects the time-to-market

In industries such as automotive or pharmaceuticals, every day of delay means loss of competitiveness. Without integration, moving information from CAD to ERP can take days, whereas with a connected system, it takes seconds.

Benefits of a single flow of information

Some of the advantages that this information flow produces are:

  • Agility in product development.
  • Fewer errors due to data duplication.
  • Continuous flow from design to manufacturing and after-sales.

Integrating CAD, ERP and document management is the basis for gaining speed, precision and competitiveness in a global market.

CAD: the technical origin of product design

CAD software defines the product, but in isolation, it loses value. Integrated with ERP and document management, it becomes the engine of digitisation.

Unification of the information flow from the design

CAD contains all the technical definitions (parts, dimensions, materials). When connected to ERP and document management, this information flows automatically to purchasing, production and quality.

Automatic versioning and product lifecycle management (PLM)

Each CAD modification is automatically versioned and associated with the document manager. The ERP updates bills of materials(BOM) and production orders, ensuring complete traceability.

Time reduction and cost optimisation

A change in design no longer involves redoing manual orders in Excel or copying data into folders. ERP calculates materials and costs in real time, reducing waste and speeding up delivery.

CAD ceases to be an island and becomes an engine that feeds the entire industrial value chain.

ERP: the control tower of the digital factory

ERP turns design into planning, purchasing, inventory and costs. Connected to CAD and document management, coordination is immediate.

Material and production planning from CAD

The RPS Next ERP, integrated with CAD, automatically calculates which materials are required according to the drawings. This avoids cost overruns and production stoppages.

Real-time cost and stock control

The ERP adjusts inventories according to drawings and production orders, ensuring financial and logistical control at all times.

Regulatory compliance and global traceability

In regulated sectors (ISO, FDA, CE), ERP linked to the document manager allows immediate access to manuals, certificates and quality records.

With integrated ERP, each CAD design is automatically transformed into procurement, planning and certified traceability.

Document manager: the factory's intelligent Google Drive

The document manager centralises, controls and audits documentation, avoiding errors and ensuring compliance in regulated sectors.

Centralisation and version control

All drawings, manuals, certificates and contracts are in a single repository, accessible from any department.

Auditing and approval flows

Ensures that no drawing goes into production without being approved, with traceability of who modified it and when.

Integration with CAD and ERP for full traceability

The document manager connects directly with CAD and ERP, so that each file is linked to its order, production order or product.

The document manager turns documentation into a strategic asset, ensuring security, traceability and compliance.

Key benefits of CAD + ERP + Document Management integration

Integrating these three tools eliminates duplication, reduces errors and provides a competitive advantage in terms of deadlines, costs and quality.

  • From idea to product without friction: CAD designs, ERP plans, and the document manager ensure traceability. Everything flows without friction.
  • Optimisation of costs and resources: Unnecessary purchases are avoided, inventory management is improved, and rework is eliminated.
  • Interdepartmental collaboration and customer satisfaction: All teams (engineering, purchasing, production, quality) work on the same master data.

Integration ensures fewer internal errors and more added value for the end customer.

Use cases in industrial sectors

Sectors such as automotive, textiles, pharmaceuticals and aerospace already take advantage of integration to gain efficiency and meet demanding standards.

  • Automotive, reduction of development times: CAD-ERP integration accelerates the manufacture of customised parts and reduces time-to-market for new models.
  • Pharmaceutical, compliance and document traceability: Integrated document management ensures batch traceability and compliance with FDA and EMA regulations.
  • Aerospace, cost control, and certifications: ERP linked to CAD ensures cost control and documentation ready for international audits and certifications.

Every industry gains tangible benefits: reduced lead times, regulatory compliance and global competitiveness.

 

Integration is not optional: it is the foundation of the digital, sustainable and competitive factory. At Overtel, we help companies to unify CAD, ERP and document management with solutions such as RPS Next (ERP), MES/MOM INEXION (plant control) and OT/IT cybersecurity services, ensuring efficiency, traceability and regulatory compliance.

Request a demo and discover how to integrate CAD, ERP and document management to transform your factory into a digital and efficient plant.
You can also watch our demo video on LinkedIn to learn how the integration works.