As Oracle Agile Reaches End-of-Life, Supplyframe DSI and Teamcenter Offers a Path Forward

Oracle Agile PLM is scheduled to reach its end-of-life by December 2027. At this point, it will phase out major support, and many users will have migrated to other solutions to prevent security gaps, high costs, or innovation bottlenecks. Many organizations have already begun seeking alternative solutions in the wake of this announcement. 

Siemens Teamcenter now features integration with Supplyframe’s Design-to-Source Intelligence platform, offering a synergistic way to extend and enhance decision-making during new product introductions. Join us as we break down the features and capabilities that make this an ideal PLM solution for your enterprise. 

Component-Level Insights for Engineering Teams 

Engineering teams often face frustration and obstacles related to fragmented data, manual workflows, and slow change processes. Engineering teams need a PLM solution that can provide a single source of truth for product data management, BOM synchronization, and part lifecycle management. 

Siemens Teamcenter is a future-proof PLM platform trusted by 77% of the top manufacturers. It enables real-time collaboration, full traceability, risk mitigation, cost savings, fewer redesigns, and seamless integration for engineering teams across CAD, ERP, sourcing, and MES. 

With Supplyframe’s Design-to-Source Intelligence, Teamcenter users can also access part-level insights, including readily available alternates that match form, fit, and function, as well as part availability, and supplier selection based on AVLs.

This capability extends to risk mitigation as well. Each team has a different view on risk, but Supplyframe’s Risk Index brings everything together, accounting for multiple dimensions of insight, to ensure everyone is speaking the same language.  

This allows engineering teams to collaborate seamlessly with sourcing and procurement teams as well, offering a centralized single source of truth that’s always up-to-date. 

Now, understandably, many teams struggle with several questions and concerns when it comes to the prospect of switching PLM solutions: 

• Will Switching Disrupt Current Processes? – Migration to Siemens Teamcenter can be done through phased adoption, beginning with high-impact areas like change control or BOM management. 
• Can Teamcenter Support Custom Workflows? – Yes! Teamcenter is highly configurable, offering scalable, maintainable workflows. Combined with AI-driven change impact and part intelligence analysis, your custom workflows become better than ever. 
• What about existing CAD and ERP Integrations? – Teamcenter supports bi-directional integration across tools, allowing engineering, manufacturing, and service to stay aligned. It goes beyond simply connecting systems. It enables a continuous digital thread, powered by real-time intelligence. 

Streamlined Integration and Superior Security for IT Teams 

IT teams rely on Oracle Agile to manage everything from data administration and configuration to infrastructure, integration, and much more. Now that this PLM solution is reaching end-of-life, these same teams are facing a number of internal pressures and technical risks. 

Namely, the lack of new patches or bug fixes will quickly lead to security vulnerabilities. Furthermore, Vendor support will most likely be lost, and compatibility issues will arise as well. With how much IT teams handle on a daily basis, it’s a headache they don’t need. 

Siemens Teamcenter X, the cloud-native version, reduces infrastructure burdens while scaling globally and integrating seamlessly with CAD, ERP, and MES. Customers often see a 90% reduction in legacy maintenance costs, allowing IT teams to focus on what matters. 

Naturally, IT teams will be wary of any major changes or shifts in solutions: 

• We don’t have the bandwidth for a major PLM upgrade. This is a perfectly reasonable response, but thankfully, Teamcenter X offers a native cloud solution with minimal infrastructure change management and admin overhead. 
• We can’t afford a long and risky migration. Siemens uses proven methodologies for low-risk, staged transitions. Not only that, but customers often see full ROI in under 17 months. 
• Audit and Compliance aren’t a major issue for us right now. With how much IT teams handle daily, it makes sense to focus on the present, but things are evolving quickly in the PLM space. Teamcenter users report a 15% reduction in audit prep time, and often point to the built-in traceability capabilities as another major time saver when it comes to compliance. 

Real-time Intelligence for Procurement Professionals 

Procurement teams rely on PLM solutions for visibility, compliance, and alignment with engineering. They accomplish these things through the use of features like approved vendor lists (AVLs), component lifecycle monitoring, supplier compliance, NPI collaboration, and overall costing/sourcing alignment. 

Oracle Agile’s end-of-life announcement creates several key issues for procurement teams, including outdated data, broken integrations, and an inability to monitor part obsolescence, among other key capabilities. 

Siemens Teamcenter and Supplyframe’s Design-to-Source Intelligence offers real-time, data-driven capabilities that optimize sourcing, mitigate risk, and reduce cost,  all within a single PLM solution that also features a quoting and supplier portal for enhanced supplier collaboration. 

This results in a “living BOM” that reflects the latest intelligence and insights in real-time, a capability that no other PLM solution can claim. 

Through this, teams will have the foundation for a closed-loop digital thread between engineering and procurement, which is crucial for avoiding last-minute redesigns and other costly disruptions. On average, organizations using Teamcenter and Supplyframe see up to 29% lower direct material spend. 

Of course, procurement professionals know the fragile nature of supply chains, and therefore are rightfully wary of changes to their capabilities and intelligence: 

• Our Current spreadsheets and supplier portals work fine. Many organizations rely on static tools like this, but the reality is that prices, lead times, and inventory change daily. Not only that, but disruption is more unpredictable (and constant) than ever. Teams need real-time insights to stay ahead of issues. 
• Engineering tools drive part decisions, and procurement comes in later. Again, this is how many organizations are handling things, but Supplyframe offers a way to bring procurement intelligence into the engineering process. Imagine having curated sourcing recommendations within the part master. This would allow engineers to consider key factors for each part they choose during the design cycle. 
• We have good supplier relationships; we don’t need intelligence. Siemens and Supplyframe aren’t here to replace supplier relationships. Instead, our intelligence strengthens them with deeper opportunities for collaboration and more effective, data-driven negotiations. By embedding sourcing recommendations upstream in the design process, teams can also strengthen supplier relationships by designing in more spend for them as well. 
• We already have component intelligence. Component data tools tell you what a part is, but Supplyframe’s insights will tell you what to do about it. Live pricing, inventory, alternates, and sourcing strategies allow teams to turn BOMs into actionable cost-reduction and risk mitigation blueprints. 

Is your PLM Solution Running on Borrowed Time?    

In an industry where complexity and disruption are on the rise, any significant changes to solutions and other capabilities must be carefully assessed and considered. Teams cannot afford to create further disruption, after all. 

With Oracle Agile reaching end-of-life, many will be forced to consider a new PLM solution sooner, rather than later. Siemens Teamcenter, now with Supplyframe Design-to-Source Intelligence, offers a solution with enhanced capabilities, phased adoption, and minimal disruption to engineering, IT, and procurement teams. 

To learn more about how Supplyframe and Siemens are charting a path forward, find out how our real-time intelligence works with Teamcenter.