Independent · Siemens PLM & MES · United Kingdom
We help small to medium enterprises select and maintain the digital systems they actually need. We are able to support most aspects of the closed loop manufacturing cycle to ensure your digital roadmap and future business objectives are aligned with one another.
Specialising in PLM and MES systems - chosen for their ability to support your design and manufacturing teams, rather than a vendor's generic sales pitch.
See how we work§ Founder track record
50+
Digital transformation projects
15+ yrs
Aerospace, automotive & manufacturing
12+ yrs
Siemens PLM (Teamcenter)
4+ yrs
Siemens MES (Opcenter)
§ The signature
The work, the wordmark, both built the same way: parts in, stamped, out the door.
§ Assembled, not assembled-looking
§ Closed-loop manufacturing
Closed loop manufacturing is what you get when these three fundamental systems work together to give your organisation the capabilities it requires in order to design, manufacture and manage products. Our experience in these areas allows us to support the majority of the end to end product lifecycle, including servicing and aftermarket functions.
PLM / PDM
Product Lifecycle / Data Management
PLM provides the most advanced levels of capability within engineering data management. It integrates many areas of the design process within a single system (e.g. CAD, CAE, Tech Pubs) and allows for complete management of all associated product data in one place. It may also offer additional capabilities such as requirements management, configuration management, document management and role based access control. For this reason, PLM systems can be rather complex to configure and deploy, and therefore more expensive to the business when compared with simple alternatives.
PDM systems, on the other hand, are the predecessor of PLM and offer basic data management capabilities: simple check-in and check-out of files, with very limited integration to other systems. They are, however, much quicker to configure and deploy, and therefore cheaper to implement and maintain.
MES
Manufacturing Execution System
The ability to consume production orders and manufacturing assembly instructions from upstream (i.e. from ERP or PLM) and then capture all relevant shop floor data within a structured system as the manufacturing steps are taking place. MES systems may have other capabilities included, such as a quality management system (QMS) and advanced planning & scheduling (APS).
ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning
The commercial side of the business is managed through ERP: existing stock, supplier purchasing, planning and cost. This is often the most mature system in existing digital landscapes because it can be considered the backbone through which most commercial processes and procedures take place, hence it is the most commonly invested in to begin with. Despite this, it often still requires updating or improvements when digital transformation initiatives focusing on other areas of the IT landscape take place.
Chosen for what your business needs the most, not for what earns vendors the most. You show us how your business operates and what your future aspirations are, and we will give you an honest appraisal of the value each of these systems could bring.
§ 01 · Operating principles
Three rules, written before the first invoice. They are why clients return, and why we don't work with everyone.
01 /
We operate with only the individuals you need to get the job done. Our team are multi-skilled professionals who have much experience working as a “jack of all trades” in order to get the job done, a single resource can do the project management, architectural design and hands-on deployment if required.
02 /
We will perform an initial discovery and, following that, will provide a fixed price & duration quote for the work to be completed.
03 /
Fifteen years across aerospace, automotive and manufacturing environments. Recommendations take the end users into consideration and don’t simply regurgitate OEM doctrine.
§ 02 · Engagements
Pick by problem, not by hour. Every engagement has a fixed deliverable, and a price agreed before any commitment.
1 week · fully remote
One week, delivered fully remotely to keep your costs down. We map your current high level process end to end and hand back a ranked view of what to fix first, a fixed price, with no open-ended scoping.
2 to 4 weeks · hybrid
Delivered remotely, with the option of an on-site visit if required. By the end of the discovery period you will have an honest view of your as-is capabilities, a list of your desired capabilities against the industry standard, and a proposed plan to bridge that gap.
6 weeks
A future plan detailing your digital transformation, whether that is CAD, PLM, MES, ERP or a combination of all of them. Includes an honest review of the options currently available in the marketplace: their advantages, drawbacks and approximate price points.
8+ weeks
Vendor selection through to go-live. We act as a technical point of contact inside your team, challenging the proposed vendor solution and making sure it meets the needs of the business, working alongside the vendor so the requirements are properly understood, and thoroughly testing the end solution.
Fixed block of days or weeks
Parachute a technical resource into an existing project to accelerate the pace and meet deadlines. Typical activities include finalising design decisions, reviewing design architecture and writing technical documentation.
Monthly, on call
Keep a technical resource on call for emergencies, or for specific tasks as they come in. Unused time can be rolled over or converted to a credit note against a future statement of work.
§ 03 · The work
01
We establish how the work runs today, with the people who run it, operators, supervisors and the systems they use daily.
02
We report what we found before proposing anything, ranked by cost and impact, so you can judge the diagnosis on its own terms.
03
A sequenced, costed plan you can act on. Rarely a single platform purchase, more often an order of work, with the quick wins first.
04
We deliver the plan and stay until the system is running, including 90 days of support after go-live.
§ Founder
Fifteen-plus years across aerospace & defence, automotive and manufacturing.
15+ years across aerospace & defence, automotive and manufacturing, including 12+ years in Siemens PLM (Teamcenter), 4+ in Siemens MES (Opcenter) and 15 with CAD tools. Over 50 digital transformation projects delivered to date.
Digital MFG Limited was founded in 2026 for one main reason: to give smaller design and manufacturing firms a low cost alternative to the “traditional” consulting firms who dominate this space. We wanted there to be an option for those who could not afford six figure sums for implementing PLM or MES systems, and needed some genuine guidance on how to proceed on their digital roadmap.
Reputation and quality of delivery are an important part of our ethos. We will therefore try to be as honest as possible on the scope of delivery and, subsequently, what our limitations are. Any changes to that fixed price will only be as a result of unforeseen obstacles, and every effort will be made to reduce the impact to you, the customer.
50+
Projects delivered
12+
Yrs Siemens PLM
4+
Yrs Siemens MES
§ 04 · Get in touch
Every email is read by the person who would do the work. If we are not a good fit for you, we will recommend others we have worked with in the past who might be.