Build a Single Source of Truth for Design Success

Every design team knows the feeling: an urgent project update, three different file versions, and no one is sure which one is the most recently updated. Hours disappear to hunting down “final” revisions, fixing overwritten designs, or reconciling conflicting feedback causing a fragmented workflow. 

 The single source of truth is a digitally connected environment where design data lives in one place, updates automatically, and remains accurate for everyone who works on it. Image source: SOLIDWORKS.

In our earlier articles — From Desktop to Connected: Debunking Common Myths About Moving SOLIDWORKS to the Cloud and The Hidden Costs of Free File Sharing — we explored why the move toward connected design tools is reshaping the way engineers collaborate and where traditional sharing methods fall short.

This next step in the journey focuses on what comes after connection: clarity in a single source of truth. When every contributor, manager, and partner works from the same trusted data, decisions become easier, collaboration becomes frictionless, and progress accelerates.

That’s the promise of a single source of truth (SSOT) — a digitally connected environment where design data lives in one place, updates automatically, and remains accurate for everyone who touches it. Across the industry, design platforms are evolving to bring data, tools and people together in shared digital environments, such as SOLIDWORKS Design, previously known as 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS.

The Problem: Fragmented Workflows Create Friction

For many design teams, the clarity of a SSOT still feels out of reach. The tools and habits that once made collaboration possible now slow it down. When teams aren’t sure which version is current, collaboration slows to a crawl. Managers hesitate to approve updates, engineers double-check work that’s already been done, and partners wait for the “right” file before moving forward.

According to research from Tech-Clarity, “20% of engineers’ time is spent working with outdated information, which often leads to wasted effort and rework.” That rework is causing teams to work harder than they should.

The Solution: Unifying Design Data in a Connected Environment

Across the design and manufacturing industry, teams are discovering that the next frontier of efficiency lies in connection, not complexity. Modern CAD ecosystems are evolving toward a common goal: to centralize design data so that updates are shared automatically rather than manually distributed.

On Dassault Systèmes’ SOLIDWORKS Design platform, that model takes shape through a secure, cloud-based environment that links each stage of the design process. Instead of storing multiple versions of a file in separate folders or drives, the entire project resides in a shared workspace and is accessible from any device and synchronized in real time.

The platform connects familiar desktop SOLIDWORKS tools with collaborative cloud services such as 3DDrive for secure file storage and sharing, and 3DSwym for threaded team discussions and project updates. Engineers can continue designing in the desktop environment they know while linking their work to a shared data backbone through Collaborative Designer for SOLIDWORKS.

Because design data is linked, not copied, any change made by one contributor is visible to the rest of the team, eliminating version conflicts and manual file transfers. ENOVIA-powered revision control ensures that design history, approvals, and dependencies are captured automatically. Managers gain project visibility without requesting status updates, and suppliers or partners can review the same data with controlled permissions.

The result is a digital workspace that replaces isolated file management with real-time collaboration — a single, reliable source of truth where accuracy, accountability, and innovation coexist.

From Control to Creativity: Trust as an Innovation Engine

When teams trust that every model, part, and assembly is current and traceable, they gain the freedom and the time to experiment. Design iteration becomes faster, safer, and more collaborative.

Within SOLIDWORKS Design, engineers can explore alternative concepts in parallel without creating disconnected file versions. Integrated tools in the 3DEXPERIENCE Works Simulation portfolio allow teams to test designs against real-world conditions early in development, such as evaluating stress, motion, or thermal performance while working from the same shared model data. Because simulation results are linked directly to the design, teams can refine geometry and re-run studies without manual data transfers. This closed feedback loop helps prevent errors that often occur when analysis and design live in separate systems.

This transparency encourages participation beyond the engineering team. Industrial designers, analysts, and project leads can review and comment within the same environment using tools like 3DPlay, which provides interactive model viewing in a browser. Instead of design reviews scheduled around static screenshots, feedback can happen as the work evolves.

For smaller firms, that connected workflow can level the playing field. With fewer barriers to collaboration and iteration, teams can bring products to market faster while maintaining quality. Unified data reduces risk — but just as importantly, it gives engineers the confidence to pursue bold ideas, knowing that every change is captured, visible, and reversible.

Case in Point: Roboplas Cuts Design Errors with a Unified Platform

For Brazilian packaging manufacturer Roboplas, managing complex mold designs across separate systems once meant wasted time and frequent errors. Designers kept local files, emailed revisions, and manually merged updates which often produced duplicate or outdated data.

According to this SOLIDWORKS customer story, Roboplas shifted its workflow to SOLIDWORKS Design, consolidating design, collaboration, and data management in a single environment. With every part and assembly stored in one shared space, the company estimates it reduced design errors by 65- to 75% and cut overall delivery time.

Roboplas estimates it reduced design error by 65- to 75%, plus lowered delivery time after implementing SOLIDWORKS Design.

Team members can now track changes, review geometry, and exchange feedback directly within the platform and no longer rely on external file sharing. Roboplas reports that this connected approach “simplified processes and increased design quality,” giving its engineers the confidence to focus on innovation rather than version control.

Their results reflect a broader trend among small and midsize manufacturers: as projects grow more complex and distributed, centralized design data is becoming a practical necessity for accuracy, speed, and profitability.

Building the Foundation for the Future

Every product begins as an idea, but success depends on how efficiently that idea travels from concept to creation. When design data, teams, and tools operate from a single connected source, trust becomes part of the process. Instead of chasing files or reconciling changes, engineers can concentrate on problem-solving and innovation, and organizations gain the visibility needed to plan with confidence.

Across the engineering industry, the move toward integrated digital platforms is accelerating. According to research from Tech-Clarity’s Design Data Accessibility Perspective, companies that improve access to accurate, up-to-date design data report measurable gains in efficiency and collaboration, reducing time lost to rework and delays. Platforms such as SOLIDWORKS Design exemplify this shift, linking every stage of development within one environment so that accuracy, accountability, and agility can scale together.

A single source of truth is a technical and strategic milestone. As products grow more complex and teams more distributed, connected design data will be essential to maintaining speed, quality, and trust. The companies building that foundation today are setting the stage for a more agile, innovation-ready tomorrow.

Read the whole series covering SOLIDWORKS Design:

From Desktop to Connected: Debunking Common Myths About Moving SOLIDWORKS to the Cloud. Your current set up works, but is it holding you back?

The Hidden Costs of Free File Sharing. Why small design firms are switching to secure client portals.

Build a Single Source of Truth for Design Success. As engineering teams juggle more data and collaboration points than ever, connected design platforms are redefining how clarity, trust, and innovation come together.

This article was sponsored by SOLIDWORKS. 

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