The Critical Role of Adlib in Dassault Solutions like 3DX, Catia, and Solidworks

For over 15 years, Adlib and Dassault Systèmes have partnered to deliver powerful document transformation and automation solutions to some of the world’s leading enterprises. Adlib is embedded within Biovia, a core part of the Dassault ecosystem, where it serves over 1,500 customers. Adlib is a preferred technology partner for other Dassault solutions, including Enovia, 3DX, Catia, and Solidworks, supporting over 50 leading organizations that leverage Adlib within their Dassault environments. System integrators, such as DXC and Technia, provide critical support in solution deployment.

Breakdown of Use Cases: How Dassault Customers Leverage Adlib

The Adlib-Dassault partnership addresses specific use cases that are critical to organizations using Dassault’s suite of tools. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common use cases:

1. Document Stamping

1,000’s of organizations use Adlib to future-proof document stamping.  Many organizations need to ensure that documents are consistently stamped with metadata or digital signatures, whether for regulatory purposes or internal tracking. This ensures that every document is compliant and traceable, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring consistency across all files.

2. Metadata-Driven Document Rendering

Adlib provides the ability to enrich the output rendered PDF with Metadata passed to Adlib during the conversion process with support for static and dynamic metadata attributes. Adlib's ability to render documents based on specific metadata inputs is a big deal for organizations that need to maintain control over document versions, formats, and content.

3. CAD Rendering

One of the most powerful applications of Adlib within Dassault environments is the ability to render CAD files into other formats like PDFs. This is particularly important for organizations that need to share CAD drawings with non-technical stakeholders or for regulatory submissions. Adlib ensures that CAD files are rendered accurately while maintaining their original content, document size, and format integrity. No AutoCAD licensing or software required.

4. Audit-Ready Documentation

For organizations in industries like life sciences and automotive, the ability to generate audit-ready documentation is crucial. Adlib automates the process of transforming raw documents into compliant, audit-ready files that meet regulatory standards. This includes ensuring that documents are complete, accurate, and properly formatted.

‍5. Advanced Document Assembly of Controlled Documents

Organizations using Dassault’s Enovia solution often need to manage controlled documents throughout their lifecycle. Adlib automates the process of assembling these documents, ensuring that they are accurate, up-to-date, and compliant with industry regulations. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures that the latest versions are always available to stakeholders.

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Technology Requirements That Customers Need

System operations:

• Integrations: Adlib API, web services, XML
• Trigger based conversions (automatically from workflow, time scheduled and on-demand) automating workflows
• Metadata enriched output PDFs (static or dynamic attributes)
• Prioritization (configuration)
• Various file types: Microsoft office file types,CAD, DWG, JPG, PDF/A, TIFF etc.  
• Monitoring dashboard for performance metrics provided in the user interface.
• User experience: network file sharing allows users to convert locally on desktops by placing documents in a folder which is being monitored by Adlib. Access to Adlib through the Adlib User Interface orthe Adlib API

‍System configurations:

• Maintains the page sizes of the original document (ex A0-A4 page sizes)
• Different languages
• Optical Character Recognition
• Fully indexed PDF files when using Adlib’s built-in OCR engine
• Bookmarks and clickable links
• Merging documents
• Embedding labels/images
• PDF security protection: password, printing,copying from, downloading etc.
• Table of contents
• Watermarks/overlays
• Headers/footers
• Digital signatures

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Challenges Addressed by the Adlib-Dassault Partnership

Organizations need critical documentation processed quickly and efficiently. However, many companies face significant delays when dealing with large, complex files, such as 10,000-page documents or CAD files, especially when using systems with a single-threaded architecture that operates on a "first in, first out" basis. These inefficiencies lead to document queues, which can hold up critical processes and ultimately cost businesses in terms of time, risk, and revenue.

Many Dassault customers had previously experienced performance issues with other solutions but transitioned to Adlib to address these specific challenges. Here are some of the key problems Adlib solves, compared to its competitors.

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Problems Experienced with Competitive Solutions:

1. Job Queue Bottlenecks:
   With some competitive solutions, end users often experience significant delays in document processing, waiting up to 3 hours or more for large documents to be processed. This is especially problematic in environments where multiple users are submitting large files simultaneously, leading to documents getting stuck in queues. For example, when 10 users submit 10,000-page documents at once, the system can become overwhelmed, and documents might have to be manually resubmitted for processing, delaying all jobs further.
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2. Single-Threaded Architecture:
   Many competitors use a single-threaded processing model, where jobs are handled one at a time, in the order they are received. This means that large or complex files can block the entire queue, preventing other documents from being processed in a timely manner. If the first document in the queue has 10,000 pages or is 400MB in size, it can cause significant delays for everyone else in line. This architecture leads to bottlenecks, often requiring manual intervention, which wastes time and resources.
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3. High Volume and Large Document Processing:
   Processing high volumes of documents, especially those with large file sizes, requires significant computing power. Competitive solutions often struggle with this, leading to slow performance and frustrated users.
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4. Complex Document Workflows:
   Dassault customers frequently deal with vast volumes of technical documents, CAD files, and regulatory reports. Managing these documents manually is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors, further complicating workflows and creating inefficiencies.
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5. Multiple Document Formats:
   Dassault systems manage a wide variety of file formats, from CAD drawings to PDFs. Ensuring that these documents maintain their format integrity while being converted or processed can be a significant burden for organizations using less advanced solutions. Get the full list of support file types here.
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6. Accuracy Concerns:
   Competitive solutions often struggle with accuracy, especially when converting or processing complex documents with intricate details without leveraging native Microsoft apps for conversion. This can lead to incorrect document formats, lost data, or failed compliance checks, all of which can introduce risk and slow down business processes.

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The Adlib Solution

Unlike many other solutions, Adlib’s advanced multi-threaded architecture ensures that large documents, complex workflows, and high-volume processing needs are handled efficiently and with minimal bottlenecks. This results in faster processing times, improved accuracy, and reduced manual intervention, enabling organizations to meet their document management needs seamlessly.

Adlib provides the necessary horsepower to handle large files and high volumes, ensuring documents are processed quickly and without delays. It also supports a wide range of file formats, allowing for smooth and reliable conversion, which is critical for maintaining the integrity and compliance of technical documents.

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The Benefits and Value Outcomes of the Adlib-Dassault Partnership

The Adlib-Dassault partnership provides significant value to organizations across multiple industries. By embedding Adlib’s document automation technology within Dassault’s suite of products, enterprises can benefit from:

1. Enhanced Operational Efficiency

Adlib automates complex and time-consuming document processes. Whether it’s rendering CAD files into PDFs, automatically stamping documents with metadata, or assembling controlled documents, Adlib takes the manual burden off employees. This allows teams to focus on higher-value tasks and helps companies avoid errors and inefficiencies associated with manual document handling.

2. Audit-Ready Documentation

For organizations in regulated industries, the ability to create audit-ready documents is a critical requirement. Adlib ensures that all documents processed within the Dassault environment are accurate, complete, and compliant with industry standards. This includes automating the application of metadata, digital signatures, and ensuring that documents adhere to specific format and content requirements.

3. Improved Compliance

Organizations that operate in industries like life sciences, manufacturing, and automotive must comply with strict regulatory requirements. The Adlib-Dassault partnership enables customers to automatically transform documents into formats that meet regulatory standards, ensuring compliance with industry guidelines, including FDA, ISO, and EU regulations. This reduces the risk of non-compliance and the associated penalties.

4. Seamless Integration Across Dassault Solutions

Adlib is embedded within Biovia and is a preferred technology partner for other Dassault solutions like Enovia, 3DX, Catia, and Solidworks. This means that Adlib works seamlessly across Dassault’s ecosystem, enabling customers to take advantage of powerful document transformation capabilities within their existing environments. Whether it’s rendering complex CAD files in Catia or managing controlled documents in Enovia, Adlib enhances the document management capabilities of Dassault solutions.

5. Global Scalability

Organizations leveraging Dassault’s solutions often have global operations. Adlib’s document automation capabilities ensure that teams across different regions can collaborate on the same set of documents without worrying about inconsistencies or regulatory missteps. This enables organizations to scale their operations while maintaining control over document quality and compliance.

6. Long-Term Cost Savings

By automating document processes and reducing the need for manual intervention, the Adlib-Dassault partnership delivers long-term cost savings. Organizations can reduce the time and resources required for document management, compliance checks, and audits, leading to improved financial outcomes and resource allocation.

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Conclusion: A Partnership That Drives Innovation and Efficiency

The Adlib-Dassault partnership represents a powerful combination of document automation and engineering excellence. By embedding Adlib’s document transformation capabilities within Dassault’s suite of tools, organizations are empowered to tackle their most complex document challenges with confidence. Whether it’s rendering CAD files, automating document stamping, or generating audit-ready documentation, the partnership continues to deliver value to customers across a wide range of industries.

With over 50 Dassault customers already leveraging Adlib for critical document use cases, the partnership will only continue to grow, delivering greater efficiencies, improved compliance, and long-term cost savings.

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