Propel Reviews

I like Propel for the seamless collaboration it offers, allowing my team across engineering, manufacturing, and sales to work together in real time. It also helps with speeding up product launches thanks to its PLM workflow and product management features. The initial setup was fast.

I find that some people experience a steep learning curve when first using the platform, so simpler user onboarding and training could be improved.

I use Propel for new product development, speeding up product launches, and facilitating seamless collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, and sales.

I like that Propel is user-friendly and covers everything from document control to non-conformance material reports (NCMR) and corrective and preventive actions (CAPA). The Change control process for engineering changes is particularly valuable as it makes it easy for the reviewer.

Integration of ERP systems would be nice but is now a showstopper

I use Propel for document control and quality systems, solving regulatory and quality requirements for medical devices. It's user-friendly and covers everything from document control to NCMR and CAPA.

The most important feature I think, is the workflow visibility; I can clearly see who is next in line, who has already completed approval of a certain item, etc. and who is dragging their feet. Before we were using a system of files everywhere, and we never knew which version of anything was current, and it was always a huge headache. Being cloud-based allows me to access it via my phone while I am on the floor, or when I’m away from my desk, which I thought I would never end up doing, but I do. At the end of a long day, I’m simply happy that we are no longer wasting time finding duplicate files, and figuring out which version of something we should be using.

Setting it up takes longer than you’d ever think. Also, a minor pet peeve, but a real pet peeve – you can’t really attach additional links or supporting documentation to each step of a workflow, as I would like to. It’s a small thing, but I continue to run into it.

Propel solves those issues by providing a centralized platform for your Bills Of Materials, Change Orders, Approvals and Documents and tying them together in an actionable workflow so that nothing moves until all necessary approvals are made. That’s it, that’s the total value and it works.

The element that I appreciate the most is that Propel has made responsibility and ownership of tasks transparent. I often use it in my position as a coordinator of product launches to keep track of the different people responsible to do every bit of the work such as certification approval and launch progress. It is simple to view the status of each item due to its wide capabilities surrounding task reminders and version logs. As it is something that we use on a regular basis, the platform simplifies the confusion, stays the projects on the timeline and makes everyone in various departments responsible.

A weakness I have observed is that task dependencies are not always easy to visualise where the product line is large. Although the workflow and approval tracking features are rather powerful, it takes additional effort to see how different items are related to each other. Due to the frequency of use, this can make planning periods slow where coordinating different teams is required which would need clarifications and follow-ups.

The key problem Propel solved was a lack of uniformity in implementation of product teams. There were often delays in tasks, duplicate tasks and even lapses in approvals. A systematized assignment of tasks and documented workflows now provide everyone with insight into the next steps to be performed. We are used to it, which means that coordination is easier; progress can be measured more easily and, due to the regularity of its use, launches are not accompanied by those unnecessary interruptions and errors.

My favourite part about Propel is that it is able to monitor the progress and team activity of the project in the same location. I refer to it on the daily basis to update on the tasks, check milestones, and ensure that nothing slips through. Notifications allow me to remain informed on the changes without having to be actively informed back and forth. The features concern things that are actually important and by consistently using it, it has made team work easier and I would plan my day more easily.

The first one is that Propel could become a little claustrophobic when dealing with several projects with overlapping schedules. I usually have to manage to do the tasks manually by adapting them to changes, which makes the work slow down in the hectic weeks. These limitations appear regularly since I use it on a daily basis. Though it has been developed to manage standard project tracking quite well, times of heavy updates or change of focus are at times cumbersome than it should be.

The greatest advantage is that Propel maintains the view of project updates being visible and predictable. I am not required to search various sources of information, but I can go through everything on a single platform. I visit it frequently to check what is being tracked and what needs to be done, which enables the team to remain in the same track. It has removed a significant amount of sporadic guessing and simplified the process of keeping the workflow within a variety of projects on track.

I enjoy the fact that Propel works with our CAD program. It has made the process of dealing with our bill of materials highly streamlined. The flexibility to design our own workflows according to our own needs has also been very useful.

I consider the search mechanism to be a little slow at times. I hope there is a more user friendly method of handling complex BOM structures. Better integration with our ERP system would be something I would also like to see.

We had issues regarding version control and monitoring engineering changes. Propel has developed a central repository of all our product information. Now we noticed the definite decrease of manufacturing errors, and a more effective process of collaboration.

.Arranged platform, fabulous UI, fascinating support team with all kinds of assistance

Flexibility with reports and columns setting

Variety of different kinds of system solutions

I like the fact that it is very easy to involve our clients in the design review activity. They only have to look at whatever the most recent mockups are and make changes which are approved right in Propel without us ever having to open a second portal or daisy chain emails. The second major success is the way it ties customer input on returns directly to component changes and therefore easily visible as to why a revision occurred.

Tracking of niche client requirements in the initial setup of the custom field was somehow cumbersome. Learning on our own unique data structures took some time to mapping back correctly. Also the notification alerts should be more refined out of the box so new users are not immediately overwhelmed by every little bit of an update.

Before we would have a really hard time getting timely client approvals on custom designed products and tracking exactly what they had wanted done to them. The length of a project was frequently made longer due to the lack of a unified channel of email approvals and version control. Using Propel our design approval cycle time is also reduced greatly due to the single location to review and comment. It has no longer had the cringeworthy, time-wasting and irritating disputes about which version you signed off, and everybody saves a lot of grief.

Propel has had a great impact on our organization, It is more modern than another similar software. It has helped us to increase the efficiency of the process and connect customers with interesting products and experiences.

Since implementing Propel, the experience has been extremely positive. We've found it highly effective in managing documentation, engineering changes, corrective and preventive actions, non-conformities, and more.

Propel -Add our processes and improve collaboration in all areas. It allows us to find creative ways of satisfying commercial needs, the board and the reports that facilitate the monitoring and analysis of data.

Our company adapted Propel nearly two years ago. I am a daily user and still love the system! I love the customization that we can implement into the system and how user friendly it is. Teaching users how to navigate the system has been easy and new hires are able to learn the software quickly. I also am pleased with the storage capacity and how the system does not get bogged down. Our team at Propel is also always helpful and responsive if we run into any issues.

The only downside I have observed is that there are a few glitches when there are new versions released. They are minor and the team always helps to resolve them quickly!

We use this to house all of our QMS Documents, CAPAs, Marketing Materials, and Product BOMs.

Having everything in one place makes for ease of access and use.