Propel Reviews & Product Details

The fact that Propel has a centralization of our product documentation and feedback loops has been game changer in our small fast moving startup. The fact that it enables us to directly relate customer feature requests to development work is something that I like very much. It also makes boarding new people to our product roadmap much easier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Field engineers could have a stronger mobile interface of quick updates. Also, as the main functionality is good, I should like more easy integrations with ourselves niche CAD software. The first installation of the custom workflow was a little more engaged than expected. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The aspect of Propel that I like the most is that it will keep us focused whenever we have to change product details or release them. I work on it within Salesforce, and nothing can be considered out of place with our usual work. It maintains a regular flow of updates and prevents things going down the cracks. That foundation has enabled hectic days to be a lot more manageable. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What annoys me sometimes about Propel is that some minor tasks may become more lengthy due to the additional navigating that is required. Those minor distractions disrupt our flow when the team is running fast. It has not been causing great problems but the extra effort is reflected on the peak working hours and release tightness. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think the advantage of not having to haul a heavy laptop is that it works via cloud if the wifi isn't down; it also stores all our BOMs in the same spot and instead of me searching through ten different folders to locate a single part number. Additionally it integrates well with our cad tools as it allows us to lock files so that no one can overwrite someone else's work which is reassuring. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Once a user accidentally uploaded their desktop wallpaper and icons into the system and we were unable to reverse the action, therefore we were forced to totally wipe the system and begin again, it was a terrible experience. The user interface is rigid as it has a "made by engineers for robots" feel to it and rather than an interface built for humans with eyes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Propel does well when dealing with extremely fine grained revisions on individual products within a general product structure. We would have a record of each individual design revision of a custom optical assembly and who did what and when. It also has the ability to easily bind all our related non design documents such as specific manufacturing procedures, or customer test report to the particular product revision. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The search feature sometimes has the problem of incomplete entries in which the search engine needs utterly specific part numbers or names of documents to get satisfactory output. Moreover, sometimes potential review sessions may have slight delays in loading the very large and dense schematic diagrams. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One area of excellence in Propel is the way in which it binds approved lists of components to our production bills of material. This has helped rid us of our prior difficulty in utilizing components that are not approved or outdated on the assembly floor. I also like smoothness as we can easily associate non conformance reports to particular product versions. This makes the offloading of deviation investigations a lot quicker and transparent to all. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The core features function effectively; however, I believe there is room for improvement in setting up role-based task queues for our assembly team. It would also be advantageous if the integrated supplier portal allowed for more detailed customization of access rights, particularly when it comes to sharing specific documents. Additionally, I have found that the initial search filters are not as intuitive as I would expect, especially when we need to access historical production data for our daily operations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like Propel because it is great at negotiating the post deployment product variations. It also serves to keep us on the right path to follow certain configurations of the individual robotic systems that we have in the field. Also, Propell integrating component end of life directly in our product records is kind of wonderful. This advance awareness will allow us to now be one step ahead of the game by proactively planning replenishment compared with being reactive to the surprise of replacement. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Propel is rather rigid with regard to attempting a minor, retroactive modification to a historical product record on one deployed unit. Very often, it also involves an embarrassingly time-consuming procedure in order not to influence other product lines. Sometimes really deep bill of material structures can be annoying to navigate through when I just want to get a little of information on a single part speedily. Its filters are so advanced and can be too precise overly so that making a broader search can be more complicated than needed. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

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. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is great for version control. This includes tracking formal review and approval processes, and ability to review or recover old/obsolete versions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is incredibly unintuitive to make new items or structural changes to the data that are collected. It is hard to make any changes without interfacing with an internal Propel account manager. The use guides are hard to follow and also tiring to read. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.