5 Propel Capabilities Agile Users Love

Agile PLM isn’t just outdated; it’s actively holding companies back.

Security vulnerabilities are piling up. Support is evaporating. And the pool of consultants who can still keep the system limping along is shrinking by the day.

But the risks aren’t only about cyber threats or looming end-of-life deadlines. Agile is slowing down product companies right now. Teams are wasting time fighting the tool instead of focusing on innovation. Workflows are brittle. Reports are static. And critical product data is trapped in silos.

That’s why so many manufacturers are moving to Propel. They’re discovering that a modern, cloud-native platform doesn’t just replace Agile, it unlocks capabilities Agile users have wanted for years but never had.

In live customer demos, five features consistently draw the biggest reaction. These aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re the things Agile users have been waiting for.

Here are the top 5 Propel capabilities Agile users love most and why they matter right now.

Want to see what these features look like in action? Take our Product Tour designed especially for Agile users.

1. Analytics That Work for You, Not Against You

Agile users know the frustration of static reports, manual exports, and endless requests to IT just to answer a basic question. By the time the data lands on your desk, it’s already stale.

Propel changes the game with real-time analytics embedded directly into the product record. Dashboards show KPIs like cycle times, open changes, and average closure days, live, not lagging.

Plus, you can subscribe to reports and have them automatically delivered to your inbox on a schedule, or triggered when thresholds are exceeded (i.e. open changes surpassing 60). No logins, no delays, no middlemen.

2. BOM Management Without the Pain

Managing BOMs in Agile feels like death by a thousand clicks. Context is scattered, revisions are opaque, and cost visibility is nonexistent.

Propel puts BOMs at the center of the product record: a living source of truth. CAD attachments, work instructions, supplier details, and quality issues all appear directly in the BOM tab. So if you’re redlining an item across three products, Propel auto-updates everywhere it’s used.

Even better: costed BOM views pull manufacturer pricing directly onto the screen. 

This is BOM management as it always should have been: connected, contextual, and collaborative.

3. Workflows That Drive Execution Using Clicks, Not Code

Agile workflows are rigid, bureaucratic, and brittle. They track signatures, but they don’t help teams get work done. Propel makes workflows intelligent and dynamic. ECOs look familiar enough to ease adoption, but with major upgrades:

• Bulk changes automatically redlined across multiple products.
• Contextual help that explains why approvers, like marketing, were added.
• Activities and checklists that must be completed before workflows can advance.
  

Agile users immediately notice the difference: Propel workflows don’t just route paperwork. They guide execution, enforce accountability, and accelerate release cycles.

See a real ECO workflow in the Product Tour. You’ll never look at Agile approvals the same way again.

4. Search That's Truly Global

Agile search is a coin toss: too narrow or too broad, never quite right. Propel brings Google-fast global search across parts, projects, changes, cases — everywhere.

Saved searches are where Propel pulls far ahead. Agile limited sharing to “me” or “everyone.” Propel gives you nuance: share with your team, another business unit, or even specific suppliers. This flexibility is a breakthrough for companies trying to connect external partners into their processes without exposing the whole system.

5. Categories Without Headaches

Every Agile admin knows that configuring categories and attributes is painful, rigid, and IT-dependent, given Agile's reliance on Java Client.

Propel makes categories browser-based, configurable, and scalable. Attributes cascade logically from parent to child, and new categories can be created on the fly.

The real differentiator is the ability to assign entitled access. Suppliers can be enabled to submit ECRs but not ECOs, for example. They log into their own community view, see active issues, and work within clear boundaries.

This result isn't just significantly greater convenience; it’s a secure, scalable way to collaborate at speed.

The Bottom Line: Agile Is Out of Time

Agile’s clock is ticking. Every day spent inside its rigid workflows and static reports is a day lost to competitors moving faster on modern platforms.

Propel is the cloud-native next step with revolutionary platform enhancements that Agile users deserve. Analytics that deliver answers. BOMs that connect context. Workflows that drive execution. Search that empowers. Categories that scale.

Take the Product Tour to see how Propel brings each of these capabilities to life, side by side with the Agile limitations you already know too well.

Don’t wait for end-of-life to force your hand. See for yourself why Agile users are choosing Propel.