How JMA Wireless Achieved 2.5x Process Efficiency with Propel | Propulsion 2026

From a Syracuse basement to global 5G infrastructure: JMA Wireless on building a PLM strategy that compounds over time.

At Propulsion 2026, Andrew Franklin, Engineering Systems Manager, and Stephanie Lee, Configuration Management Analyst, shared the decade-long journey that took JMA Wireless from paper-based processes to a globally unified PLM platform powering their U.S. and Italian operations.

The numbers are hard to ignore:

• Scrap costs down nearly 40%, non-design engineering time reduced by 28%
• Change proposal review costs cut by more than 60%
• Deviation administration costs slashed by more than 70%

All of that, plus a four-month U.S. go-live that beat a 12-month original estimate, accomplished without any prior Salesforce experience. Andrew and Stephanie break down the process-first philosophy, the incremental expansion strategy, and the data integrity backbone that made JMA's Propel rollout not just successful, but replicable across borders.

Key Takeaways

Start with Process, Not Software

JMA's PLM journey began in 2016, years before any system go-live, with a deliberate focus on cleaning up processes and data. That foundation is what made a four-month U.S. implementation possible and set the ceiling for ROI far higher than originally projected.

Every ROI Target Was Exceeded in Year One

JMA set ambitious benchmarks before launching Propel, and hit or surpassed all of them. Scrap cost reduction reached nearly 40% against a 25% target, product releases nearly tripled, and ECR throughput increased by 30% while the cost to process each one dropped by more than 60%.

Expanding Beyond the Initial Scope Within the First Year

Within twelve months of go-live, JMA had deployed 50% more processes than originally scoped. Users began proactively asking to connect their workflows to Propel, a sign that the platform had earned trust as a reliable, connected source of truth across the organization.

Connecting the Dots Across Supply Chain, Compliance, and Design

JMA extended Propel well beyond core PLM with the Supplier Community portal, SiliconExpert integration for supply chain risk visibility, compliance declarations tied to change processes, and custom objects linking patents to product items. The value of each record compounded when everything lived in context together.

A Custom Integration Built to Evolve

Rather than managing complexity on the ERP side, JMA built and continuously extended their Propel-to-SAP integration to push item revision data and BOMs, and pull back inventory levels and current costs. When the Italian business unit launched, adding new fields on the Propel side was seamless compared to what a SAP-side approach would have required.

Global Go-Live Earned Through Alignment, Not Assumption

The international expansion to JMA's Italian design center took 18 months of deliberate process documentation and gap resolution. By respecting the differences between regional processes rather than overwriting them, the December 2024 global go-live generated unprecedented cross-team connection and laid the groundwork for continued acceleration.

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About Propulsion 2026

‍Propulsion brings together everything product and manufacturing leaders need to know in one place. Bringing you Propel’s boldest platform reveals, critical AI and market insights from top industry analysts, and real customer results. These sessions are designed to cut through the noise so you can put what matters most to work immediately.