Whoops meant Parasolid. Since moving to Solidworks recently(ish) we found the Parasolid file formats to be amazing for sending solid models to manufacturers and FEA types. Seems to be so compatible and you can add so much info with great control over it. Have had far fewer follow up requests for drawings.
Btw check out TeamPlatform, syncs nicely with workgroup pdm but is a bit different than standard offerings. Has worked out cheaper for us, it may do for your set up too.