A few weeks ago, the prostep ivip SYMPOSIUM, one of the world’s biggest neutral PLM conferences, met for its 22nd time. This event offers representatives from discrete manufacturing a platform for sharing experiences and solutions surrounding the digital transformation of products and processes. Over 700 participants and 30 vendors from various industries attended the Symposium to explore this year’s topic: Collaboration in the Age of Smart Products and Services. Here’s my take on some of this year’s highlights.
The conference kicked-off on a high note as Aras CEO and Founder, Peter Schroer, offered a keynote, Future-Proofing for Tomorrow, that set the context for the rest of the event. Peter offered Aras’ perspective on the criteria that should be used when choosing PLM-systems. The Aras take: “Plan for Change – Demand Resiliency.” Peter’s presentation detailed the integration challenges for PLM systems—including the cultural transformation that is required within organizations. Aras’ take on this topic definitely sparked numerous lively discussions throughout the Symposium.
An additional keynote was presented by Dirk Spindler, Senior Vice President – R&D Processes, Methods, and Tools at Schaeffler Group, a leading manufacturer of rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace, and industrial uses. Dirk introduced the company’s point of view on the upcoming mobility challenges and the PLM-solutions that will be required to meet them.
One of the highlights of the second day was the presentation Verification Management based on a flexible product platform given by Frank Seidel and Verena Held from the BMW Group. The session included a sophisticated demonstration of their verification test using Aras PLM, which has resulted in significant process improvement BMW.
Agile was another major topic discussed at prostep—in particular, a very interesting presentation, Agile inter-disciplinary collaboration: methods, tools and reality, that featured shared experiences by BMW Group & UNITY. This was one of my personal favorites of the conference.
We’re looking forward to meeting you at our next event: ACE 2019 Europe, November 5 & 6 in Munich!