To wrap up the series of posts I've made over the past few weeks, I'd like to reiterate a few key points:
IF YOU HAVEN’T STARTED YOUR PLM IMPLEMENTATION YET You now have some good tips to help you get going in the right direction, including:
- Clearly identify your needs and business goals; prioritize accordingly.
- Make sure you understand the economics of the PLM system’s pricing and licensing. If you can’t afford to deploy and roll out to everyone, you’re probably not going to achieve the necessary ROI.
- Concentrate on high priority issues that map to your objectives and deliver results for the business.
- Think of PLM as the strategic business system it is, not as a glorified CAD management tool, and you will see strategic business results in return.
- Choose open, flexible software that can grow and change with your business.
- Use PLM automation technology wisely. Keep people in the process.
- Phased, incremental implementations are better for users, stake holders and the company overall.
- Pick one process and deploy it. Don’t get caught up in perpetual evaluation or endless process mapping. If you've chosen flexible software to support your process, making an improvement when it's discovered will be simple and straightforward.
- Never lose sight of the fact that it’s all about people’s ability to actually use the software.
- Remember that it's ok to walk away from past decisions and move in a new direction or combine solutions to fill in gaps and provide a unified overall process.
IF YOU’RE STUCK Getting stuck is nothing to be embarrassed about. It happens every day. The question is what to do about it? We’ve all heard the sayings “don’t throw good money after bad” and “when you find yourself in a hole stop digging.” Yet many companies think that once they’ve bought a PLM system, they’re stuck with it forever, even if it doesn’t work. The millions they’ve spent on software licenses becomes an anchor they drag around for years, believing they must justify the investments of the past rather than making the right decisions for the future.
Spent money is a sunk cost. If you’re not getting results, move on. Technology is advancing faster than ever. Keep an open mind and be prepared to switch horses if that’s what it takes to be successful. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing decision. In many cases you can continue using what you’ve got in the places where it works while introducing new technology where you need it.
CALL ARAS People come to Aras because they get results. Whether you need enterprise change management, global product development, an integrated end-to-end solution or something in the middle, Aras will deliver a PLM solution that meets your needs and really works. Aras is highly flexible and scalable, and easy to use, tailor and implement. And, with no PLM license fees, we offer the lowest TCO in the industry.
Here's to a successful PLM road ahead!