At any given moment in time there are beginners in PLM. Start-ups. Seasoned professionals changing roles. Growing companies making new investments in previously forgone solutions. This morning I passed Peter Schroer in the hall as I was thinking about the newcomers to PLM and asked him what the main reason is for a company to care about PLM. If you haven't gone down this road before, what is the driving force to start now?
Peter:
Before I can answer your question, we've got to further define the scope of PLM. Too many companies think that if they have PDM (product data management) to manage their CAD files and ERP for purchasing materials they have all the primary solutions they need to run their business.
JM:
You're right. I've seen this mindset many times over the years. What then is the real issue companies are facing when it comes time to give real thought to taking on a PLM initiative? How would you define the scope of PLM?
Peter:
Well, the PDM/ERP approach fails to consider all of the business’s related processes, collaboration and non-CAD files, which are often left un-managed and inaccessible in email, Excel spreadsheets and numerous stand-alone department level solutions.
PLM begins long before an engineer opens his CAD software. A true PLM strategy begins in the earliest phases of establishing product requirements and managing a portfolio of ideas. PLM continues all the way through supporting products in the field, including maintenance, repair, replacement and obsolescence.
In between that the PLM strategy encompasses design, development, regulations and compliance. Don't forget about supply chain management, tooling and factory preparation, manufacturing, and more. Within the PLM strategy there are many stakeholders and thousands of threads of informal and formal, controlled and uncontrolled, collaboration discussions. The company’s most strategic and competitive processes, data, ideas and knowledge happen outside of CAD and ERP.
When you put it all together, the PLM strategy becomes the heart of the business; its pulse. PLM is where everything is coordinated, mistakes are minimized, costs are controlled, risks are mitigated and customers are delivered they products they want and will pay for.
Clearly this is a topic Peter's given a lot of thought to. I think he struck the nail on the head when he stated that the company's most strategic and competitive processes happen both formally and informally outside of CAD and ERP solutions.
So what keeps your business heart beating?