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* Welcome * Welcome to this issue of 2PLM, an e-zine distributed every two weeks on a free subscription basis. This week's lead article "Use PLM Operations to Enhance Your Company's Performance" is from Mark Thut, Director of PRTM Management Consultants. First, though, a few words about "Making Progress With PLM In 2005 : Q&As, Vision, Achieving The Next Level". * Update on the "Making Progress With PLM In 2005" Manual * As a result of feedback from readers of the first version of the Manual, the text has been substantially restructured and improved. The new version of "Making Progress With PLM In 2005 : Q&As, Vision, Achieving The Next Level" is now available. Chapter 2 is in the form of Questions and Answers. It answers more than 50 questions about PLM and a PLM project. (The text of Chapter 2 continues to be available separately as 50 PLM Questions & Answers. Chapter 3 presents a "Vision of PLM in a Manufacturing Company in 2010" that can be tailored to meet the requirements of individual companies. Chapter 4 introduces a PLM Capability and Maturity Model (PLM-CMM). The seven levels of the model help a company to position its PLM status against a neutral standard. Some readers suggested that this could be further developed to create a standard model for PLM Capability and Maturity, which would help companies to identify their current PLM position as an early step in a PLM Initiative. It would also help vendors in the PLM market to position their products, services and prospects. A meeting to discuss this will be held in the next few months. Please let us know by mail if you are interested in participating in person at this meeting, or at a related web meeting. * Use PLM Operations to Enhance Your Company's Performance * For companies seeking greater product development productivity, product lifecycle management (PLM) is a new frontier. Organizations in recent years increasingly have invested in PLM solutions to improve R&D execution. However, many of these investments have yielded mixed results. Preliminary findings of a benchmarking study conducted by The Performance Measurement Group, LLC (PMG), a PRTM benchmarking subsidiary, reveal that effective implementation of PLM can have a powerful impact on revenues and profitability. At its core, PLM provides an integrated approach to decision-making that applies to an offering from concept through end of life. It has tremendous breadth, spanning both product development and supply chain. At the same time, PLM is truly cross-functional, involving multiple core processes and extending beyond the "four walls" to companies' key design and supply partners. PRTM and PMG recently completed the first phase of the pioneering PLM study that quantifies key benefits and identifies best practices in PLM operations-related process areas. The study addresses critical operating and management processes, practices, and IT applications dealing with requirements management, design excellence, product data and configuration management, engineering change management, supplier and component management, and collaboration execution. Detailed operational data was collected from over 80 manufacturing enterprises and used to assess PLM performance, PLM capability, and IT coverage. Top quintile, average quintile and bottom quintile values reveal benchmark performance and the correlation to growth and profitability. The initial phase of the study focused on companies in the industrial, automotive, and aerospace industries. The number of industrial participants is growing and the scope of the study has expanded to include electronics companies. Companies that have effectively implemented PLM solutions, both processes and systems, are realizing top- and bottom-line performance improvements. However, the majority of companies have been unable to realize PLM's full potential. Common denominators of sub-par results include misaligning process and system maturity, overlooking key drivers of PLM effectiveness, and failing to leverage best practices. Companies considering a new PLM solution or planning to improve upon an existing implementation can take a crucial first step by participating in PLM benchmarking. Participation in a PLM study will help identify critical issues and catalyze a successful implementation or improvement initiative. If you are interested in participating in this innovative benchmarking study, please contact PMG at +1 781 434 1470. Participants will receive personalized data collection support and a comprehensive interpreting results report which includes performance scorecards. On May 10, 2005 PRTM conducted a webcast featuring the results of the PLM study titled "PLM Benchmark Results: Managing Products to Reduce Costs, Improve Margins, and Accelerate Lead Times." The webcast was hosted by PRTM Director Mark Thut and PRTM Principal Ivan Choi, and was sponsored by Product Design & Development magazine. View the on-demand webcast. Questions and comments should be directed to Mark Thut (mthut@prtm.com). 
* Findings of Ryerson University PLM survey * Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada) has conducted a survey on the use of product lifecycle management software. The goal of the survey was to understand what industry sees as the key issues surrounding the use of PLM software. Some of the findings are: * Companies believe that daily engineering activities can benefit from PLM software. * Design related issues are more significant than manufacturing issues. * There is relatively little automation of Engineering Change Management and Revision Control in the companies surveyed. * High costs and lack of control are the two major barriers for purchasing PLM solutions. A report of the findings of the survey is available here. Questions and comments should be directed to Prof. Filippo A. Salustri (salustri@ryerson.ca). Ryerson University graciously acknowledges the support of Materials and Manufacturing Ontario, and Axiomatic Product Development Ltd in conducting this survey. * Results of use of the PLMIG Benchmarking Handbook * At the end of 2004, the PLMIG organized a 3-day PLM Benchmarking Workshop to create a common, neutral approach for PLM benchmarking. The Workshop resulted in the creation of a multi-level approach to PLM benchmarking based on a PLM Enterprise Navigation Model. Use of this is described in a PLM Benchmarking Handbook which can be obtained from Roger Tempest of the PLMIG. Initial use of the Handbook has validated its approach. One user of the Handbook is using it to harmonize upwards its PLM environments in the US and Europe. According to another user, "The Navigation Model in the Benchmarking Handbook is simple, understandable, and directly usable for C-level communication. Brilliant." Details * Reading about Product Lifecycle Management * Some currently available and planned PLM books. Product Lifecycle Management: Paradigm for 21st Century Product Realisation Product Lifecycle Management Product Lifecycle Management: Driving the Next Generation of Lean Thinking |
