Page 1 - Welcome Page 2 - Update Page 3 - News Page 4 - Brief lines |
* Welcome * Welcome to 2PLM, an e-zine distributed about every two weeks. This issue includes :
Now in its 3rd year, the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Summit is Europe's premier event for PLM practitioners and senior decision makers to network, learn and do business. The Summit will highlight the business and technology imperatives behind PLM adoption, and demonstrate how to design, develop and deliver blockbuster new products that maintain the competitive edge. 
Programme highlights and key case studies include:
Event Title: European PLM Summit 2007 Venue: ExCeL Conference Centre, London, United Kingdom Date: 5th and 6th June 2007 Contact: Oliver Sloane, PLM Industry Director Email: oliver.sloane@wtgevents.com Tel: 0044 (0) 207 202 7558 http://www.plmsummit.com * From PLM Snippets to PLM Overview * The publication of 2PLM keeps us at the forefront of PLM progress. On average, we are contacted every week by about 50 PLM vendors informing us of their latest developments, customer successes, and thoughts for the future. These contacts provide much of the source data for the News section of 2PLM. In a typical year, we are in contact with over 300 PLM vendors. The data and information they provide gives us a good view of the PLM market. We merge this understanding with our practical PLM implementation experience and knowledge, and publish the results in different ways to meet the various requirements of our readers. 
For example, in 2004 we published a 440 page book, Product Lifecycle Management: Paradigm for 21st Century Product Realization, which described PDM in detail and introduced PLM. (Some readers may remember that 2PLM was launched as 2PDM in August 1998.) In 2005, with many readers asking a lot of very specific questions about PLM, we published Making Progress With PLM, a manual for PLM Initiatives and PLM Projects. In 2006, many readers were asking for a summary and an overview of PLM to help increase executive awareness of PLM. In response we published the PLM State of the Art Report. * A Manager's PLM Dilemma * In some companies, with PLM looking strategic, but not being acted on by high-level executives, middle managers face a dilemma. Should they try to do something about PLM, or should they forget about PLM and carry on with 'business as normal'? If they do try to do something about PLM, they may well be seen later as having been instrumental in helping the company achieve major benefits through use of PLM. They may enable the company to seize new opportunities and solve long-running problems. Of course, on the other hand, if they try to do something about PLM without support from above, they could expose themselves to criticism for not doing what they have been told to do. They could be blamed for not following the plan prepared by the boss. The dilemma arises as, on one hand it's clear that PLM makes sense and is gaining in acceptance. On the other hand, it's not always clear what to do about it, or who should take action. However, it is clear that, at some stage, the person who will have to take action is a top-level business executive with the authority and responsibility to address a subject that is enterprise-wide and addresses products, processes, data and applications. Someone who is responsible for ensuring the company improves business performance and makes money for shareholders. And it is clear that the action will include the launch of a PLM Initiative, the development of a PLM Strategy and the deployment of PLM. And presumably it is clear that before the top-level business executive can launch the Initiative, someone else will have to explain the case for PLM to them, very clearly and concisely, and in language they understand. And presumably, that explanation will be in the form of a PowerPoint presentation which will be prepared and presented by one or more people who report to that executive. And the objective of the presentation will be to help senior executives take action. The Making Progress With PLM Manual includes a set of PowerPoint slides that can be customized in support of this activity. * University of Arizona's PLM Survey * The University of Arizona MIS Department is performing leading research on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). As part of this research effort, it is conducting a survey on "In-Use Information". "In-Use Information" reflects data about a product's performance that is developed from customers' actual in-service product usage. By completing this survey, you will be helping to provide valuable insight into how information about product use under actual conditions by product customers is gathered and used during the product lifecycle. As an appreciation for your effort, if you record your name, company, and email address, you will be entered into a drawing for copies of Dr. Michael Grieves' book, Product Lifecycle Management : Driving the Next Generation of Lean Thinking. This survey will only take a few minutes of your time and will be a major help to increase the understanding of PLM and its impact. Click on the following web site to start the survey: http://www.questionbuilder.com/console/TakeSurvey?id=24591 * Participate in the PROMISE-PLM Industrial Reference Group Meeting * Lion Benjamins Via the 2PLM newsletter we recently informed you about the PROMISE Project. You may recall that PROMISE-PLM is a Euro 14m project developing product embedded information and decision support technology which has the potential to create products that increase value for the manufacturer as well as the client whilst reducing costs and significantly increasing competitive advantage. The project, involving 22 partners, includes major industrials such as Fiat/CRF, Caterpillar and Bombardier as well as renowned research institutes and world class technology providers such as Infineon and SAP. We are pleased to announce that members of 2PLM are being given an opportunity to participate in a kick-off meeting that will take place either at the SAP Research centre in Dresden 27 March or in Berlin 24 April. The event is free of charge but numbers will be restricted. Why should you join them? The purpose of the meeting will be to give industrials, consultants and technology providers the opportunity to become familiar with state of the art development, see early results and learn of the business drivers that make this project relevant to industry. A great opportunity to learn how "Wisdom within" your product could reduce your middle of life costs. One manufacturer shows how 8 hours maintenance was reduced to 15 minutes, another how millions of kilos material can be refurbished instead of recycled using Promise technology. You will see how you can improve your competitive advantage. In return, our expectation is that these early results be evaluated by YOU by giving YOUR opinion about the relevance of Promise work to YOUR industry segment. This puts YOU in the driving seat and provides YOU with a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas with experts and be informed before others in your industry. This will be a fully packed one day event with the following agenda. Promise will offer you lunch and refreshments during the day.
In order to facilitate dialogue the number of attendees will be limited. It is therefore important you register your interest early. To participate, please contact Lion Benjamins indicating your preferred date (27 March in Dresden or 24 April in Berlin). Lion Benjamins is Project Marketing Manager, Promise-PLM |
