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* Welcome * Welcome to 2PLM, an e-zine distributed about every two weeks. This issue includes :
The December 3 issue of 2PLM introduced Part 1 of a two-part White Paper, "Standards-based PLM: Re-engineering the Aftermarket with PLCS". Published by Eurostep and John Stark Associates, the White Paper identified PLCS as a key standard to drive significant change, not only for OEMs, but also for asset owners and operators. This issue of 2PLM introduces Part 2 of the White Paper, sub-titled Technologies and Deployments. This part of the White Paper describes the standard itself and explains how an organization can implement PLCS to achieve tangible business benefits. Examples are provided of PLCS projects in some well-known organizations, such as Volvo and the US Army. PLCS is an international standard for representing the information set required to support a product during its entire life, from initial concept to disposal. PLCS is a part of ISO 10303, the suite of standards known as STEP. PLCS can be thought of as a new "world map" for product support. Like any new map, PLCS contains much that is familiar - a maintenance task is still a maintenance task - and many new discoveries. Just like a map, PLCS can be used in different ways. One is to solve business problems by automating data exchange between existing systems. PLCS can also be used to support a major update of processes across an entire organization. Need for Lifecycle Support In the 21st Century, digital data are becoming an increasingly valuable business asset. New business opportunities are emerging which require increasing focus on managing information throughout the complete product lifecycle. For example, many manufacturers wish to 'go downstream' and generate additional revenue from the supply of lifecycle support services. As product lifetimes and complexity increase, businesses are focusing on delivering specified availability, and driving down the total cost of ownership. Requirements for agility in the face of change are also increasing, both to combat obsolescence and to continually enhance products already in service. Another trend, driven by globalization, growing complexity, and the need to reduce lead times is the requirement to cooperate within an "Extended Enterprise". These trends create a business imperative to share accurate information in real time. It is no longer practical, or realistic, to mandate the use of a single common system to overcome the problems with information exchange across an Extended Enterprise. A different approach is required. A coherent information environment, in which the necessary data are available to all participating actors, is a prerequisite for efficient product support. 
The new approach must add value for all of the parties involved. It must help manufacturing companies seeking to improve profits, quality and competitiveness by offering lifecycle support of their products. It must support users of products looking for improved availability, reliability, and maintainability, and for lower ownership costs. And it must offer a way forward for users of information systems who want more open platforms to reduce IT costs and ensure the longevity of essential information assets. PLCS meets these requirements. Benefits of PLCS PLCS offers a unique value proposition:
The lessons learned from implementation of PLCS can be summarized as follows.
For more information, download "Part 2: Technologies and Deployments" of the "Standards-based PLM: Re-engineering the Aftermarket with PLCS" White Paper here. * 1.9 Global Product and Product Deployment Capability * (1.1 Global Products and You) If a company wants a product to be a Global Product it will need a corresponding global capability to deploy it. The two are distinct. There's the product and there's the product deployment capability. Sometimes it is useful and even necessary to consider the product and the product deployment capability separately. Sometimes it is useful, even necessary, to consider them together. The problems of the A380 provide an example of the need to consider the product and the product deployment capability separately. The problem wasn't the product, the A380. The aircraft's maiden flight was on 27 April 2005. FAA and EASA approval was achieved in December 2006. Showing its confidence in the product, Singapore Airlines increased its order in December 2006. The problem was that Airbus didn't have the deployment capability to produce, at the agreed time, the series aircraft with the various cabin and seating configurations specified by its customers. The A380 example shows the need to consider the product and the product deployment capability separately. In other cases, it's important to link them together. For example, Coca-Cola ran a promotion that lets customers enter the number engraved on the inside of the Coca-Cola bottle cap at a special website to get a free MP3 download. It's a win-win situation. The customer gets free music. Coca-Cola gets information about product usage, and builds a barrier against competitors without the capability to deploy such a product. A company has much more freedom in defining its product deployment capability than in defining its product. The product has the constraint that it must meet customer requirements. Two competing companies could offer a very similar Global Product, but they could have very different deployment capabilities. Once a company has defined an effective product deployment capability, it can use it to deploy many Global Products. For example, once Airbus has the capability to deploy the A380, it can use it for the A350. 
* 1.7 PLM offers Different Benefits to Different Managers * Product Lifecycle Management: Paradigm for 21st Century Product Realisation With PLM, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has visibility over the products and is in control. As a result, the CEO can develop strategies based on a better understanding of the products. The CEO can make decisions based on reality, rather than guesses. It's easier to take account of potential risks. Better control over the lifecycle provides better assurance about environmental impacts. Costs can be reduced as activities that do not add enough value become more visible. With PLM, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) can see the real financial figures for a product across its lifecycle, so knows precisely how much it has cost and earned. Better estimates can be made for the real financial figures related to developing and supporting each product in the future. With uncertainties reduced, more reliable financial projections can be made. PLM provides the Chief Information Officer (CIO) the opportunity to carry out a wide range of necessary activities to clean up the company's product-related processes and data. These will solve many everyday problems that currently occupy the time of IS professionals, enabling a reduction in IS costs and a redirection of IS effort to activities that add more value. PLM provides the Chief Product Officer (CPO), who is responsible for all products, with visibility of the products. The exact status of every part, and the exact status and structure of every product, is known. The CPO can take control, both during product development and at later stages in the product lifecycle. The risks associated with products can be better understood and managed. PLM helps the CPO get an integrated view over all product development projects. PLM enables secure collaboration with design chain and supply chain partners wherever they are located. The CPO can develop and implement strategies for faster development and introduction of new products, and for better support of products across their lifecycles. Unwanted product-related costs, resulting from rework and scrap, warranty and liability claims, and returns and recalls will be reduced, then eliminated. * Front End of Innovation * IIR announced the second annual Front End of Innovation Europe event. With its core team of advisors, the PDMA organization, its local European chapters and a respected faculty of presenters, IIR is honored to provide the industry with THE event dedicated to advancing the knowledge and practice of global innovation in the front end. Through a cross-industry advisory board and rigorous application process together IIR and PDMA have organized an experience marrying top quality content with unparalleled networking. Through vigorous research, the Front End of Innovation Advisory board determined today's most desired innovation topics that address your existing and future business challenges. The team behind FEI EUROPE matched these cutting-edge topics with expert cross-industry speakers to create an agenda that provides you with unparalleled content never seen before.
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