John Stark Associates

John Stark Associates (JSA) advises companies on all aspects of PLM, helping them to achieve their business goals. JSA helps companies to develop PLM visions, strategies and plans, to plan and implement PLM Initiatives and projects, and to review PLM progress. JSA helps companies define and implement PLM Architecture, PLM Business Process Architecture, Data Models and Product Structures.

JSA has successfully assisted many large, midsize and small companies in the aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer goods, electrical, electronics, fine chemical, food, medical device, machine tool, machinery, pharmaceutical, power and watch industries with PLM.

Founded in 1991, JSA is headquartered in Switzerland. It has offices and partners in France, Germany, UK and US.

John Stark, President of JSA, is a uniquely experienced consultant and adviser who helps companies improve their PLM performance. Working closely with a company's executive officers, directors and managers, his emphasis is on the combined use of technological, organisational and management practices to achieve results. He works closely with a small number of companies: a key, long-term partner helping them implement change and succeed in meeting their goals.

John Stark is a leading developer and implementer of the business theory of Product Lifecycle Management. He is the author of several books including Products2019: A project to map and blueprint the flow and management of products across the product lifecycle: Ideation; Definition; Realisation; Support of Use; Retirement and Recycling. He's also the author of Product Lifecycle Management: Paradigm for 21st Century Product Realisation, the most cited PLM publication.

In his long consulting career, John Stark has worked with many companies including ABB, BMW, Braun, Coca-Cola, Eaton, Ford Motor Company, HP, IBM, Kodak, Legrand, Nestle, PSA, Renault, Saab, Schindler, Sikorsky, Valeo and Xerox. In addition, many companies have benefited from his classroom and online PLM Courses.

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is defined as the business activity of managing, in the most effective way, a company's products all the way across their lifecycles; from the very first idea for a product all the way through until it is retired and disposed of.

PLM is the management system for a company's products. PLM manages the whole product range, from individual part through individual product to the entire portfolio of products.

At the highest level, the objective of PLM is to increase product revenues, reduce product-related costs, maximise the value of the product portfolio, and maximise the value of current and future products for both customers and shareholders.