PLM and ERP: Can't We Be Friends?

Recently, Joe Cocker passed away. If you don’t know, he was an iconic front-man for several rock groups in the 70’s, and he sang with a unique style. He was best known for singing covers of other people’s songs including the Beatles. One of his best known covers was of the Beatle’s song “With a Little Help from My Friends”. I am thinking about PLM and ERP today, and wondering why they can’t be better friends.

PLM and ERP are both part of most major manufacturing companies. But, their relationship can often be rocky. Both are needed to create innovative, high quality products that delight customers. But, how they are deployed across the company is often a hotly contested topic.

I wrote a blog in 2013 titled: PLM and ERP: Can’t We All Just Get Along? In this blog I talked about the often rancorous relationship that PLM and ERP have at many companies. A harmonious relationship between PLM and ERP can help provide a more efficient product development process and get more innovative products out the door faster to paying customers. 

Below are a few things that I think are important when wondering how to balance the needs of PLM and ERP:

First, it is important to understand the definition of PLM and ERP. The simplest definitions I can think of are the following:

PLM – Creating, capturing, sharing, and managing product information that relates to the VIRTUAL PRODUCT.

ERP – Gathering, coordinating, organizing, and managing the information that relates to the REAL PRODUCT.

With these two definitions in mind, what can we do to make them work together more harmoniously?

First: Make sure you are creating, capturing, sharing, and managing your information in PLM consistently, proactively, and effectively so that design personnel can always find needed information. After all, PLM is where the product design begins. If you do a bad job gathering, tracking, and sharing information at the beginning of the design process, who thinks that you will suddenly do a good job once the product is being manufactured?

Anyone who needs information must be able to find it easily and directly without knowing multiple secret information locations that no one can find. Once information is found, it must be clear, concise, and valid in order to have a positive impact on product design. If you do a good job with information, passing it on to ERP will be much more successful, and any changes that require information to come back from ERP to PLM will be accurate.

Second: There must be a way for information to flow back from ERP to PLM when changes are made. Integration can allow this to happen easily, automatically, and consistently so there is no doubt about information accuracy. Often, information is thrown over the wall to ERP, and then nothing is returned to PLM when changes are made. This leads to re-work, and does not support design re-use, which can save time and money.

Third: Work hard on the cultural change aspects of PLM and ERP relationships. Our experience has shown that there is often a cultural disconnect between PLM organizations and ERP organizations. There is often a poor relationship between these two groups. The failure of PLM and ERP integration starts with integration of the two organizations.

There is much more to this topic. I am planning to have a free webinar to discuss these items along with several others coming up on January 28, 2015.  Please join me and learn more about how you can improve the relationship between PLM and ERP. A link to learn more about his free webinar is below:

http://www.cimdata.com/en/education/educational-webinars/plm-erp-what-s-the-difference-and-why-should-you-care

Cheers,

Jim McKinney - CIMdata

The Top 7 Posts of 2013

As the year comes to an end, we inevitably think of where we've been, where we are, and where we're going. To help you along, I offer this look back at the top post of 2013. Looking back is only good if it helps us move forward, so take a look at these posts, and then go and get it done with PLM in 2014.

Configuration Management

Let's start with the 7th most popular post from 2013. Actually it was very close to a tie, so I will introduce these two together. The Basics of Configuration Management - Part I and The Basics of Configuration Management - Part II were very close. As a bonus, let me throw in The Basics of Configuration Management - Part III. This proves my point that configuration management is poorly understood by most companies. Even if a company has taken the time to understand and implement a good configuration management practice the rules are often not enforced, and usually not followed. Take these three posts as a guide to doing a better job with configuration management in 2014. You might also enjoy a related post: Change Management: The Ghost in the Machine.

Cultural Change Management

My impression over the past year is that one of the most challenging activities related to PLM implementation is cultural change management. Often, it is not even considered until the solution is rolled out and in the hands of the users; this is too late! Take my post Cultural Change Management, or How I Saved PLM as a good example. I wrote this in a short story format, and I think you will like it. If not, at least it's short.

PLM Education

I am a big proponent of PLM education. Virtually every company I have visited this year needed more PLM education. Keep this in mind for 2014 and put PLM education in your budget early in the year. The 4th most popular post from 2013 was this one: PLM Education Done Right in 3 Easy Steps. Follow these steps to get the most from PLM.

How to Measure the Value of PLM

We often do surveys, and when we ask for the top impediments to PLM, one of the top answers is always measuring PLM value. Without a way to measure the value, it is often hard to get upper management to invest in PLM. The 3rd most popular post of 2013 was How Can You Measure The Value of PLM, which, it turns out, is a very good question. Without some way to measure the value of PLM there is no way to evaluate your success, and plan for future updates. Keep this in mind as you plan your changes in 2013, and find a good way to measure this important aspect of your business.

Social PLM

There have been many posts about social PLM, or how social tools will impact the activities that are traditionally part of PLM. But in my experience, the impact of social PLM has been very low, or nil. Why is this the case? I dove into this question in my post Why Has Social PLM Failed? I think we will see a better meshing of PLM and social tools in 2014. There certainly is an opportunity to enhance PLM with social tools, but PLM vendors will need to do a better job of integrating these tools into their solutions. This may take some time, but we will see it some day; I just hope I live long enough. You might also want to read a related post: Why is Social PLM DOA? I like the graphic I used here; very creepy.

PLM vs ERP

I am amazed how often I am asked about the difference between PLM and ERP. There exists a very different set of views on this topic depending on who you ask. I addressed this in my most popular post of 2013: PLM vs ERP: Can't We All Just Get Along? This was an attempt to give some clarity to this polarizing topic. I think companies need to come together and decide where they will put the dividing line. Obviously it is not a clear demarcation, and there will always be some overlap. Just agree and then implement consistently to get the best results.

Conclusions

So, there you have it, the top posts from 2013. I hope that 2014 will be a very successful year for your PLM implementation. No matter where you start you can always improve, and PLM can have a dramatic effect on your bottom line. I wish you all the best in the coming year!

Don't forget to read one of my favorite posts from 2013: Email: "I'm not dead yet!" PLM: "But you're not well." I really like that one!

Cheers,

Jim

How to Claim the Benefits of PLM

If you asked 10 people in your company to give you a definition of PLM, you would likely get 10 different answers. That's because people have very different experiences with PLM, or maybe a lack of experience with PLM. To claim the benefits of PLM there are some steps you must follow. This post will not try to mention every single step that you must follow, that would take way too long and I want to eat lunch. But, this list represents some of the key activities that you must follow in order to claim the full benefits of PLM for your business:

Education

The first step in any PLM activity is to education everyone. By that I mean the executives, the PLM team participants, and others that will be supporting your PLM initiative. Once people are education, and they understand the comprehensive nature of PLM, they will be more likely to support your efforts. A good PLM definition to start with is:

• PLM is the collaborative creation, use, management & dissemination of product related intellectual assets.

Some key aspects of PLM include the following:

• PLM is a strategic business approach, not just a collection of technologies.
• PLM supports the extended enterprise.
• PLM spans the full product life-cycle, from concept to end of life.

Once you have educated people about PLM, you will be able to have important discussions about your business on a level playing field. When everyone is on the same page regarding PLM, you will find that making progress is much easier. To claim the benefits of PLM for your business, you must educate your people.

Information Management

Managing the information within your business is one of the core features of PLM. Without managing your information (intellectual assets), you won't be able to have the confidence to make decisions. This leads to delays, mistakes, redundant reviews, unnecessary signatures, and an overall inefficient business process. Until you can manage your information effectively, and guarantee that all information is valid, complete, and available, you will struggle to claim the benefits of PLM for your business.

PLM is Strategic

Understanding the strategic nature of PLM will lead you to seek out more understanding about your strategic business objectives. Once you understand the strategic direction of your business, you can craft a PLM vision that supports your business. This leads to a long list of business requirements. This, along with other requirements will drive the selection and implementation of PLM in your business.

In order to claim the benefits of PLM you must consider three important factors:

• People - How will people be encouraged and supported through the changes that PLM will bring.
• Processes - What new processes are needed to support the implementation of PLM.
• Technology - What is the proper technology to support strategic business objectives and the PLM vision.

You cannot consider just one of these three in isolation if you want to get the most out of PLM. All three will have a major impact on the success of PLM at your company. Our experience shows us that most of the failed PLM implementation we have seen are not a result of bad technology, but more often a result of process or people issues.

Measure PLM Benefits

It is important to convince your executives, and your users that PLM has benefits. That also means that you need a way to measure and illustrate the degree and timing of PLM benefits. We recommend using a spreadsheet model that allows you to calculate cost vs. benefits and then show a valid ROI for PLM. Once you have charts and graphs of how PLM will impact you business, it becomes much easier to convince others about the value of PLM.

We recommend an early benefits appraisal analysis for feasibility to show the potential benefits of PLM. Do this early and use this to sell PLM to the organization. Then, you can gauge additional benefits as your PLM program progresses to determine the real ROI. This repeatable methodology also allows you to do this benefits analysis as often as needed. To claim the benefits of PLM for your business you will need to sell these benefits to many organizations using a repeatable appraisal methodology.

Conclusions

Making PLM successful requires education, managing your information, strategic planning, and measuring benefits. There are many other activities and plans you will need to be successful with PLM, but if you start with these key items, you will be well on your way to claiming the benefits of PLM for your business.

PLM Implementations: Start at the Beginning!

Starting a PLM implementation activity can be a daunting task for anyone. I have been reading a couple of articles that mention some of the challenges on this "PLM journey". Read this example of how one company did it. Why is it so hard? Why does it take so long? And, why is it often not as successful as planned? I think there are several reasons why people get less from their PLM implementations than what they hoped. Here is what I think:

Cost

The first thing that most companies under estimate is the cost of a good PLM implementation. After spending multiple millions of dollars on ERP, most companies think that they can spend a small percentage of that on PLM. Why? You should be planning to spend enough on PLM to make it work properly. PLM is at least as complex as ERP, and in some cases it is more complex. Make sure you have allocated enough money to do a good job planning your PLM activities, and you will be much happier with the results.

Remember the old programming adage: garbage in, garbage out? Well, the same applies to your product design activities. If you don't manage the information in a very strict way at the front end of your design process, you won't get good information into ERP; ERP cannot fix that. PLM is the head of the product design beast; don't let the tail wag the dog!

Time

It can take a good amount of time to do all the tasks that are needed for a good PLM implementation: process re-engineering, business requirements gathering, solution selection, cultural change management planning, data migration planning, user acceptance testing, training, and others. These plans take time to create and implement, and if you don't plan well, you just might fail. Spend more time on planning and you will likely spend less time fixing mistakes, and living with disgruntled users.

Knowledge

Most people don't do large scale PLM implementations often. Finding people that know what to do is hard. There will be those that think they know what to do, but you may miss many aspects of a successful implementation. It never hurts to get help from those that do this kind of thing for a living. Often the PLM vendor can be helpful, but outside help from a third-party is often very useful. There are two keys to getting people with the right knowledge to manage your PLM implementation properly: education, and getting outside help from experts.

Education 

Get education for your key PLM people! Let me say that again: get education for your key PLM people! If the PLM team is not on the same page, it will be hard to direct a cohesive PLM implementation strategy. That includes educating your upper management and some executives. Many implementations fail because management has unrealistic expectations, or they do not see the expanded view of PLM. Not one PLM implementation I know of has ever failed because of too much education.

Keep these key items in mind when planning your next PLM-related implementation, and you will have more success and happy corporate PLM users.

What do you think? I would love to hear your experiences.

Cheers,

Jim

Is PLM a Dirty Word?

The other day I met a lady who is in charge of a new PLM selection activity at her company. She told me they are not calling it PLM this time; they are calling it Product Innovation Initiative, or something like that. She said they had tried PLM at least 4 times before and it never worked. Now, if they use the name PLM no one will take it seriously; PLM is a dirty word.

Is PLM a dirty word in your company? Have you tried to implement some kind of PLM technology, only to fail time after time? With a sound approach to PLM you can avoid the problems that prevent your company from realizing the many benefits of PLM. The following ideas will assure PLM success:

PLM education for everyone 

Start with the executives. Educate them so they know the basic premise of PLM, and the value. Then, get the rest of the people on the bus with education that helps them understand how PLM will help them with their jobs. No one can ever do too much education!

Do a cost benefits analysis

This allows you to understand where your business is today so that you can compare the results after PLM. This also provides an excellent tool to convince management to invest in PLM. Without these numbers, no one will have any ideas of what benefits can be expected from PLM, and how they compare to your initial status. This will also result in metrics that can be used to measure future PLM activities.

Use a proven, repeatable methodology for PLM selection

When it comes to a PLM selection methodology, most people just wing-it; or they use a methodology provided by their favorite vendor; or, they use a methodology from a VAR with a bunch of people looking for implementation work. None of these is the optimal way to evaluate PLM. You need a methodology from a trusted neutral partner that can help you through all the challenges of PLM selection. If you cannot find such a partner, take a look here!

Adequate implementation planning 

Often, once the PLM solution is seceted, the roll-out happens with little planning. Many aspects of PLM are affected by the implementation steps. The best solution selection activity can be derailed by a poorly planned implementation. Without proper planning you might forget some important items: data migration, user acceptance testing, pilot testing, timely education, cultural change management and other items. These items can cause PLM to fail, and give users a negative perception of PLM.

By following these steps you will have a greater chance of success with PLM. Don't just take my word for it. There are many examples of companies today that are enjoying the benefits of a successful PLM implementation; why not join that club.

How has PLM been accepted in your company? Let me know, and perhaps share your success!

Cheers,

- Jim

PLM Education Done Right in 3 Easy Steps

I have recently read several articles about the complex nature of PLM: PLM Should be Like Google, and PLM is Too Complicated. Some would like to make it simpler, and some would like to remove much of what we see today in modern PLM software tools. Managing a product's life-cycle is not simple. By definition, the tools that do this job well will not be like playing Solitaire. I think there can be some things done to simplify PLM for many users, but, in my opinion the answer lies in better education.

When software doesn't appear to work correctly, users blame the software, management blames the users, customers blame the company, and everyone thinks it is someone else's problem. When PLM software is complex and difficult to use, the blame is usually placed on the software, or the vendor, or someone else. Usually, no one says "Gee, I need more education so that I can use this software properly."

Here are 3 simple steps that you can follow to make sure you have trained your users to use your PLM solutions properly:

1) Education and Training Plan - Too often education and training gets relegated to a low priority. A plan for education must be created before any software is ever purchased. Allow plenty of time for education and provide chances for users to give feedback before the software is implemented so that you can accommodate various ways of working at your company.

2) Super User Training - Make sure you identify several smart, intelligent, experienced, and good looking people to fill the role of a super user; ok, they don't have to be good looking, but it doesn't hurt. These users should be experts in their organization, looked up to, and knowledgeable in your company processes. These experts may be part of the PLM team as you evaluate solutions and determine your direction with PLM. They can also lend helpful advice during PLM implementation planning. After roll-out they will be an indispensable tool in helping all users get up to speed quickly.

3) On-going user groups - Many companies do initial user education, roll out the PLM software, and then hope for the best. New PLM software capabilities are often added in point releases, but no one ever gets re-trained. With this approach, it's no wonder the users can't use the software. There must be follow-up and constant interactions with the users to understand their issues, introduce new features, and communicate future PLM activities. When users feel that they are on their own without adequate training, they will often point their fingers at the software. Monthly user meetings with leadership from your super users will help users feel empowered. Throw in some free pizza, and that's a winning formula in my book.

Follow these three simple rules, and I think you will see happier users who feel like PLM experts. It will make a big difference in your PLM activities.

Do you think your users are properly educated? Let me know what you do to keep them sharp!

- Jim

Why Has Social PLM Failed?

"I hate Facebook", he said, with fire in his eyes. "Twitter is a total waste of time, if you ask me. I can see no reason for it to exist!" I was instantly sorry I had asked his opinion. I was also surprised that someone in their mid 40's would have such strong negative opinions about social media. It was especially surprising, since this was a person that had embraced smart phones, tablets, PCs, email, and other technology for many years.

The man in question was an engineer who was looked to as a forward-thinking leader in his company. He was a key player in an engineering organization and in charge of introducing PLM to his company. He was also in charge of the entire PLM implementation project. The executives in this company would listen to him on PLM related technology issues. Any chance of  getting social PLM tools into this company was quickly erased from my mind. This conversation got me to thinking about social PLM and why it seemed to limp along in 2012.

Why has social PLM failed to make a big impact in most companies this year? I, along with others, thought this would be the year when social PLM would make a big push into most businesses. I also read a recent article by Oleg Shilovitsky about his take on this topic. Read the full article here.

I have come to the conclusion that Social PLM has failed because most people in the engineering and manufacturing parts of businesses (mostly the people that champion PLM) do not use social media. They have not seen benefits in their own personal lives, and that is why they struggle to see how it can help in their businesses. It reminds me of the early days of the PC: people started to buy personal computers for their own use, and then wondered why they couldn't have the same exceptional connectivity and personalization in their jobs?

I think social PLM will have to follow the same path. However, for that to happen, we need company PLM champions using social media in their personal lives. This has not happened yet. In fact, most of the PLM classes I teach tell me that very few engineers use or care much about social media tools. When I introduce the topic I get a lot of wide-eyed stares and snoring. Those who attend my classes think social media tools are fun toys for their teenagers, but have no use in a "real" business.

I am sure that this will change over time. Sadly, I am old enough to remember when people called Computer Aided Design (CAD) a toy, and when people called 3D modeling impractical, and when people called email a fad; of course, none of these turned out to be true. I just hope I can live long enough to see social PLM have its' due.

What does your company think about social media? What do the leaders of your business organizations think about social tools? Do they have Facebook accounts? Do they have twitter accounts? Do they see any benefits from social media? If not, it will be hard for any of them to see the benefits of Social PLM.

What do you think?

Jim

Back to the Future: The 5 Best PLM Posts of 2012

Before we rush off down the road that is 2013, let's take a moment, and look back at some of my best and most commented posts from 2012. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy. Perhaps as we look at these posts, we can learn something about the future of PLM:

1) Most Commented Post: PLM Education, Gangnam Style

I don't like to think that I got any bump in comments based on the popularity of the YouTube video, but it didn't hurt. PLM education is important. I hope you have some PLM education planned during 2013. If you don't know where to start, CIMdata has a PLM certificate class that really rocks! I ought to know, since I teach it.

2) Most Liked Post: What the Mars Rover Landing Can Teach us About PLM

The landing of the Mars Rover in September 2012 had a lot to teach us about PLM. The landing was complex and tedious, but after many trial runs, simulations, and testing, it worked perfectly. We can learn a lot about how we approach PLM from this exciting event.

3) Most Insightful Post: Top 10 Ways to Tell if Your Business Needs PLM

There are some key signs that point to the need for PLM in your business. I got many comments from people who thought they already had PLM, but realized there might be more to it. This kind of company effort can have many benefits.

4) Most Sagacious Post: How Will Social Media Technology Impact PLM?

When I posted this back in May, it was clear that PLM would be impacted by social media tools. This trend has not diminished, and I think we will see some very exciting advances in 2013. New devices and software will slowly make PLM a much more social activity.

5) Most Viewed Post: 2013 - The Year of PLM!

This is a great blog post to end with, since my hope for everyone is that 2013 can be a great year. I hope you get everyone at your company educated about PLM, and watch your efficiency, innovation and ROI increase.

So, what do you have planned for 2013? What do you think we will see this year? I hope it's a great one!

Jim

5 Signs Your PLM Implementation is Headed for the Pooper

"Do you have any PLM experience?" the HR person asked. "A little", I replied. Thus began a 5-year odyssey to implement PLM at a large company that shall remain nameless.* During that time, I learned many things. Mostly, I learned what not to do when implementing PLM. I would like to share 5 things I learned the hard way, while watching my PLM implementation go right down the pooper.

Does this sound familiar: You get to work, there are numerous emails that require your attention, but the most pressing is the note that tells you the PDM system is not working. No one can check anything in or out. Then you realize that without this key ingredient, none of the other areas of your PLM implementation will work, since you are dependent on "a single version of the truth"; then, things go from bad, to worse.

That was my experience one fine day, but I digress. Below are the five things that I think will help you avoid the problems I had with my PLM implementation:

1) Ineffective Training - In our case, we trained the users, but because the initial deployment was delayed, the users mostly forgot what they had learned. The business did not see any need to re-train, or spend any money on cross-training with other users in manufacturing planning, supplier management, or service. That meant those who were trained did not know the system very well and their collegues in other organizations did not know it at all. If I had it to do all over again, I would train all business organizations about PLM, and then make sure the specific tool training was done on a more timely basis.

2) Neglecting a Cultural Change Plan - We spent very little time worrying about cultural change. This meant that when the initial system was rolled out, we had a lot of push-back. Many users did not like the new way of working, and we did not engage most of the people before-hand. The lesson I learned here is to make a cultural change management plan early in the planning process, and get many people involved early so there is not a wholesale revolt when the new system is deployed.

3) Data Migration Kicked our Butt - We listened to the vendor, and did not plan much effort for data migration. We were under the impression it would be "automatic". Sadly, this was not the case. Part of our initial delay was the lack of data we needed to run our new PDM system. If we had understood all the time it can take to do the data migrating and cleansing and testing, we would have started it long before we did. Data migration always takes longer than you think.

4) PLM Value was Not Well Understood by Management - We did not do a lot of work up-front to try and quantify the benefits we would get from PLM. We had some money, and we wanted to spend it on PLM, that was about it. We should have done a cost-benefit analysis up-front so we had a good baseline. Then we could have always shown management the benefits we were getting from PLM. As it was, we went back after the fact to try and quantify this, but it was really hard. To this day we still do not have a good handle on the benefits we are getting from PLM.

5) The PLM Team was...Me - We tried to put a PLM team together but because upper management types did not really understand the potential of PLM, we could never get any people to help. So, it fell to me to make PLM happen. I did have help from the vendor, and a few others, but I did not get much help from our various business organizations. That is one of the biggest lessons I learned: you must have a cross-functional team to implement PLM. All the people must feel like they have some "skin in the game". Otherwise, when you implement the final solution, there will be major groaning and complaining.

So, there you have it. I learned many more things during this odyssey, but these 5 are some of the highlights; or should I say low-lights. I hope it is helpful. PLM can be a great boon for your business, but you have to do it right. Take my experience, and use it to avoid your own problems.

What do you think? Have I missed anything you believe is important?

Cheers,

Jim

* - These experiences represent several people from various companies around the globe. Can you relate?

2013: The Year of PLM!

As we slide towards the end of the year (and the end of the world, if you believe the Mayan Calendar), it makes sense to evaluate our PLM activities in 2012. Did you move forward with your PLM initiatives? Did you improve some aspect of your design and manufacturing lifecycles? Or, did you just run around fighting fires, trying to keep your head above water? Now is the time to analyze your efforts, and plan for a highly successful 2013.

I recently read a very interesting blog post: Our Brain Blocks PLM Acceptance, by Josh Voskuil. He raises some interesting points. As I think about PLM, I wonder how many executives really understand the strategic nature of a PLM investment. Most people understand that ERP and IT investments are strategic, but what about PLM?

Do the people in your company look at PLM as a strategic investment? If not, what will you do in 2013 to get them educated. Without the proper view of PLM, you will not get much traction with your initiatives. Often the people that adopt PLM do so grudgingly, and they never realize all of the benefits. I liked this quote from the article:

"Social scientists have shown that when people undergo major changes in circumstances, their lives typically are neither as bad nor as good as they expected - another case of how bad we are at estimating. People adjust surprisingly quickly, and their level of pleasure (hedonic state) ends up, broadly, where it was before."

This speaks to the need for aggressive cultural change management from the very beginning so that people start to think about PLM in the proper context. PLM users who understand the importance of their job to the overall life of the product will tend to do better when changes occur. A very objective method is required for selecting and implementing PLM solutions. Without an objective approach, there will be chaos, and success with PLM will be limited:

"So often a PLM decision has not been made in an objective manner and PLM selection paths are driven to come to a conclusion we already knew."

I could not agree more. My experience has been that when a proven methodology is used to select and implement PLM, success is almost always achieved. Without an objective, proven approach, it is likely that PLM will not lead to the kinds of changes you envision.

So, how are you planning to get PLM rolling in 2013?

Cheers,

Jim

PLM Education: Gangnam Style!

Quiz question for you: What is the most viewed video on YouTube? The answer would be: the Gangnam Style Video from South Korean artist Psy, now viewed by over 833 million people. If you haven't seen it yet, get out of your cave and follow my link. Wouldn't it be nice if PLM in your company was as popular as this video? With the right PLM education, you can have a whole bunch of people in your company doing things "PLM-style".

There are probably only a couple of people in your whole company that accurately understand the potential of PLM, if you're lucky. These few people are often trying to push PLM onto those who have a very limited understanding of the great potential that exists for companies that intelligently implement PLM. Many people look at PLM as an expense with questionable returns. There are ample case studies showing the many benefits of PLM, but not everyone is aware of these. By educating more and more people in your business, the number of people that want PLM will increase like a snowball rolling down a pile of old punch cards.

PLM education must be pervasive throughout your company because the effects of PLM are only completely realized when a majority of your company uses these tools. The content creators must use CAD, CAE, document management, PDM, and other tools. Reviewers must be able to use visualization, DMU, and workflow tools. The rest of the consumers in your company must be able to use viewers, web portals, dashboards, mobile apps, and other tools that make their access to information seamless and fun.

All of this effort requires a large group of people that understand the value of PLM and how it can help their business. True understanding of PLM can only come as people are educated, solutions are deployed properly, and benefits start to accrue. It is only over time that the benefits will be realized because PLM is not about technology, it is a strategic business initiative that must be understood at the highest levels of your company.

So, start educating people about PLM in your company, and you will see many people begging for the technology that makes it possible. Then you will really see the benefits of doing things "PLM-style".

What do you think? Is your company properly educated about PLM?

Go to the CIMdata website to learn more about PLM education.

Cheers,

Jim

5 Reasons Your PLM Team Sucks!

Have you tried PLM before? Have you tried it and failed more than once? Is your current PLM implementation just limping along with one broken leg, an arm in a sling, and your tongue hanging out? If this is the case, it might be because your PLM team sucks!

Here are 5 reasons why this might be the case:

1) You don't have a PLM team: If you read this blog and said to yourself, "...what PLM team?", then you have a big problem. If you want to implement PLM successfully, you MUST have a PLM team. The PLM team is in charge of making sure your preparation for PLM, your PLM solutions selection, your PLM implementation planning, and implementation roll-out occur as required for your business. If you don't have a PLM team, this will never happen; and, since PLM never ends, the team should always be busy on the next project to support PLM.

2) Your PLM team has no leader: Every good team needs a good leader. The army has a general, a football team has a quarterback, and every country has a President, an emperor, a Queen, or someone to lead. If you have a poor PLM team leader, a part-time guy where PLM is not his main job, or no leader at all, you will struggle with PLM.

3) Your PLM team has no direction: If your PLM team does not know what to do, or if they are going in 5 directions at once, they will be ineffective. If the PLM team is not educated about PLM, and they each have their own view of what PLM can do for your business, it will be hard to make progress. The team must have a clear plan and a desire to eliminate scope creep, and other drifts, that can take your PLM initiative off course.

4) Your PLM team does not communicate well: One of the keys to making PLM successful is communication. If you don't have emails, web presence, tweets, blogs, user groups, newsletters, and other vehicles for communicating your PLM activities, no one will care about PLM. The cultural change that is required for PLM cannot happen without a lot of positive communication. Cultural change is often the main reason that PLM initiatives fail.

5) Your PLM team lacks executive support: Getting support from top executives for PLM is essential if you want to make PLM more than just a localized initiative. PLM, by its very nature, is an enterprise effort that requires the input and work of many people in your organization. If your team does not have a good executive sponsor on the team, it will be hard to get the kind of focus you need from the rest of your organization.

So, how well is your PLM team performing? Do they need some education? Almost all PLM teams, and extended teams could benefit from some PLM education.

What do you think?

Cheers,

Jim

Is Your Business Ready for PLM?

Ready, set go! The race to implement PLM has started. Many people will approach PLM implementations like a sprint, when in reality it's a marathon. Successfully implementing any technology in your business is challenging, but PLM is especially tricky. That's because PLM is a strategic decision, not just software; and PLM never ends! There are also many people that must be involved to achieve PLM success.

What can you do to make sure your business is ready to get the most out of PLM? Here are some key areas that you can evaluate to see if you are ready for PLM success:

1) Executive Support - If you do not get support from a high level executive sponsor for PLM, you won't make if very far. PLM is a strategic activity with an enterprise vision, and it means that it must be supported from the very top of your organization.

2) Organizational Support - There will be many organizations that need to be part of the overall PLM implementation. If you do not have support from key people in all of your organizations, you will struggle to successfully implement PLM.

3) User Support - Do you have a good plan to involve your users in the PLM selection process, and a good Cultural Change Management Plan to continue interactions with users after the initial implementation?

4) IT Support - Like it or not, PLM technology will involve a large amount of commitment from your IT organization. If they are not on board, or if they just look at PLM as another piece of software to install, you really won't get very far with your PLM implementation.

5) Education - Are all of the people involved with PLM properly educated? If you educate right from the beginning, you will get much better success with your PLM implementation. All of the above people need PLM education so that there is no confusion about what PLM is, and how it can benefit your business.

There are obviously more aspects of PLM to consider, but these are some of the key items you must evaluate BEFORE you dash off on your PLM race.

What areas of PLM are you working on today?

Cheers,

Jim

CIMdata PLM Roadmap Hits the Mark Again!

The CIMdata PLM Roadmap 2012 concluded this week in Plymouth, Michigan. If you missed it, you missed a sold out PLM event that provided detailed discussions about Systems Engineering, Model Based Design, Simulation, and more!

The conference started with an excellent talk from Jon Hirschtick, the father of Solidworks, about the future of the CAD market. He told the engaged audience that CAD was only about half done, and that there was still many opportunities in this space. The afternoon had sessions about PLM implementation, using analysis in your PLM activities, how to interact with vendors and systems integrators.

The best part of the conference was the hallway conversations, the lunch time discussions, and the new information shared among industry peers. There was a vendor area called Eye On Technology where many PLM vendors provided information about their excellent solutions.

There was great food, great people, and a good time had by all. The CIMdata website has more information on future conferences, and information about how you can get education and information about PLM.

See you later,

Jim

Why You Should Attend CIMdata PLM Roadmap 2012

In the late 1940's, the St. John's Provincial Seminary was opened on a choice piece of land just outside of Plymouth Michigan. In 1955 the remarkable chapel was dedicated with little fanfare; this was a religious place, and not given to extravagant celebrations. The seminary continued to serve the Catholic Church of Detroit for some 40 years; but sadly, in 1988 the doors closed.

Today, after an $11 million restoration, this iconic seminary has been reborn as the St. John's Golf and Conference Center. They not only have 118 luxury guest rooms, and a new ballroom, but they boast many more amenities:

• Stately Romanesque architecture, beautifully renovated to reflect its heritage
• Twenty two distinct meeting rooms, ideal for corporate breakout session or smaller meetings
• A breathtaking two-story glass Atrium which provides a truly unique setting for cocktails, hors d oeuvres and music for up to 600 guests
• Twenty-two distinct meeting rooms, ideal for corporate breakout session or smaller meetings
• A challenging 27-hole championship golf course (great course - I played it last year)!
• The Grande Gallroom with seating for up to 450 guests
• And More!

Learn more about this fantastic property

Not only is this a fantastic venue, but the line-up of speakers at PLM Roadmap 2012 is one of the best I have ever seen at any conference in many years. Go here to register and see the amazing line-up! Or, you can watch and share this excellent video about the conference.

As for me, I plan to be on the golf course at around 8:00 AM on Monday, October 1. Please come and join me to make things interesting.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Top 10 Ways to Tell if Your Business Needs PLM

How can you tell if your organization needs PLM? It won't help to use a crystal ball, or consult your daily horoscope. It will require you to look at your business and figure out how it can be more innovative and efficient. In my opinion, everyone needs PLM. Take a look at this list, and see where PLM can help you.

How to tell if you need PLM:

10) It takes a long time to find the correct information, and after you find it, you are still not 100% sure it is the latest information.
9) In order to find product design information, you need to look in 3 or more different systems.
8) Large parts of your business are still managed with Microsoft XL Spreadsheets.
7) Email is your companies #1 collaboration method.
6) There is no link between your Engineering BOM and your Manufacturing BOM
5) You believe PLM is just another basic module of ERP that can be easily implemented.
4) Your existing PDM/PLM software is heavily customized.
3) You are still using intelligent part numbers.
2) Workflow and change processes are handled manually by passing around file folders.
1) PDM and PLM are used interchangeably and mean the same thing in your organization.

One of the best ways to get on the path to PLM is with education throughout your organization. PLM education will dispel misconceptions, solve the above challenges and more. If you think your organization needs a better understanding of PLM, there is no better way than to get educated.

A typical plan for this kind of activity might have you or one of your colleagues attend a PLM Certificate Course, then make a plan to bring a customized course into your company where many people can be trained.

Keep working, and soon your organization can realize the benefits of PLM efficiency and innovation.

Cheers,

- Jim