First, Happy New Year!! I wish all my readers a healthy, happy and successful 2017. Increasing your understanding of modern PLM based on field experiences is my pledge to you this year. PLM as part of a business strategy is mentioned more and more at management level in companies. However, the meaning and impact of PLM can be diffuse therefore requiring more clarification to management. To save your time, I’m pleased to share some images/slides I have used to explain fundamental PLM concepts. Use them in your PLM meetings.
People, Processes, and Tools
A company should not implement a PLM system just because people say they need a PLM system. Most likely, PLM supports a business transformation, enabling new ways of working and new business processes.
Read more related to People, Processes, and Tools:
Old and New PLM
When your company wants to implement PLM today, it is important to realize all businesses are transitioning from old linear processes, pushing products to the market towards incremental customer-oriented processes. With a change from a document-driven approach towards a data-driven approach, implementing PLM requires a new approach:
Read more about how PLM is changing:
PLM Selection
Selecting the right PLM system is just the top of the iceberg. Most PLM systems have lots of functionalities in common. Therefore, when selecting a PLM system, take into account the topics below the waterline. The deeper you get, the more important they are for a successful PLM implementation.
Read more about PLM selection:
The Maturity of an Organization
Can you run before you can walk? Is PLM only valid for large companies? I do not think so. Large companies usually have a higher need to make their products less dependent on specific individual skills. Therefore, they will focus more on repeatable processes and as next steps, integrating internally and externally. This slide was presented by Marc Halpern at PDT2015 and illustrates the maturity journey a company can grow through, and how this journey affects the focus for PDM, PLM, and future integration,
Read more about the PLM journey and Maturity:
Don’t Choose the Easiest Path
Another “classical” Gartner slide explaining what everybody knows, yet what most companies fail to do. Two important messages with this slide.
- Every change in technology will cause a dip in the company’s performance. Give your people the time to adapt by changing performance KPIs for that period
- Introducing new technology combined with introducing new processes and a change in culture will bring the highest value
Read more about Cultural Change:
Digital Transformation is Coming
The world is becoming rapidly digital. Digitization is destroying jobs that can be automated. A great article about the onrushing wave can be found in the Economist, describing which jobs are likely to stay and which are likely to disappear. And, disappearing jobs will not come back again as some populists might promise. The good news, however, is that new business models and processes require many new jobs for which we are not educated (yet). Self-learning becomes crucial.
Read more about Digital Transformation:
Evolution, Disruption or Bimodal?
Companies that have implemented their classical PLM environment fail to move to a PLM infrastructure supporting modern customer-driven delivery of products and services. However, the evolutionary approach takes too long; the alternative is to disrupt your business. Or try a bimodal PLM-approach. The bimodal PLM approach is inspired by Gartner’s bimodal IT approach.
Read more about Disruption or Bimodal:
See You Soon?
2017 is going to be an interesting and challenging year for all of us. What will be the further impact of digitization on your business? Will we tweet our PLM strategy in the future? I hope to discuss these developments with you on my blog and during the upcoming PI Berlin.
Let’s communicate !
Jos Voskuil's Weblog 
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