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Last week, I wrote about the first day of the crowded PLM Roadmap/PDT Europe conference.

You can still read my post here in case you missed it: A very long week after PLM Roadmap / PDT Europe 2025

 

My conclusion from that post was that day 1 was a challenging day if you are a newbie in the domain of PLM and data-driven practices. We discussed and learned about relevant standards that support a digital enterprise, as well as the need for ontologies and semantic models to give data meaning and serve as a foundation for potential AI tools and use cases.

This post will focus on the other aspects of product lifecycle management – the evolving methodologies and the human side.

Note: I try to avoid the abbreviation PLM, as many of us in the field associate PLM with a system, where, for me, the system is more of an IT solution, where the strategy and practices are best named as product lifecycle management.

And as a reminder, I used the image above in other conversations. Every company does product lifecycle management; only the number of people, their processes, or their tools might differ. As Peter Billelo mentioned in his opening speech, the products are why the company exists.

 

Unlocking Efficiency with Model-Based Definition

Day 2 started energetically with Dennys Gomes‘ keynote, which introduced model-based definition (MBD) at Vestas, a world-leading OEM for wind turbines.

Personally, I consider MBD as one of the stepping stones to learning and mastering a model-based enterprise, although do not be confused by the term “model”. In MBD, we use the 3D CAD model as the source to manage and support a data-driven connection among engineering, manufacturing, and suppliers. The business benefits are clear, as reported by companies that follow this approach.

However, it also involves changes in technology, methodology, skills, and even contractual relations.

Dennys started sharing the analysis they conducted on the amount of information in current manufacturing drawings. The image below shows that only the green marker information was used, so the time and effort spent creating the drawings were wasted.

It was an opportunity to explore model-based definition, and the team ran several pilots to learn how to handle MBD, improve their skills, methodologies, and tool usage. As mentioned before, it is a profound change to move from coordinated to connected ways of working; it does not happen by simply installing a new tool.

The image above shows the learning phases and the ultimate benefits accomplished. Besides moving to a model-based definition of the information, Dennys mentioned they used the opportunity to simplify and automate the generation of the information.

Vestas is on a clear path, and it is interesting to see their ambition in the MBD roadmap below.

An inspirational story, hopefully motivating other companies to make this first step to a model-based enterprise. Perhaps difficult at the beginning from the people’s perspective, but as a business, it is a profitable and required direction.

 

Bridging The Gap Between IT and Business

It was a great pleasure to listen again to Peter Vind from Siemens Energy, who first explained to the audience how to position the role of an enterprise architect in a company compared to society. He mentioned he has to deal with the unicorns at the C-level, who, like politicians in a city, sometimes have the most “innovative” ideas – can they be realized?

To answer these questions, Peter is referring to the Business Capability Model (BCM) he uses as an Enterprise Architect.

Business Capabilities define ‘what’ a company needs to do to execute its strategy, are structured into logical clusters, and should be the foundation for the enterprise, on which both IT and business can come to a common approach.

The detailed image above is worth studying if you are interested in the levels and the mappings of the capabilities. The BCM approach was beneficial when the company became disconnected from Siemens AG, enabling it to rationalize its application portfolio.

Next, Peter zoomed in on some of the examples of how a BCM and structured application portfolio management can help to rationalize the AI hype/demand – where is it applicable, where does AI have impact – and as he illustrated, it is not that simple. With the BCM, you have a base for further analysis.

Other future-relevant topics he shared included how to address the introduction of the digital product passport and how the BCM methodology supports the shift in business models toward a modern “Power-as-a-Service” model.

He concludes that having a Business Capability Model gives you a stable foundation for managing your enterprise architecture now and into the future. The BCM complements other methodologies that connect business strategy to (IT) execution. See also my 2024  post: Don’t use the P** word! – 5 lessons learned.

 

Holistic PLM in Action.

or companies struggling with their digital transformation in the PLM domain, Andreas Wank, Head of Smart Innovation at Pepperl+Fuchs SE, shared his journey so far. All the essential aspects of such a transformation were mentioned. Pepperl+Fuchs has a portfolio of approximately 15,000 products that combine hardware and software.

It started with the WHY. With such a massive portfolio, business innovation is under pressure without a PLM infrastructure. Too many changes, fragmented data, no single source of truth, and siloed ways of working lead to much rework, errors, and iterations that keep the company busy while missing the global value drivers.

Next, the journey!

The above image is an excellent way to communicate the why, what, and how to a broader audience. All the main messages are in the image, which helps people align with them.

The first phase of the project, creating digital continuity, is also an excellent example of digital transformation in traditional document-driven enterprises. From files to data align with the From Coordinated To Connected theme.

Next, the focus was to describe these new ways of working with all stakeholders involved before starting the selection and implementation of PLM tools. This approach is so crucial, as one of my big lessons learned from the past is: “Never start a PLM implementation in R&D.”

If you start in R&D, the priority shifts away from the easy flow of data between all stakeholders; it becomes an R&D System that others will have to live with.

You never get a second, first impression!

Pepperl+Fuchs spends a long time validating its PLM selection – something you might only see in privately owned companies that are not driven by shareholder demands, but take the time to prepare and understand their next move.

As Andreas also explained, it is not only about the functional processes. As the image shows, migration (often the elephant in the room) and integration with the other enterprise systems also need to be considered. And all of this is combined with managing the transition and the necessary organizational change.

Andreas shared some best practices illustrating the focus on the transition and human aspects. They have implemented a regular survey to measure the PLM mood in the company. And when the mood went radical down on Sept 24, from 4.1 to 2.8 on a scale of 1 to 5, it was time to act.

They used one week at a separate location, where 30 of his colleagues worked on the reported issues in one room, leading to 70 decisions that week. And the result was measurable, as shown in the image below.

Andreas’s story was such a perfect fit for the discussions we have in the Share PLM podcast series that we asked him to tell it in more detail, also for those who have missed it. Subscribe and stay tuned for the podcast, coming soon.

 

Trust, Small Changes, and Transformation.

Ashwath Sooriyanarayanan and Sofia Lindgren, both active at the corporate level in the PLM domain at Assa Abloy, came with an interesting story about their PLM lessons learned.

To understand their story, it is essential to comprehend Assa Abloy as a special company, as the image below explains. With over 1000 sites, 200 production facilities, and, last year, on average every two weeks, a new acquisition, it is hard to standardize the company, driven by a corporate organization.

However, this was precisely what Assa Abloy has been trying to do over the past few years. Working towards a single PLM system, with generic processes for all, spending a lot of time integrating and migrating data from the different entities became a mission impossible.

To increase user acceptance, they fell into the trap of customizing the system ever more to meet many user demands. A dead end, as many other companies have probably experienced similarly.

And then they came with a strategic shift. Instead of holding on to the past and the money invested in technology, they shifted to the human side.

The PLM group became a trusted organisation supporting the individual entities. Instead of telling them what to do (Top-Down), they talked with the local business and provided standardized PLM knowledge and capabilities where needed (Bottom-Up).

This “modular” approach made the PLM group the trusted partner of the individual business. A unique approach, making us realize that the human aspect remains part of implementing PLM

Humans cannot be transformed

Given the length of this blog post, I will not spend too much text on my closing presentation at the conference. After a technical start on DAY 1, we gradually moved to broader, human-related topics in the latter part.

You can find my presentation here on SlideShare as usual, and perhaps the best summary from my session was given in this post from Paul Comis. Enjoy his conclusion.

 

Conclusion

Two and a half intensive days in Paris again at the PLM Roadmap / PDT Europe conference, where some of the crucial aspects of PLM were shared in detail. The value of the conference lies in the stories and discussions with the participants. Only slides do not provide enough education. You need to be curious and active to discover the best perspective.

For those celebrating: Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

 

In the last two weeks, I have had mixed discussions related to PLM, where I realized the two different ways people can look at PLM. Are implementing PLM capabilities driven by a cost-benefit analysis and a business case? Or is implementing PLM capabilities driven by strategy providing business value for a company?

Most companies I am working with focus on the first option – there needs to be a business case.

This observation is a pleasant passageway into a broader discussion started by Rob Ferrone recently with his article Money for nothing and PLM for free. He explains the PDM cost of doing business, which goes beyond the software’s cost. Often, companies consider the other expenses inescapable.

At the same time, Benedict Smith wrote some visionary posts about the potential power of an AI-driven PLM strategy, the most recent article being PLM augmentation – Panning for Gold.

It is a visionary article about what is possible in the PLM space (if there was no legacy ☹), based on Robust Reasoning and how you could even start with LLM Augmentation for PLM “Micro-Tasks.

Interestingly, the articles from both Rob and Benedict were supported by AI-generated images – I believe this is the future: Creating an AI image of the message you have in mind.

When you have digested their articles, it is time to dive deeper into the different perspectives of value and costs for PLM.

 

From a system to a strategy

The biggest obstacle I have discovered is that people relate PLM to a system or, even worse, to an engineering tool. This 20-year-old misunderstanding probably comes from the fact that in the past, implementing PLM was more an IT activity – providing the best support for engineers and their data – than a business-driven set of capabilities needed to support the product lifecycle.

 

The System approach

Traditional organizations are siloed, and initially, PLM always had the challenge of supporting product information shared throughout the whole lifecycle, where there was no conventional focus per discipline to invest in sharing – every discipline has its P&L – and sharing comes with a cost.

At the management level, the financial data coming from the ERP system drives the business. ERP systems are transactional and can provide real-time data about the company’s performance. C-level management wants to be sure they can see what is happening, so there is a massive focus on implementing the best ERP system.

In some cases, I noticed that the investment in ERP was twenty times more than the PLM investment.

Why would you invest in PLM? Although the ERP engine will slow down without proper PLM, the complexity of PLM compared to ERP is a reason for management to look at the costs, as the PLM benefits are hard to grasp and depend on so much more than just execution.

See also my old 2015 article:   How do you measure collaboration?

As I mentioned, the Cost of Non-Quality, too many iterations, time lost by searching, material scrap, manufacturing delays or customer complaints – often are considered inescapable parts of doing business (like everyone else) – it happens all the time..

The strategy approach

It is clear that when we accept the modern definition of PLM, we should be considering product lifecycle management as the management of the product lifecycle (as Patrick Hillberg says eloquently in our Share PLM podcast – see the image at the bottom of this post, too).

When you implement a strategy, it is evident that there should be a long(er) term vision behind it, which can be challenging for companies. Also, please read my previous article: The importance of a (PLM) vision.

I cannot believe that, although perhaps not fully understood, the importance of a data-driven approach will be discussed at many strategic board meetings. A data-driven approach is needed to implement a digital thread as the foundation for enhanced business models based on digital twins and to ensure data quality and governance supporting AI initiatives.

It is a process I have been preaching: From Coordinated to Coordinated and Connected.

We can be sure that at the board level, strategy discussions should be about value creation, not about reducing costs or avoiding risks as the future strategy.

 

Understanding the (PLM) value

The biggest challenge for companies is to understand how to modernize their PLM infrastructure to bring value.

* Step 1 is obvious. Stop considering PLM as a system with capabilities, but investigate how you transform your infrastructure from a collection of systems and (document)  interfaces towards a federated infrastructure of connected tools.

Note: the paradigm shift from a Single Source of Truth (in my system) towards a Nearest Source of Truth and a Single Source of Change.

 

* Step 2 is education. A data-driven approach creates new opportunities and impacts how companies should run their business. Different skills are needed, and other organizational structures are required, from disciplines working in siloes to hybrid organizations where people can work in domain-driven environments (the Systems of Record) and product-centric teams (the System of Engagement). AI tools and capabilities will likely create an effortless flow of information within the enterprise.

* Step 3 is building a compelling story to implement the vision.   Implementing new ways of working based on new technical capabilities requires also organizational change. If your organization keeps working similarly, you might gain some percentage of efficiency improvements.

The real benefits come from doing things differently, and technology allows you to do it differently. However, this requires people to work differently, too, and this is the most common mistake in transformational projects.

Companies understand the WHY and WHAT but leave the HOW to the middle management.

People are squeezed into an ideal performance without taking them on the journey. For that reason, it is essential to build a compelling story that motivates individuals to join the transformation. Assisting companies in building compelling story lines is one of the areas where I specialize.

Feel free to contact me to explore the opportunity for your business.

It is not the technology!

With the upcoming availability of AI tools, implementing a PLM strategy will no longer depend on how IT understands the technology, the systems and the interfaces needed.

As Yousef Hooshmand‘s  above image describes, a federated infrastructure of connected (SaaS) solutions will enable companies to focus on accurate data (priority #1) and people creating and using accurate data (priority #1). As you can see, people and data in modern PLM are the highest priority.

Therefore, I look forward to participating in the upcoming Share PLM Summit on 27-28 May in Jerez.

It will be a breakthrough – where traditional PLM conferences focus on technology and best practices. This conference will focus on how we can involve and motivate people. Regardless of which industry you are active in, it is a universal topic for any company that wants to transform.

 

Conclusion

Returning to this article’s introduction, modern PLM is an opportunity to transform the business and make it future-proof. It needs to be done for sure now or in the near future. Therefore PLM initiatives should be considered from the value point first instead of focusing on the costs.  How well are you connected to your management’s vision to make PLM a value discussion?

Enjoy the podcast – several topics discuss relate to this post.

 

 

Recently, I noticed I reduced my blogging activities as many topics have already been discussed and repeatably published without new content.

With the upcoming of Gen AI and ChatGPT, I believe my PLM feeds are flooded by AI-generated blog posts.

The ChatGPT option

Most companies are not frontrunners in using extremely modern PLM concepts, so you can type risk-free questions and get common-sense answers.

I just tried these five questions:

  1. Why do we need an MBOM in PLM, and which industries benefit the most?
  2. What is the difference between a PLM system and a PLM strategy?
  3. Why do so many PLM projects fail?
  4. Why do so many ERP projects fail?
  5. What are the changes and benefits of a model-based approach to product lifecycle management?

Note: Questions 3 and 4 have almost similar causes and impacts, although slightly different,  which is to be expected given the scope of the domain.

All these questions provided enough information for a blog post based on the answer. This illustrates that if you are writing about what are current best practices in the field – stop writing – the knowledge is there.

PLM in the real life

Recently, I had several discussions about which skills a PLM expert should have or which topics a PLM project should address.

PLM for the individual

For the individual, there are often certifications to obtain. Roger Tempest has been fighting for PLM professional recognition through certification – a challenge due to the broad scope and possibilities. Read more about Roger’s work in this post: PLM is complex (and we have to accept it?)

PLM vendors and system integrators often certify their staff or resellers to guarantee the quality of their solution delivery. Potential topics will be missed as they do not fulfill the vendor’s or integrator’s business purpose.

Asking ChatGPT about the required skills for a PLM expert, these were the top 5 answers:

  1. Technical skills
  2. Domain Knowledge
  3. Analytical and Problem-Solving Skills
  4. Interpersonal and Management Skills
  5. Strategic Thinking

It was interesting to see the order proposed by ChatGPT. Fist the tools (technology), then the processes (domain knowledge / analytical thinking), and last the people and business (strategy and interpersonal and management skills) It is hard to find individuals with all these skills in a single person.

Although we want people to be that broad in their skills, job offerings are mainly looking for the expert in one domain, be it strategy, communication, industry or technology. To get an impression of the skills read my PLM and Education concluding blog post.

Now, let’s see what it means for an organization.

PLM for the organization

In this area, one of the most consistent frameworks I have seen over time is CIMdata‘s Critical Dozen. Although they refer less to skills and more to trends and enablers, a company should invest in – educate people & build skills – to support a successful digital transformation in the PLM domain.

Oleg Shilovitsky’s recent blog post, The 12 “P” s of PLM Explained by Role: How to Make PLM More Than Just a Buzzword describes in an AI manner the various aspects of the term PLM, using 12 P**-words, reacting to Lionel Grealou’ s post: Making PLM Great Again

The challenge I see with these types of posts is: “OK, what to do now? Where to start?”

I believe where to start at the first place is a commonly agreed topic.

Everything starts from having a purpose and a vision. And this vision should be supported by a motivating story about the WHY that inspires everyone.

It is teamwork to define such a strategy, communicate it through a compelling story and make it personal. An excellent book to read is Make it personal from Dr. Cara Antoine – click on the image to discover the content and find my review why I believe this book is so compelling.

An important reason why we have to make transformations personal is because we are dealing first of all with human beings. And human beings are driven by emotions first even before ratio kicks in. We see it everywhere and unfortunately also in politics.

The HOW from real-life

This question cannot be answered by external PLM vendors, consultants or system integrators. Forget the Out-of-the-Box templates or the industry best practices (from the past), but start from your company’s culture and vision, introducing step-by-step new technologies, ways of working and business models to move towards the company’s vision target.

Building the HOW  is not an easy journey, and to illustrate the variety of skills needed to be successful, I worked with Share PLM on their Series 2 podcast. You can find the complete overview here. There is one more to come to conclude this year.

Our focus was to speak only with PLM experts from the field, understanding their day-to-day challenges with a focus on HOW they did it and WHAT they learned.

And this is what we learned:

Unveiling FLSmidth’s Industrial Equipment PLM Transformation: From Projects to Products

It was our first episode of Series 2, and we spoke with Johan Mikkelä, Head of the PLM Solution Architecture at FLSmidth.

FLSmidth provides the global mining and cement industries with equipment and services, which is very much an ETO business moving towards CTO.

We discussed their Industrial Equipment PLM Transformation and the impact it has made.

Start With People: ABB’s Engineering Approach to Digital Transformation

We spoke with Issam Darraj, who shared his thoughts on human-centric digitalization. Issam talks us through ABB’s engineering perspective on driving transformation and discusses the importance of focusing on your people. Our favorite quote:

To grow, you need to focus on your people. If your people are happy, you will automatically grow. If your people are unhappy, they will leave you or work against you.

Enabling change: Exploring the human side of digital transformations

We spoke with Antonio Casaschi as he shared his thoughts on the human side of digital transformation.  When discussing the PLM expert, he agrees it is difficult. Our favorite part here:

“I see a PLM expert as someone with a lot of experience in organizational change management. Of course, maybe people with a different background can see a PLM expert with someone with a lot of knowledge of how you develop products, all the best practices around products, etc. We first need to agree on what a PLM expert is, and then we can agree on how you become an expert in such a domain.”

Revolutionizing PLM: Insights from Yousef Hooshmand

With Dr. Yousef Hooshmand, writer of the paper: From a Monolithic PLM Landscape to a Federated Domain and
Data Mesh,  with over 15 years of experience in the PLM domain, currently PLM Lead at NIO, we discussed the complexity of digital transformation in the PLM domain and How to deal with legacy, meanwhile implementing a user-centric, data-driven future.

My favorite quote: The End of Single Source of Truth, now it is about The nearest Source of Truth and Single Source of Change.

Steadfast Consistency: Delving into Configuration Management with Martijn Dullaart

Martijn Dullaart, who is the man behind the blog MDUX: The Future of CM and author of the book The Essential Guide to Part Re-Identification: Unleash the Power of Interchangeability and Traceability, has been active both in the PLM and CM domain and with Martijn the similarities and differences between PLM and CM and why organizations need to be educated on the topic of CM

The ROI of Digitalization: A Deep Dive into Business Value with Susanna Maëntausta

With Susanna Maëntausta, we discussed how to implement PLM in non-traditional manufacturing industries, such as the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Susanna teaches us to ensure PLM projects are value-driven, connecting business objectives and KPIs to the implementation and execution steps in the field. Susanna is highly skilled in connecting people at any level of the organization.

Narratives of Change: Grundfos Transformation Tales with Björn Axling

As Head of PLM and part of the Group Innovation management team at Grundfos, Bjorn Axling aims to drive a Group-wide, cross-functional transformation into more innovative, more efficient, and data-driven ways of working through the product lifecycle from ideation to end-of-life.

In this episode, you will learn all the various aspects that come together when leading such a transformation in terms of culture, people, communication, and modern technology.

The Next Lane: Marel and the Digital Product Highway with Roger Kabo

With Roger Kabo, we discussed the steps needed to replace a legacy PLM environment and be open to a modern, federated, and data-driven future.

Step 1: Start with the end in mind. Every successful business starts with a clear and compelling vision. Your vision should be specific, inspiring, and something your team can rally behind.

Next, build on value and do it step by step.

How do you manage technology and data when you have a diverse product portfolio?

We talked with Jim van Oss, the former CIO of Moog Inc., for a deep dive into the fascinating world of technology transformations.

Key Takeaway: Evolving technology requires a clear strategy!

Jim underscores the importance of having a north star to guide your technological advancements, ensuring you remain focused and adaptable in an ever-changing landscape.

Diverse Products, Unified Systems: MBSE Insights with Max Gravel from Moog

We discussed the future of the Model-Based approaches with Max Gravel – MBD at Gulfstream and MBSE at Moog.

Max Gravel, Manager of Model-Based Engineering at Moog Inc., who is also active in modern CM, emphasizes that understanding your company’s goals with MBD is crucial.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution: it’s about tailoring the strategy to drive real value for your business. The tools are available, but the key lies in addressing the right questions and focusing on what matters most. A great, motivating story containing all the aspects of digital transformation in the PLM domain/

Customer-First PLM: Insights on Digital Transformation and Leadership

With Helene Arlander, who has been involved in big transformation projects in the telecom industry. Starting from a complex legacy environment, implementing new data-driven approaches. We discussed the importance of managing product portfolios end-to-end and the leadership strategies needed for engaging people in charge.

We also discussed the role of AI in shaping the future of PLM and the importance of vision, diverse skill sets, and teamwork in transformations.

Conclusion

I believe the time of traditional blogging is over – current PLM concepts and issues can be easily queried by using ChatGPT-like solutions. The fundamental understanding of what you can do now comes from learning and listening to people, not as fast as a TikTok video or Insta message. For me, a podcast is a comfortable method of holistic learning.

Let us know what you think and who should be in Season 3

And for my friends in the United States – Happy Thanksgiving and think about the day after ……..

Another episode of “The PLM Doctor is IN“. This time a question from Rob Ferrone. Rob is one of the founders of QuickRelease, a passionate, no-nonsense PDM/PLM consultancy company focusing on process improvement.

Now sit back and enjoy.

PLM and Digital Plumbing
What’s inside the digital plumber’s toolbox?

Relevant topic discussed in this video

Inside this video you see a slide from Marc Halpern (Gartner), depicting the digital thread during the last PLM Roadmap – PDT conference – fall 2020. This conference is THE place for more serious content and I am happy to announce my participation and anxiety for the next upcoming PLM Roadmap – PDT conference on May 19-20.

The theme: DISRUPTION—the PLM Professionals’ Exploration of Emerging Technologies that Will Reshape the PLM Value Equation.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the answer and look forward to your questions and comments. Let me know if you want to be an actor in one of the episodes.
The main rule: A single open question that is puzzling you related to PLM.

This time a short post (for me) as I am in the middle the series “Learning from the past to understand the future” and currently collecting information for next week’s post. However, recently Rob Ferrone, the original Digital Plumber, pointed me to an interesting post from Scott Taylor, the Data Whisperer.

In code: The Virtual Dutchman discovered the Data Whisperer thanks to the original Digital Plumber.

Scott’s article with the title: “Data Management Hasn’t Failed, but Data Management Storytelling Has” matches precisely the discussion we have in the PLM community.

Please read his article, and just replace the words Data Management by PLM, and it could have been written for our community. In a way, PLM is a specific application of data management, so not a real surprise.

Scott’s conclusions give food for thought in the PLM community:

To win over business stakeholders, Data Management leadership must craft a compelling narrative that builds urgency, reinvigorates enthusiasm, and evangelizes WHY their programs enable the strategic intentions of their enterprise. If the business leaders whose support and engagement you seek do not understand and accept the WHY, they will not care about the HOW. When communicating to executive leadership, skip the technical details, the feature functionality, and the reference architecture and focus on:

  • Establishing an accessible vocabulary
  • Harmonizing to a common voice
  • Illuminating the business vision

When you tell your Data Management story with that perspective, it can end happily ever after.

It all resonates well with what I described in the PLM ROI Myth – it is clear that when people hear the word Myth, they have a bad connotation, same btw for PLM.

The fact that we still need to learn storytelling is because most of us are so much focused on technology and sometimes on discovering the new name for PLM in the future.

Last week I pointed to a survey from the PLMIG (PLM Interest Group) and XLifcycle, inviting you to help to define the future definition of PLM.

You are still welcome here: Towards a digital future: the evolving role of PLM in the future digital world.

Also, I saw a great interview with Martin Eigner on Minerva PLM TV interview by Jennifer Moore. Martin is well known in the PLM world and has done foundational work for our community

. According to Jennifer, he is considered as The Godfather of PLM.  This tittle fits nicely in today’s post. Those who have seen his presentations in recent years will remember Martin is talking about SysLM (System Lifecycle Management) as the future for PLM.

It is an interesting recording to watch – click on the image above to see it. Martin explains nicely why we often do not get the positive feedback from PLM implementations – starting at minute 13 for those who cannot wait.

In the interview, you will discover we often talk too much about our discipline capabilities where the real discussion should be talking business. Strategy and objectives are discussed and decided at the management level of a company. By using storytelling, we can connect to these business objectives.

The end result will be more likely that a company understands why to invest significantly in PLM as now PLM is part of its competitiveness and future continuity.

Conclusion

I shared links to two interesting posts from the last weeks. Studying them will help you to create a broader view. We have to learn to tell the right story. People do not want PLM – they have personal objectives. Companies have business objectives, and they might lead to the need for a new and changing PLM. Connecting to the management in an organization, therefore, is crucial.

Next week again more about learning from the past to understand the future

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  1. Unknown's avatar
  2. Håkan Kårdén's avatar

    Jos, all interesting and relevant. There are additional elements to be mentioned and Ontologies seem to be one of the…

  3. Lewis Kennebrew's avatar

    Jos, as usual, you've provided a buffet of "food for thought". Where do you see AI being trained by a…

  4. Håkan Kårdén's avatar