Gaining an edge with PLM

Product lifecycle management (PLM) software not only helps companies efficiently and cost-effectively manages the lifecycle of a product, it can also be used as a business strategy to gain a competitive advantage.

PLM is the framework for managing the lifecycle of a product from inception to utilisation.  It includes: coordinating the designing process of all disciplines with the aim of meeting all customer and technical needs; managing resources allocation and tracking progress; capturing and maintaining product information; and managing the manufacturing process.

At its core, PLM is about the creation and management of all product information and the software used to access this information. PLM emerged from CAD, CAM and PDM. It is the integration of these software with the people and processes throughout the lifecycle of products. As such, it is more than just software technology; PLM is a business strategy.

Strong growth

Stan Przybylinski, CIMdata's Director of Research says that after a down year in 2009, the global PLM market came back strong in 2010. He also says that as the PLM market returned to overall growth in 2010, the mainstream PLM mindshare leaders - Dassault Systèmes, Siemens PLM Software, PTC, SAP and Oracle - also returned to revenue levels nearly at their 2008 peaks.

Mr. Przybylinski says that because much of their revenue in 2010 was in software license growth, the large PLM solution suppliers were well positioned for 2011. He states that the results of the PLM players have shown that 2011 has also been a very good year to date.

The reasons for the growth in the PLM market can be attributed to the benefits offered by the PLM software. Now, consider the case of a company not using PLM software. There will be areas that need improvement. Touching the tip of the ice berg, here are a few of the problem areas:  in terms of innovation, the process of taking new products from inception to market takes too long. During the development stage, there are often budget and time overruns as there is little or no visibility and tracking over the status. Variations and modifications happen often and it is difficult to determine their impacts on product design, manufacturing procedures and production equipment requirements. As the information is fragmented, it is time consuming to search, access and retrieve.

These are just some of the problems faced and it all boils down to inefficiency. The PLM software, in managing product information and integrating and automating business processes, offers profitability by ensuring efficiency. It enables companies to shorten time-to-market, plan more new products pipelines, reduced costs, increase productivity, and improve quality of products and procedures.

These improvements will result in two scenarios: increased productivity with same resources or same productivity with fewer resources. The first scenario gives higher revenue at same level of costs while the second scenario gives same level of revenue but at lower costs. Regardless of which scenarios, either way there is an increase in profitability in using PLM software.

Pursue operational excellence

International Metalworking News - Middle East interviewed Rajabahadur V Arcot, Vice President and GM (South and South East Asian operations), ARC Advisory Group, raja@arcweb.com.  He said: "In a competitive marketplace, it is imperative for manufacturing companies to pursue operational excellence and seek product leadership. What determines the ultimate success of manufacturing companies is their ability to capture customer needs, develop, and deliver innovative and attractive products ahead of their competitors."<Buty Niemowl?ce