PLM Perspective
As the term Product Lifecycle Management, or PLM, becomes more widely recognized, more and more software applications that touch only a segment of the entire lifecycle are being introduced as PLM products. The key to realizing full PLM potential, however, is recognizing that PLM is a business initiative, rather than an application or even a set of applications.
PLM is a strategic framework that a wide range of applications like PDM, CAD, ERP and many others support. Certainly enormous strides in innovation and productivity can be made at particular stages of a product's lifecycle through individual applications or processes, and that is an excellent place to start growing toward an enterprise's PLM vision. At UGS PLM Solutions, we are building PLM applications to support not just individual process domains, but also our customers' extended PLM strategies. This approach is based on four basic "pillars" that are the underpinnings of our business. These same pillars serve to guide any business that is building a PLM strategy.
The Four Key Pillars
PLM Acuity
Acuity drives us to create tools that capture and leverage an enterprise's collective knowledge into new, lean processes that deliver innovative products. Today, it is innovation, not just time to market that creates new, attention-grabbing products that sell. By providing knowledge-driven automation tools that bring a company's collective experience and intelligence into the system organically, routine processes can be automated and users are freed to focus on the more creative aspects of their job that lead to innovation.
PLM Foundation
Our IT solutions are built on a platform that has modern, scalable architecture that provides room to grow as needs change and enables applications to be tailored for global collaboration. Many types of product-descriptive data are generated to meet the various needs of all participants in a product's lifecycle, ranging from engineering to marketing, to purchasing, warranty services and many others. PLM based on true lifecycle data architecture (LDA) comprehends and manages these disparate data types and maintains associations and accountability among the product representations so that all constituents can collaborate and add maximum value to the product.
PLM Open
In order to realize the concept of full "digital decision making", companies need to leverage all of their digital applications. By providing solutions that are open, we ensure that you can implement new solutions and PLM components that are right for you in an incremental fashion. Openness keeps your PLM activities connected across the enterprise.
PLM Portfolio
We are committed to the continuing development of best-in-class applications that address the entire lifecycle of a product, from concept through retirement. Applications are connected, integrated and built on the PLM Foundation. While many PLM vendors focus on the product development or engineering phase of a product's lifecycle, it is important that companies can also address areas such as requirements planning, procurement, MRO and advanced manufacturing initiatives as well as incorporate data from other organizational tools such as ERP, SCM and CRM. Also important is a portfolio that encompasses industry solutions, incorporating best practices and tools that accelerate productivity within industry segments.
In today's economy, a company's biggest challenge is being "right to market." Success is no accident. it depends on integrated strategies that drive innovation. PLM can be a significant driver when it is viewed from that perspective and built on an aggregate base of acuity that leverages all an organization knows, a foundation that provides room to grow, openness that connects everyone who affects a product and a broad portfolio of powerful collaborative solutions. This is when PLM is most powerful.
PLM Perspective - March 2004 Main Page.
