PLM: TRANSFORMING INNOVATION

The Economic Times

It's a tough market today for the manufacturers. Not only do manufacturers have to worry about rising input costs to keep overheads under control and maintain margins, but keep an eagle's eye on what customers desire. The discerning customers today demand world class quality products and services customized to their needs and to the price points agreeable to them. They seek value yet are price conscious.

To remain ahead of customers and service their needs, the call of the hour is infusing a sense of collaboration, not only within the organization, but also across the entire stage of the product life cycle and value chain. It is critical to optimize the exchange of ideas as well as product and process information amongst all the stakeholders, enabling real time virtual collaboration and providing information access to all those who need it. This means fostering innovation at every stage involving each and every strategic partner, suppliers and even customers.

Thus the crux is to create a global innovation network, which allows thoughts and ideas to be shared for each and every aspect of the product lifecycle. Product lifecycle Management (PLM) is the digital platform companies use to build their global innovation networks. There are many advantages, which accrue using the PLM. PLM enables companies to optimally utilize the resources and increase efficiency. Since PLM is spawns across globally, one can harness ideas and thoughts from various parts of the world easily. Such accessibility allows companies to address business constraints and regulatory requirements optimally. Further, PLM ensures that the time-to-market is compressed and companies can benefit from yield on product and process innovations.

There are ample examples to showcase the success of PLM and how companies have benefited from PLM. For example, A global auto manufacturer achieved $1 billion in annual savings and reduced cycle time from four years to just one year. Similarly, a leading automobile manufacturer in India achieved a reduction in design-to-launch time of 25 percent while one of the most respected brands in heavy-duty trucks reduced direct and indirect labor costs by 30 percent on a new plant startup. From the world of fashion, a leading women's fashion chain reduced the time needed to take a design from initial sketch to finished item (excluding shipping times) by up to 30 percent.