What I learned this week … came from some reflection on PDM-less PLM: Is It Pragmatic or Just Problematic? on engineering-matters. Chad Jackson raises some great questions about whether PLM can be achieved without PDM. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on managing product data and managing product-related processes. I don’t think you can draw such a hard line between processes and data. This brings me back to a lot of my conversations with Oleg in PLM think tank on which is more important – data or business processes.

A Better Definition for PLM

First things first. Chad references the definitions of PDM and PLM in Wikipedia. I will save you the trouble of looking them up, they are entirely circular definitions.

They  just take the words in the acronym and expand them into sentence structure. While there is some good information in the entries, defining PDM as “managing product data” (paraphrased) and PLM as “managing the lifecycle of a product” (and adding some color to what lifecycle means) is pretty worthless. That is what I call one of the “Myths of PLM.” Here is what I use:

• PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is a software-enabled strategy to improve processes to conceptualize, design, develop, and manage products and drive higher levels of product profitability.

I find this more useful because I don’t think that anybody ever earned one more penny by “managing the lifecycle of a product.” They make money by effectively bringing innovative products to market. The other definition makes it sounds like implementing PLM is an end to itself, and not a means to an end. Is that important? When I continue to see people implementing software (PLM and others) for the sake of the software and no concept of what business value they will get from it, I say yes. OK, I will now step down from my soapbox. And while I am on the soapbox, I have to admit that I don’t really care that much about the definition of PDM. To me, PDM is just the data management portion of PLM (see the definition above). Don’t get me wrong, it is vitally important, I just think it needs to in the context of business value.

Who Cares about Acronyms?

PLM, in my opinion, started as the maturation of PDM. Once companies had their data under control, wasn’t it just natural to try to do something with it? Starting with adding engineering change control, perhaps, as a starting point? Many would argue today, of course, that change control is a basic function of PDM. So where does PDM end and PLM start? PLM was developed as PDM that understood processes, as I think Chad would agree. Now, the lines between PDM and PLM are really blurry. PDM is core capability of most PLM suites. Can you have PDM without PLM? Of course. Can you have processes without underlying data? I don’t think so. There are clearly PDM solutions that are just focused on managing product data, particularly 3D CAD. If it doesn’t add process on top, is that a basic PLM system that handles PDM or a different kind of system. Once you add processes to it, does it change? I don’t see it. PDM is a capability of a PLM solution.

The Real Questions? Engineering Data Management and Integration?

Clearly process-oriented applications are acting on something. They need data. So maybe the real question is do you need to manage CAD data to have PLM? I would say that you need PDM capabilities to run in a 3D CAD environment effectively, see my Managing Engineering Data report. But do you have to have CAD? No, as many companies in the process and CPG industries have proven by getting value from PLM when CAD is not at the core of their products. But they do have a lot of product data that needs to be managed. So do you need rich product data to run processes? No. But as Chad points out, people need access to product data. The more product information available (to the right people at the right time) provides value.

So maybe the real question is integration? Can you have a PLM solution that includes a PDM system from one vendor and process enablement from another that sits on top? As Chad says, integrating “these two systems”? I suppose that a PLM solution can be integrated from a best-of-breed PDM with processes added on top, but isn’t that just a PLM system “mashed up” by integrating solutions from two vendors? Yes, its possible. But is it practical? To me, the rich integration of product data and processes is a big part of the value available from PLM (or any enterprise application).

Implications for Manufacturers

Chad hits the nail on the head with his conclusion. The conclusion is a resounding “it depends.” You need to understand what you are trying to accomplish in your business and then find applications that support it. My guess is that leads to both data and processes together. Maybe not CAD data, although if you have it then it needs to be managed anyway and why not have it integrated. But the plan on what to implement when – the path to PLM – should be based on business requirements and business value.

So those are my thoughts on PDM and PLM, I hope you found it interesting. I realize they are a bit scattered, maybe I am missing something. Or maybe I just don’t care that much acronyms.

A quick peek into some research on … how effectively managing engineering data can improve engineering efficiency. Beyond just efficiency, the study looks at how solutions that manage engineering data – whether you call them PLM, PDM, cPDM, EDM, or any other acronym – can play a critical role in helping manufacturers realize their business strategies.

The Research Findings

Past Tech-Clarity research, including Tech-Clarity Insight: Innovating Through an Economic Downturn and Tech-Clarity Insight: Engineering’s Role in Surviving a Down Economy, make it clear that manufacturers are facing difficult times. Although there are positive signs about the recovery, there are lingering impacts on today’s manufacturing business including:

• Companies have to innovate to capture their share of a smaller market (some say they have to increase market share just to stay still due to lower overall sales volume)
• They need to bring products to market faster in today’s competitive, global environment (even before the downturn)
• They are running lean (and recent studies including one from Aberdeen Group indicate that they plan to add resources back in slowly)

What does that mean? As the recently published report Tech-Clarity Insight: Managing Engineering Data – The Role of Product Data Management in Improving Engineering Efficiency says, “manufacturers need to be able to design and develop products extremely efficiently to get the most out of their engineering efforts.” Perhaps that’s always true, and somewhat obvious. But what can they do about it? The report reviews the experience of three manufacturers, including AMETEK (rotary and linear motion control products and electronic instruments), SchuF-Fetterolf (industrial valve company specializing in the design and manufacture of process critical valves), and Visa Lighting (manufacturer of performance decorative lighting). The research finds that managing engineering data has a positive impact on:

• Gaining control of product data
• Collaborating across sites and sharing information
• Automating (and streamlining) product-related processes
• Leveraging PDM beyond engineering data

In turn, these improvements drive business level results including increased engineering efficiency and faster time to market. Looking back at the challenges companies face in a tough economy, these are important benefits!

Implications for Manufacturers

The research indicates that solutions to manage engineering data drive important business benefits. Product Data Management (PDM) is an important discipline and software enabler in manufacturing companies today. Regardless of whether the PDM is a part of a larger Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution or a simpler solution that focuses only on the PDM aspects, it is a must for manufacturers today. Manufacturers that haven’t invested in these solutions have a choice to make. They can choose a PLM solution from vendors like Dassault Systemes, PTC, or Siemens PLM. They could choose to get PLM from an ERP vendor such as Oracle or SAP. Others will choose a more focused PDM solution. Which is right? It depends on the business strategy and what the company wants to accomplish – now and in the future.

PLM is expanding to cover a lot more than data management, as I discuss in What I Learned: PLM Please Take 3 Giant Steps Forward. For some companies that fits their strategy well. For others (including some interviewed for this paper) that seems like too much for them. Instead of investing in PLM and using a subset, they chose to work with a simpler solution. Solutions from companies like Arena Solutions or Synergis Software can offer a lighter weight solution for these companies to meet their PDM needs. To be fair, some of the large PLM vendors also offer a simpler solution (although that is too much to get into here). They may not have all of the capabilities that the larger PLM systems do, but if the business isn’t ready for PLM they can offer a long-term PDM solution or a stepping stone to get data in order on the path towards a more broad PLM strategy. Regardless of what path they choose, the study is further evidence that manufacturers are getting real value from PDM.

So that was a quick peek into some recent research on the importance of managing engineering data well, I hope you found it interesting. Does the research reflect your experiences? Do you see it differently? Let us know what it looks like from your perspective.

Please feel free to review more free research and white papers about PLM and other enterprise software for manufacturers from Tech-Clarity.

I had the chance to talk with … the team at Synergis Software about their engineering document management solution, Adept. Synergis focuses on providing a simple solution to manage engineering documents – including CAD files – than a full PLM solution. For companies without big plans for PLM, particularly smaller companies, Synergis offers an alternative option. Perhaps they are on to something, 2009 was a tough year in our industry and Synergis reports having a very good year. 

What do they Do? 

First and foremost Adept is not a PLM system. Some would probably call it Product Data Management (PDM), but certainly not PLM. The solution is intended to help companies get control of their engineering information. The solution primarily manages documents. On the other hand, Synergis can help solve some PLM problems. One of the core needs for PLM is to get data under control. Engineers have documents of all types, including office productivity applications like spreadsheets. This is what Adept is designed to manage.

But most engineers also manage CAD files in Adept. In fact, Synergis has invested in integration with SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor that rivals many PDM systems. They have developed an integrated plug-in that sits in SolidWorks that allows users to perform searches and do check-in/check-out from a right-hand pane in SolidWorks. They have integrated with Inventor as well, and have announced a new plug-in application for that environment.  

What do they Offer