Clarity on PLM

A quick peek into some research on … the role Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) play alongside ERP and PLM to help manufacturers improve their business and increase product profitability. I have researched, posted, and discussed the complementary and integrated roles of ERP and PLM numerous times. But the question would come up, “how does MES fits into the picture?” In my graphic I had placeholders for more execution-oriented systems such as MES, Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO), and others. But I made a conscious decision not to complicate the already complicated subject of integrating the manufacturing systems ecosystem. Now that the industry has made progress in understanding how to integrate ERP and PLM, the time has come to address the role of MES. The details can be found in Tech-Clarity Insight: Integrating PLM and MES – Realizing the Digital Factory.

The Research Findings – Preface (or possibly rambling, you be the judge)

For you engineers reading this, do you remember freshman year when they taught you how to calculate stress and strain on rigid bodies? Then as you progressed in your learning, you found out that it was a gross oversimplification and didn’t really apply to real world materials? Or for you brainier people when someone admits that the rules of physics and mathematics are just models that seem to work (for the most part) but aren’t really hard and true rules? Or for business-oriented readers, the first time you heard an accountant ask “what would you like the numbers to be?” instead of giving you a simple answer. I might be digressing a little, so I’ll make my point – sometimes you need to understand the basics without all of the other real-world complexity that makes it hard. But it’s important to get to that real-world understanding, because that is where the real understanding lies. End digression.

The Research Findings – Simplified Roles of ERP and PLM

In my earliest discussions I typically simplified the roles of ERP and PLM as:

• PLM = Innovation
• ERP = Execution

I then progressed that a bit as:

• PLM – PLM focuses on product innovation, and is designed to help manufacturers design, develop, and launch profitable products.
• ERP - ERP’s role is executing the business of manufacturing, supporting the business of planning and managing the execution cycle.

I still like these definitions today, particularly the PLM one. The key difference in the ERP definition is the word “business.” While there are some companies that execute with ERP on the shop floor, for the most part it is used in planning for production and recording the results. Actual production is typically managed outside of ERP. Sometimes it is not automated at all, other times with some form of MES. So the picture was not yet complete.

The Roles of ERP and PLM – Now with MES!

So where does that leave us? With a need to integrate the manufacturing systems ecosystem into the reality of manufacturing operations. This is where MES enters into the picture. I had the opportunity to interview three companies that were willing to share their experience. One is a leading aerospace manufacturer who has significant experience with the integration but unfortunately wasn’t comfortable being identified, one is a Siemens electronics plant, and third is ATK Space Systems. Please read the report for their perspectives, they are worth hearing.

The roles as defined by this report, which are reflected in the updated graphic, are:

• PLM - PLM drives and captures product and process innovation
• MES – MES manages and tracks execution to turn those products into reality
• ERP -  ERP manages the commercial business of manufacturing

Still pretty simplistic, I know. But sometimes having simple, clear roles helps companies move their strategy forward. In addition to redefining the roles, the report discusses the following topics in more detail:

• Integrating the product and production lifecycle
• Automating the integrated product and production lifecycle
• Closing the Loop between designs and products

Implications for Manufacturers

I realize this is a long post, there is a lot to say and I have barely scratched the surface of the information in the report. So I will keep this short. Consider the role that MES plays alongside ERP and PLM and take the opportunity to integrate the product and production lifecycle. Whether you call that the “digital factory” or that term means something different to you, examine the value of increasing speed, improving quality, and decreasing errors by developing a synchronized manufacturing backbone that ties innovation, business execution, and manufacturing execution.

So that was a quick peek into some recent research on role that MES plays with ERP and PLM in a manufacturing software strategy, 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 PLM team at SAP recently to get an update on their plans and their progress to date. I have stayed in touch with them over the years, and have always been impressed by the opportunity they have to connect the business of manufacturing with the business of product development. As I reflected on the conversation, I struggled to understand why after all of the years of SAP getting too much credit for PLM, why they don’t seem to be getting as much credit for their recent efforts as I would expect. Today I hope to present both sides of the argument in the hopes to bring some clarity to the subject, and to start a conversation so we can all learn from each other.

Too Much Credit?

I have focused a lot of discussion on the complementary roles of ERP and PLM, and for many companies that translates to the roles of SAP and PLM. I have cautioned manufacturers in the past:

• Not to assume that an ERP provider that “checks the box” for PLM actually has a suitable PLM suite
• Don’t assume that any company offering both ERP and PLM have actually integrated them in a way that works for their particular business
• PLM suites vary significantly between vendors, even among the “best-of-breed” vendors
• PLM is not just another module of ERP, but a suite of solutions itself with some unique requirements

Those comments were typically in reaction to the “suite provider effect” where executives take a cursory look at a software requirement (such as PLM) and say “Doesn’t our ERP company have that? Let’s just use theirs.” While the ERP vendor’s solution deserves a review, if it doesn’t meet the business needs than the potential benefits of a single vendor and an integrated solution don’t add up to much. This conversation started way back in 2003 with my article Can ERP Speak PLM? in Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) when I served as the analyst for the PLM Evaluation Center.

With all of those cautions in mind, my hope was that manufacturers that have an ERP (such as SAP) would do a thorough evaluation of their needs, and then select the solution (or solutions) that would work best for their business. In other words, they shouldn’t just take PLM from their ERP provider blindly.

Not Enough Credit?

With all of those cautions aside, the ERP provider should get a fair evaluation. There are benefits to integration and a single vendor solution. And SAP has clearly invested in PLM. I wrote about SAP’s PLM strategy and roadmap in the past on my Manufacturing Business Technology blog.* SAP has taken on a multi-year program to enhance their PLM offering, and they have made significant progress. Last year they introduced a new, web-focused interface that pulls together a product-centric dashboard for an item. The “PLM Object Navigator” as it was called offers information about a part from both ERP and PLM perspectives, including configurable sidebars. They have now extended that interface to the process PLM community, where SAP has a significant installed base.

But user interface isn’t all that SAP has focused on. They have integrated CAD management and visual communication capabilities to develop visual representations of the CAD models that all users can access. They have added functionality including labeling functionality for consumer packaged goods (CPG). They have also enhanced product compliance, collaboration, and requirements management.

SAP has remained consistent in their focus to support four PLM “value scenarios,” enabling business processes to help manufacturers in specific initiatives to establish “Product and Service Leadership“:

• Consumer-Driven, Sustainable Innovation
• Integrated Product Development
• Continuous Product and Service Integration
• Embedded Product Compliance

The names have changed slightly over time, but the needs SAP is trying to meet are well-planned, important, and have remained consistent. Clearly, SAP has a plan and has been hard at work to achieve it. 

The Confusion, and the Questions

When I talk to the SAP PLM team, I can feel the excitement and their sense of accomplishment. I hear about the progress on their plans and how they are fulfilling the needs of their customers. Yet from the manufacturers I speak with, I don’t feel the same enthusiasm. So here are my questions:

• Am I talking to the wrong companies, or the wrong people?
• Is it still too early?
• Did the down economy last year stall SAP’s ability to get the word out?
• Does SAP not have the ear of the product innovation, product development, and engineering staff?
• Are manufacturers tired of hearing what is coming?
• Is there just still more that needs to be done?
• Are the best-of-breed vendors too far ahead? Or too entrenched?
• Is there a slow revolution happening that I am just not in touch with?

So that’s what I hear from SAP, and my resulting confusion. I hope you found it interesting. What do you think? Can you help shed some light on my questions?

*Note: Sorry, no link to past posts on SAP PLM right now. Unfortunately the blog was taken offline by Reed Business when they closed the magazine. I hope to get that content back at some point to share with you.

A quick peek into some research on … how the roles of ERP and PLM have evolved from Tech-Clarity’s most recent report, Tech-Clarity Insight: The Evolving Roles of ERP and PLM – Integrating the Roles of Execution and Innovation. This research is a follow up to The Complementary Roles of ERP and PLM. The paper furthers my previous research and describes how the use of these enterprise systems has evolved, and the associated maturation of the integration between ERP and PLM systems. As my past research has concluded, these systems remain the cornerstone of product profitability and are better together.

The Research

The research included interviews with manufacturers Emerson and Cameron, along with an interview with a Systems Integrator that focuses on ERP-PLM integration. What I appreciated the most about the integrator’s perspective is that they partner with leading vendors of both PLM and ERP software, and understand both perspectives. Having worked closely with ERP systems prior to reconnecting with my engineering roots and focusing more on PLM, I recognize how rare it is to speak with people that really understand (and respect) both domains.

The Research Findings

At the highest level, the key takeaways from the research are:

• PLM and ERP still play distinct, complementary roles in helping manufacturers drive product profitability
• ERP supports the business of planning and managing the execution cycle
• PLM owns the innovation cycle – including product development and engineering
• Companies are making great progress in integrating ERP and PLM, as ERP-PLM integration has become the norm and many have moved to advanced levels of integration

What Else is New?

The advances in integration caused me to rework my “Innovation Cycle – Execution Cycle” framework that I use to explain the roles of ERP and PLM. I have changes the model to reflect a more bi-directional model, and to support exchanges of more advanced information including:

• Bill of Process (BOP) – including the ERP “routing” in addition to the manufacturing BOM
• Quality, Compliance, and Cost plans – from PLM to ERP for execution
• Actual results – from ERP to PLM, including costs, inventory levels, etc.

The other thing that is new is not well reflected in the graphic yet. That is that ERP is frequently managing the execution of the manufacturing business, but not necessarily executing it. There is frequently a layer of solutions including Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), MRO, Supply Chain Management, and others that manage real-time execution and integrate to ERP as the backbone. But that is a study for a different time.

Implications for Manufacturers

So what can manufacturers learn from this research? The first thing is that they shouldn’t be spending their time choosing between ERP and PLM. They need both. The second is that integration has moved from a “nice to have” to a standard, and that more advanced companies are extending ERP-PLM integration beyond release to manufacturing and change management. Companies that haven’t integrated the ERP and PLM systems are now behind the competitive curve. Of course if your company doesn’t have both ERP and PLM, your business is either very unique or the chances are you are even farther behind the curve. The good news is that it appears easier to integrate ERP and PLM than ever before due to advances in technology, and that companies are improving efficiency and reducing cost by doing so. So the task at hand is easier to achieve, and provides solid payback. Sounds like ERP and PLM integration needs to be on everybody’s enterprise systems agenda.

So that was a quick peek into some recent research on the roles of ERP and PLM, 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.