Clarity on PLM

I had a chance to talk with…the Dassault Systemes team about their recent V6 product release.  They reinforced their key messages during the conversation: SOA based on a single data model, powered by ENOVIA, leveraging 3D as a media.  They also continue to speak of PLM 2.0, referring to the maturation of PLM from an engineering workgroup application to a value chain wide new product development and launch platform. I agree with this assertion – PLM has evolved in recent years to include the front end of innovation, product portfolio management, and direct materials sourcing. I always believed these were aspects of the PLM footprint, but organizations still approached each aspect of the product lifecycle in a siloed fashion.  Now with this release, these tenets are accessible to the small to mid-sized businesses (SMB) as well.

What does V6 Offer?

The key focus of the V6R2010 (V6) announcement is SMB (V6 PLM Express), the current incarnation of the SMARTEAM/CATIA bundled offering. Much like Siemens PLM and PTC, Dassault saw great success in the mid-market in 2008 so hope to build on that momentum with this release.  Basically, the goal is to open up the V6 platform – and “key PLM 2.0 values” – to the mid-market.  So what are these values?  There are the six points they espouse:

• Global collaborative innovation
• 3D lifelike experience across the value chain
• One platform enabling the federation of knowledge
• Online creation and collaboration – product authoring and collaboration over the web
• Ready to use PLM processes, by role and industry
• Lower cost of ownership and operations support

Much like other PLM vendors (e.g. Oracle), Dassault has focused their current release on enhancing the user experience.  V6 provides design (CATIA LiveShape), collaboration (3DVia composer pro), and simulation (SIMULIA DesignSight) to non-technical users, and offers role-based consumption of product information. The company has also further developed their systems engineering capability, by enabling building of component libraries to enhance reuse, and enhancing modeling capabilities.  There are five role-specific interfaces within v6: shape design, mechanical engineering, equipment engineering, machine engineering, and project team members (i.e. non-engineers).  Appropriate capabilities are presented in the user interface depending on role: industrial designers may have access to modeling and basic simulation, mechanical engineers have access to detailed design functions, and manufacturing process planning, and other members of the product launch team could have collaboration, sourcing and review capabilities.  New product development information (whether from other CAD tools, or enterprise applications) is presented through 3DLive, Dassault‘s web collaboration application.

How Does V6 fit into the PLM Ecosystem?

The six values Dassault speaks of are pretty much the same messages all large PLM providers have with their most recent product releases, although Dassault does place more emphasis on leveraging 3D across PLM processes and roles.  The challenge with this is convincing manufacturers who just want to arm their engineers with PDM and CAD that there is indeed value in sharing 3D visuals with marketing, field service, and suppliers (as Dassault says, “3D for all”, or in Autodesk‘s words, “democratizing 3D”).  I absolutely think there is value in this, whether for a large or small company. Marketing would be able to create more compelling promotions, leading to increased revenue. Field service would be able to respond to product quality issues more effectively, leading to happier, more loyal customers. Suppliers would be able to collaborate on new product designs and provide the most effective parts or materials.

What Else Does V6 Offer?

Two other key areas which Dassault has made a conscious effort to address are making the transition of V4 and V5 customers to V6 easier (with multiple “transition scenarios” from version co-existence to complete migration), and ensuring V6 is open so existing investments in tools and other enterprise applications can be leveraged, and data can be federated across the value chain. These two points alone will be key to accelerating acceptance of V6.

So that’s what I hear from Dassault. What do you think?

I had the chance to talk with … several ENOVIA SmarTeam customers during my recent research. I talked with them for my paper on how mid-sized manufacturers have leveraged product innovation and PLM to get through challenging economic times and come out better during the recovery. See my Research Rap: Small to Midsize Manufacturer in an Economic Downturn? Innovate! for an overview of the findings from the study (along with a link to the study if you are interested). The customers offered some very good perspective on the use of PLM by small to medium-sized business (SMB), which drives home a point that often gets lost in the grander discussion of enterprise PLM. Smaller companies need the basics of PLM, without the overhead of a large “enterprise transformation” sized implementation project.

What do they Offer?

I wrote about SmarTeam in my blog on Manufacturing Business Technology earlier this year, so I won’t reiterate the basics of their offerings. Instead, I would like to focus on the needs of smaller companies and what I learned from the manufacturers I spoke to for the study. It actually matches up nicely with a recent blog conversation on PLMtwine on PLM Action Plan for Dummies.

What does an SMB Look for in PLM? Controlling Data

In short, the companies I spoke with were looking to gain control of their product data. In the PLMtwine blog, Oleg lists that as step number 1.  The driver for each of the manufacturers interviewed was different, but the need to find a way to quickly get their product data in control was key. For one lighting manufacturer, the business driver was a significantly depressed local economy and the need to move to a new market (both geographically, but also with a more sophisticated product set). For a manufacturer of ladders, the challenge was a significant financial setback in their business, the need to run very lean, and the extension of their business into a multi-site, global operation as they moved production to Mexico. Despite the driver, the need was a way to control the complexities of their product data in an easy way, and share product data across their organization.

What does an SMB Look for in PLM? Controlling Change

The next core capability that smaller companies were addressing was tightly aligned with controlling data, controlling engineering changes. I would normally say controlling “processes,” but in this case it was clear that engineering change (followed by release to manufacturing) was the big pain they were addressing with PLM (as opposed generic “process control.” Engineering change is a messy process in many businesses, and one that leads to manufacturing confusion and errors. Although I have been in recent conversations on the priority of developing a strong process versus applying technology to solve the problem, the truth is that both are very valuable. The companies interviewed all discussed the importance of the engineering change processes, and pointed to significant improvements through the use of PLM technology (ENOVIA SmarTeam in this case).

SMB Wish List for PLM

Smaller manufacturers have many of the same PLM needs as larger companies, but far  fewer resources to achieve them. So what does an SMB look for in PLM? Based on my interview with the SmarTeam customers, they were looking for:

• Rapid Implementation
• Ease of Use
• Pre-populated Best Practices
• Pre-defined Templates and Data Models
• The Ability to Start Small (and add new capabilities when they are ready for them, what I call a “PLM Program” approach)
• Stability and Ease of Technical Implementation
• Integration with Product Designs (CAD, for the most part)
• Easy Integration to ERP

So that’s what I hear from SmarTeam’s customers, I hope you found it useful. What do you think? What else should I have asked them?

A quick peek into some Tech-Clarity research on … Innovating Through an Economic Downturn points out the importance of innovation so that smaller manufacturers can survive in the current, global economic crisis. The paper is intended to help companies develop an action plan that both recognizes the difficult reality that most manufacturers face today, and allows them to continue to invest in the future. This research complements earlier Tech-Clarity research focused on Engineering’s Role in Surviving a Down Economy, focusing on the implications for small to mid-size businesses (SMB).

The Research
The research includes interviews with three manufacturers, highlighting the challenges they faced during difficult economic times and the approaches they took to live to fight another day. The research points out that small to mid-size manufacturers have to make difficult trade-offs between product innovation and cost control, but that companies that continue to invest in innovation will fare better during the economic downturn and beyond.

The research identified three strategic approaches that companies have adopted during their downturns:

• Product (and Market) Innovation – Companies can’t afford to stop innovating. While some companies might be tempted to go into a pure sustaining engineering mode (putting the brakes on new product development), it is important for companies to continue to move key innovations forward to be prepared when market conditions improve.
• Reductive Innovation (innovation to reduce cost) - Small to mid-sized manufacturers are often caught in a pinch during economic downturns, having to offer price concessions to customers while simultaneously experiencing weaker product demand. This double-impact on their top lines means that they need to reduce cost in order to maintain profitability. Product innovation can be applied to cost reduction by reducing product or manufacturing costs. Many companies recognize that a down market is a good excuse to go back to correct over-designed or suboptimal designs that were acceptable during the good times.
• Process Innovation- Perhaps one of the major improvements can come from process innovation. Many innovative ideas are product lifecycle related and impact the efficiency of developing and managing products. By improving the efficiency of product innovation and product development, smaller manufacturers can afford to spend more of their limited resources on developing winning products.

These approaches were supported by product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, which can support each of these three strategies. PLM, in fact, often helps companies achieve these three strategic objectives simultaneously – leading to improvements in both top-line revenue and bottom-line profitability.

My Thoughts
The three manufacturers interviewed helped crystallize a key fact – companies facing difficult times must act. By turning to innovation, these companies were able to survive their difficult times. In each case, the use of PLM technology helped to enable this innovation, providing the support required to continue to innovate despite limited resources. PLM helped them to put in place better processes that helped them survive the downturn, but also left them in a stronger competitive position during their recovery. PLM is unique among enterprise applications because of the dual role it can play in increasing revenue and decreasing cost – a compelling opportunity for SMBs in troubled times.

Implications for Manufacturers
The implications are clear. Small to mid-size manufacturers need to act despite difficult economic times. Now that the economy appears to have stabalized, it is time for companies to develop a PLM and innovation strategy to set themselves up for short-term and long-term success.

This research highlighted the experiences of three ENOVIA SmarTeam customers. Look for more information on the Enovia SmarTeam solution in an upcoming “One to One” post later this week.

So that was a quick peek into some recent research on innovating to combat difficult times, I hope you found it interesting. Does the research reflect reality? Do you see it differently? Let us know what it looks like from your perspective.

I had the chance to talk with … Bruce Boes and the team at Siemens PLM Solutions about their Teamcenter Express offering for small to midsize manufacturers. The Express solution is a a part of what Siemens calls “The Velocity Series,” which is a full PLM offering for the small to mid-size business (SMB). The Velocity Series includes complements to Teamcenter Express that supports computer aided design (CAD, SolidEdge), computer aided analysis (CAE, FEMAP), and computer aided manufacturing (CAM, CAM Express). Teamcenter Express, either as a part of this suite or on its own, provides the base PLM capabilities, primarily collaborative product data management (CPDM).

What do they Offer?
Siemens is well known in PLM circles for their Teamcenter solution. Teamcenter, going all the way back to in history to one of the original PDM solutions, Metaphase, is a very robust and mature PLM offering. The solution is in place in many of the largest manufacturers in the world, and offers a very broad range of PLM capabilities. The full Teamcenter solution, however, is probably more than most mid-sized manufacturers need. This is where Siemens brings in Teamcenter Express. The solution provides a pre-configured environment of Teamcenter that handles product data vaulting and pre-configured workflows for engineering change management and release to manufacturing. These two processes are the basics of getting product data under control, and are typically very challenging processes. They are also processes that PLM is very well suited to improve.

In addition to the basics, Teamcenter Express can also provide version control, project management, collaboration, reporting and CAD integration(specifically to Pro/Engineer, Catia V5, Inventor, Solid Edge, and NX). The solution, built on Microsoft technologies, is intended to be easy to implement and support for smaller businesses. At the same time, Siemens points out that it is fully upgradeable to the full Teamcenter solution should the manufacturer grow or want to step up to a more full PLM solution.

Who do they Work With?
The Teamcenter Express solution is specifically aimed at the small to mid-size business (SMB) in the manufacturing industries. Unlike the full Teamcenter solution, Teamcenter Express is built to the needs of the general manufacturer (typically a supplier in a larger supply chain, but potentially a smaller OEM). There are no industry-specific solutions as you would find in full Teamcenter. In this way, Siemens is keeping the solution simple and to the point.

How does this Fit into the Ecosystem?
This solution helps smaller companies adopt PLM. Based on the same capabilities that larger companies use, it is a pre-configured version that is simpler to implement and provides basic workflows out of the box. At the same time, the manufacturer using Teamcenter Express is not limited in their future PLM vision, because they can choose to upgrade to Teamcenter if they choose with what is described as a relatively easy transition. It’s a unique approach, and one we will certainly keep an eye on over time.

Teamcenter Express also fits into the greater enterprise systems ecosystem, with integration available for both Microsoft Dynamics and SAP ERP solutions.

So that’s what I hear from the Velocity Team at Siemens, I hope you found it useful. What do you think? What else should I have asked them?

I had the chance to talk with …Joel Lemke and his team at NovaQuest recently about their business plans and their strategy to help companies gain value from PLM. NovaQuest is a relatively new company, formed by IBM and Dassault Systemes veteran Joel Lemke (along with a host of other talent). Their quest is to help Dassault better implement Enovia PLM solutions, particularly in under-served markets such as small to midsize businesses (SMB) and “non-traditional” industries. This company has a lot going for it, and fills an important role in the Dassault Ecosystem.

What do they Offer?
To be brief, they offer product lifecycle management (PLM). In specific, the sell and implement the Enovia product line from Dassault Systemes (DS). On one hand, this puts them into a large pool of DS resellers. How NovaQuest sets themselves apart, however, is through a dedicated focus on:

• PLM as opposed to CAD
• SMB
• Non-traditional markets

The first point has a lot to do with history. Many of the DS resellers – really most CAD resellers – come from a very strong CAD background. When it comes to selling, implementing, and supporting CAD these companies have all of the talent and experience they need. CAD, however, is a tool. PLM, on the other hand, is an enterprise application. Without getting too far up on my soapbox on the differences, suffice it to say that the skills and resources you need to bring to a tools implementation are different than those you need to bring to implement and extract value from PLM. In my mind, it’s kind of like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

Who do they Work With?
The second differentiator that NovaQuest touts – aside from their PLM expertise – is their unique focus. Most of the early adoption of PLM comes from what I call “metal benders.” These are typically companies that center their product development process around complex, mechanical designs (and hence, a lot of mechanical CAD). Other industries, what the PLM market likes to call “non-traditional” PLM industries, focus their product development process on differently. Frequently, designing the supply chain is as important as designing the product. Product compliance typically takes a more central part. And the design may be centered around a formula or recipe instead of CAD model and bill of material (BOM). This puts even more emphasis on PLM as an enterprise application as opposed to a product data management (PDM) vault with some extra bells and whistles.

The third point of differentiation is based on company size. NovaQuest plans to help smaller manufacturers, the SMBs, achieve their PLM goals. I the same may that a lot of early PLM work was done in the “metal benders,” much of the early PLM success was in larger companies. NovaQuest plans to capitalize on the growth of PLM in smaller-sized manufacturers.

How does this Fit into the Ecosystem?
One of my firm beliefs is that targeting the right market is a critical component of success. That is probably true in any business, but I have lived through this personally in the software industry. The challenge is to balance addressing a differentiated, targeted segment of the market while still assuring a large enough population of potential customers. NovaQuest is clearly differentiating themselves based on their three-way focus on PLM, non-traditional markets, and SMB. I expect that they will do business outside of this niche as well, given that they have the experience and knowledge required for the more traditional PLM targets. With a combination of focus on flexibility, coupled with a strong team, NovaQuest is well positioned for success in the PLM market. It will be interesting to see how well they can capitalize on the opportunity.

So that’s what I hear from NovaQuest, I hope you found it useful. What do you think? What else should I have asked them?