Making the value of technology clear
This research aims to learn about current challenges, strategies, and programs for manufacturing data management. Over 300 responded, from manufacturers in various industry segments and of all sizes, working with data from plants in every corner of the world. We uncovered a significant and nearly universal outstanding need: better ways to integrate IT and OT data. We also discovered that there are paths that appear to lead to greater success for those who travel them most aggressively.
Top Performers have made mindset, organization, and staffing changes. They are also far more likely to be using commercial software solutions and adopting modern approaches to accelerate their ability to manage manufacturing data effectively. As a result, a larger percentage of these Top Performers have already made dramatic improvements in business performance. They are in a position to make more gains.
Even for Top Performers, challenges remain. These include data and systems integration, putting IT and OT data into a common context, agreeing on "sources of truth," and identifying data owners.
Note also that this is early days for coherent manufacturing data management. Yes, several times as many of the Top Performers have a program, staff members, capabilities, or dramatic gains on KPIs. Yet they are still only a minority.
There is more to do for every manufacturer. Faster decisions have always made a difference. However, doing things as we've done them may no longer suffice.
Seek New Approaches to Manufacturing Data Management
So, beyond doing what has been possible, we also encourage companies to seek new approaches. Solution providers are advancing their offerings. Some have integrated more functionality into plant systems. New offerings are becoming available to support manufacturing data management now and in the near future.
Be ready to explore new approaches. Validate their fit and ability to help meet your manufacturing data management challenges. Leverage both new and existing technologies and approaches to progress toward your Industry 4.0 vision.
How is the cloud playing a role in engineers' design processes?
Tech-Clarity’s Jim Brown got together (virtually) with Siemens Digital Industries Software Senior Marketing Director Paul Brown to share perspectives and examples.
[audio mp3="https://tech-clarity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Tech-Clarity-Cloud-Design-Podcast-2020-09-22.mp3"][/audio]
You can also see related video interviews including: Digital Transformation Progress with Bob Jones, Cloud Progress Report with Bill Boswell, and Siemens Digital Transformation Progress with Brenda Discher.
Transcript:
JIM: Hi, I'm Jim Brown, President of Tech-Clarity, where we make the business value of technology clear. Today, I'm joined by Paul Brown, a long-time industry leader and Senior Marketing Director at Siemens Digital Industries Software. We're going to talk to Paul about design engineering and how the cloud is really playing a big role there. Let's get some clarity.
JIM: Paul, thanks very much for joining me today.
PAUL: Yeah. Thanks, Jim.
JIM: So we've seen increased interest in the cloud in lots of different kinds of solutions, everything from probably email being run on the cloud for a long time, and ERP and others, but we're starting to see a lot of increased interest in design tools on the cloud and understanding how the process of design and engineering can evolve to leverage capabilities of the cloud. So there are obviously a lot of generic benefits of lower barriers to entry for a solution, whether it be cost or hardware, some lower risk and operational benefits around scalability of users and things along those needs, but we've also noticed that there are some really unique benefits for some engineering solutions, and maybe those come from enhanced collaboration or reach, but they may also come from increased scalability, access to "infinite computing power on demand." When you think about what's happening in design and how the cloud may be changing things, what do you think are the most important things for companies to know?
PAUL: Yeah, it's an interesting point, Jim. And I think we're definitely seeing a lot more interest in cloud-based solutions, but I will say, maybe this is a little bit controversial as a viewpoint, but at the moment, we're seeing a lot of interest, adoption is a bit more steady. I think that there's a lot more kind of people kind of, first of all, looking at what this cloud is going to do for them, so what that's really doing is it's actually getting a number of companies into this area where they've got a level of desktop application and they're starting to use cloud solutions combined together, so you end up with this kind of mixed environment. And really the important thing, and one thing I will say is, that's not a choice that we make or... That is a company choice that is down for the companies as they go forward.
PAUL: We can't, as vendors, force people to one or other approach just because it suits us. Okay, and we really have to look at letting customers decide and work at their own pace and their own way of getting forward in these types of technologies and use what's best for them. And that's always been one of the strategies here at Siemens, is that we've been looking at letting people work this way through and adjust, so the important thing is really is flexibility and being able to access the tools that they need to do their job as they need them and when they need them. I think when you start looking at why people, why the cloud is becoming more interesting, I think design really is, and product development is really a collaborative exercise. There are very few products that we see that are designed by a single person right the way through from start to finish, and so it relies on communicating with other people, sharing design work, and so one of the key elements that we're seeing is people are looking at leveraging the cloud to communicate between groups, to be able to make better design decisions, to share information.
PAUL: An example for you here, about two years ago, we introduced a product called NX Virtual Reality. So NX Virtual Reality first came out, it was great. You're inside your NX session, put on a headset, controllers, and you're immersed inside the product, you're one-to-one scale. We showed it to people. They loved it. I mean, people looked, "Yeah, well, it's... Yeah, it's great." But after a while, they kind of, their response starts coming as like, "Well, yeah, it's good, it gives me some benefits, but you know, yeah, it's okay, but... " There's always a but that comes on. Last year, what we did is we added in the multi-user version of virtual reality, so using multi-user, people can be dispersed around the globe, use a cloud-based solution and join in that session each with their own hardware, each with their own headsets, see each other, be doing work together, being able to measure things, move things, try things out, walk around their design in full-scale, and that's when people started coming back and saying, "Right, now I can do something different in my processes. I can bring people together."
PAUL: And that's because that we're leveraging the power of the cloud to bring together collaboration. I think there are other areas that we're seeing. We're seeing an increasing use of tools like generative engineering, where designers are leveraging the power of simulation and bringing simulation closer into the design process, into the creation process. So leveraging technologies like optimization, and particularly when you start getting into multi-disciplinary optimization, when you are not just looking at structural and stresses, but you're also combining structural and stresses with something like flow and computational fluid dynamics and you're trying to do these really complex type analyses, you need compute power.
PAUL: Now, your options are you have local machines with loads of power or you leverage the cloud, you leverage the compute power in the cloud. As you mentioned, that gives you that kind of near infinite compute power to help you do that and bring that simulation in to help you in that area. So it's giving you that more flexible infrastructure to be able to deliver the power when you need it to the people that need it. And I think those are the types of things that people are looking to actually say, "Okay, well, this is going to make a big difference in my product development process."
JIM: Paul, I really resonate with what you're saying of people looking for things that are not just, "I want to implement the latest technology or use the latest buzz word, but how am I going to change my workflow, how am I going to change my ability to do my job?" And it's interesting, we actually had some survey results along a similar line where we decided to ask companies for the benefits of the cloud, for all of the reduced cost and reduced risk and scalability, etcetera, etcetera, how much functionality are they willing to trade off for that? So basically, whether they're... Are they taking a cloud-first approach or a solution-first approach to their selections. And what we saw really overwhelmingly, the majority of companies said they were willing to trade off little or no functional capabilities in order to gain the benefits of the cloud. And so I think it really does come down to, not technology for technology's sake, but technology that's going to add value. With that said, as you talk to customers, what is it that they're looking for? What is it that they want that the cloud can help offer them?
PAUL: Well, actually, firstly, Jim, I'm actually not surprised at the results of your research. I think at the end of the day, a lot of the benefits that people talk about the cloud, the things like the reduced risk and reduce support needs, they tend to be more IT-centric. And as an engineer, the big challenge is how do I get my job done and out the door? It's not going to help me if when my boss comes to me and says, "That project is running a week late, you need to work at weekends," and particularly that's why people don't want to lose functionality, because if I start losing functionality, then there is a good chance it's going to take me longer to do my job. So really, that means that the challenge for us is, as vendors, is to identify what added value can the cloud bring. Being able to access more capabilities, being able to expand my environment, but more importantly, how can I make, get access to not just software, but data, and I think... As we've gone through the events of this year, and it's been... I guess the best description is it's been challenging. It's been challenging for companies, it's been challenging for employees, and companies have had to adapt to survive. And what we're seeing is obviously remote working became the norm, and depending where you are in the world, I'm here in the UK, remote working is still very much the norm.
PAUL: And inside of NX, we've always supported remote working with NX to be able to give you the software. We have the ability to borrow a license, we have the ability to run virtualized environments and all those types of things. The important thing that we found as people started working, and working with these remote terms, is making sure that people could access their data. And that's where tools like Teamcenter and the new products of the Teamcenter X and Teamcenter Share come in. Being able to make sure that my engineers can access the important information, access their data in a secure environment without actually risking data security. Get to the information they need, without compromising safety and security, and going through and making sure that you've got access to what you need when you need it.
PAUL: That's one of the powers of the cloud that actually helps engineers is that information, as I say, leveraged by tools like Teamcenter, Teamcenter X. There was an aside. What we noticed an interesting phenomenon that started back in March. In March, it seemed like the whole world was entering a period of lockdown, and so people were beginning to do this remote working, we were getting lots of questions about getting set up on remote working. Well, we saw one interesting phenomenon, we actually, from our business records, our business intelligence systems that help as part of our continuous improvement processes, we actually saw that the number of NX sessions and usage of NX increased by 30%. So that just goes to show that people are... That technology is accessible remotely, people are being able to do that and being able to drive that information.
PAUL: We're also seeing this looking forward, that as people are moving more and getting their digitalization strategies in place and moving to leverage the digital twin, the cloud is becoming a key part of that. We're just rolling out a new solution. It combines the power of NX, but also with our Mendix tools, and it allows us to do reporting and analytics. If you think about the digital twin, the whole idea of having a comprehensive digital twin is it gets more and more richer as design develops, as manufacturing develops. So there's a lot of information embedded, not inside of that data, inside of that 3D model. Well, being able to access that from outside of the CAD session, outside of the design session, from any type of device, being able to go on to a tablet device, being able to go on to a phone, drill in.
PAUL: Imagine being like a project manager, and you've got 20 engineers working on a project. Wouldn't it be great if from you from your phone or from your tablet, you can quickly pull up that product, pull up the 3D model, visualize it, and interrogate it, do a check, to see, now, what types of materials are being selected by the design team. Are there any long lead time items in that project that I need to be aware of? That I need to go and talk to procurement for? Going and getting that information, and that's kind of leveraging those types of tools, and the only way you can do that is by leveraging the power of cloud to actually collaborate between the applications and leverage the access that the cloud gives you.
JIM: Thanks, Paul, and it really seems like in a lot of ways, companies that are remote using these tools are actually able to work better together than maybe if they were in the same building trying to join together in a conference room. And I'm going to noodle on your NX Usage increase for a little while, that's got my brain very curious, so I appreciate you sharing that... Sharing that fact. You mentioned earlier, the collaborative virtual reality sessions and things like that, and those to me are more game-changers than things like CAD on the cloud. We've had things like design tool virtualization for quite some time, and those are incredibly valuable, but not necessarily something that is fueling a digital transformation, I would say. How do you see within your products, within the things that you're doing with your customers, how are you helping companies sort of move the bar and really use the cloud to do more? And how are you helping them really fundamentally change the way they work?
PAUL: Yeah, I agree with you. I think that the concept of virtualization has been around a long time. As I say, we've supported it, we have customers, both large and small, running in virtualized environments, and getting benefits from what virtualization brings, but it's not, as you say, it's not really new or game-changing. But what we do see is this need for solutions that support and allow you to work the best way for your business. So, really allowing you to work in the environment you like, adopt cloud technologies where it makes sense, not forced in one way or another. So that brings us to that once again, back to the idea of having the desktop applications and the cloud applications working hand-in-hand, being able to give people the choice of how they deploy solutions without worrying about whether or not... What we're doing and am I going to go down one or other route, that is the wrong dead-end route?
PAUL: And a key element of this is our customers' data. Our customers' data is the important thing. At the end of the day, if something happens and their software gets deleted, their software had, you know... That's no big deal, because at the end of the day, we can always recover that. Their investment, their IP is all in their data. So, it's important for us and as we go forward, and as we evolve in this, is that we make sure that the data that you use, whether you're using cloud solutions or desktop solutions, works, it is the same data. You don't want to have situations where you have to do things to get data into one or other environment, and that's... The important point there, is that we don't want to get to a situation where you have translation.
PAUL: Data translation in any, between different architectures of a system breaks the chain. So digitalization processes then become fragmented, so it's important that the architectures, the structures are the same that work together. And really, that's kinda one of the key elements of what we've been looking at and as we go forward, and using that data, and then using that strategy in our products like Simcenter, using our products inside of Teamcenter, being able to combine these things together to be able to work the best way that suits you. We are, when... I mentioned earlier, we're looking at how can we leverage the cloud to make your life better. We mentioned virtual reality, we mentioned the reporting analytics. We are also looking at specific industries and industry needs and developing combinations of our tools.
PAUL: In our broad Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, we have a wide range of solutions. Being able to combine those solutions are parts of those solutions. Package them up and then offer them on the cloud to complete specific tasks. So for example, something like... In the mold tool business, costing and getting that first quote is a critical for business. If I get my first quote out when I estimate a job, and I get it wildly wrong; too expensive, I'm going to lose the business; too cheap, I'm going to lose money. Well, we've got tools that help you do that. So think about leveraging, tying together design tools like our X-Tools with our Teamcenter costing type tools, with our analysis tools from Simcenter, to package that up into a solution and deliver that.
PAUL: And so we're looking at those types of workflows and saying, "Okay, where can we help?" And we've got a lot of things coming out over the coming years which will go along those. We're not going to talk... We're not going to delve into that, but that gives you those ideas, but also an important thing, of course, is being able to leveraging and allow people to collaborate and manage their data. And our announcement, recent announcements of things like Teamcenter X and Teamcenter Share, Teamcenter X being... Giving the portfolio of Teamcenter solutions in a SaaS/cloud environment. And Teamcenter Share really being targeted at smaller projects, collaboration, small business collaboration, to be able to manage that data. So on all of those things are ways that we are looking to help our customers, but without forcing them down a path. I think this is an important thing, is we want to let them move at their own pace, in their own way, and give them the technologies that underpin their move to these types of technologies.
JIM: Great, thank you, Paul. I really appreciate you sharing your perspective. It's really enlightening, and I look forward to hearing more about future products as the time is right, but thank you again and I hope you stay well.
PAUL: Yeah. Thanks, Jim. Great to talk to you.
[post_title] => Designing on the Cloud Discussion with Siemens (podcast)
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[post_content] => Are mobile devices ready for CAD? Is CAD ready for mobile devices? When should you consider use cases for CAD on a tablet?
CAD tools have evolved significantly over the last several decades, which has coincided with several platform shifts. With the advancements in tablets combined with evolutions in CAD, we may be at the dawn of the latest shift. Together, CAD on a tablet can offer many benefits. The combination can expand the use of CAD with greater accessibility and flexibility, improved productivity, and better customer service. This blog post discusses why that is and reveals several examples of how CAD on a tablet can benefit a company, especially smaller companies and start-ups.
Read the full guest post on the Shapr3D blog.
[post_title] => How does CAD on mobile devices help?
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[post_content] => How has digital transformation progressed for Siemens' customers and how are they leveraging Siemens' cloud technologies to fuel their digital initiatives? How have Siemens' customers with a digital mindset faired differently than others during the COVID-19 disruption? Tech-Clarity's Jim Brown got together (virtually) with Siemens Digital Industries Software EVP Bob Jones to share perspectives and case studies.
[audio mp3="https://tech-clarity.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Tech-Clarity-TV-Cloud-Interview-Bob-Jones-09-03.mp3"][/audio]
Get more information about Siemens Cloud Solutions from Siemens Digital Industries Software.
You can also see related video interviews including a Cloud Progress Report with Bill Boswell and Siemens Digital Transformation Progress with Brenda Discher.
Transcript:
JIM: Hi, I'm Jim Brown, president of Tech Clarity, where we make the business value of technology clear. Today, I'm checking back in with Bob Jones, Senior Vice President at Siemens Digital Industries Software. I spoke with Bob a little over a year ago to gain a customer's perspective on how Siemens is helping their customers move to the cloud. And we're going to check back in to really understand how has the digital transformation of Siemens' customers progressed and how are they leveraging Siemens' technologies in the cloud to really fuel their digital transformation. How's that been going? Let's get some clarity.
JIM: Bob, thank you for joining me again today. Unfortunately, we're doing this remotely ... trying to keep everybody safe because of COVID. And in fact, due to some additional challenges in being distanced we're doing this audio only instead of video. But it's always great to get in touch with you and to really understand what you're experiencing. So thanks for joining today.
BOB: Glad to be able to join you Jim. Thank you.
JIM: I know you speak a lot with your clients, not just about technology, but about their business strategies and what they're really trying to accomplish. But a lot has change for both Siemens and for your customers since we last talked more than a year ago. Then obviously, things have changed even more dramatically over the last few months due to the global pandemic. Maybe you can give us a little bit of an idea of what have company's been asking for? How has that changed as they've gotten more mature with digitalization and moving to the cloud, but also because of COVID?
BOB: Thank you, Jim. You mentioned already COVID has been a great impact, a significant impact on our customers, it's really definitely accelerated their move to digitalization. And I guess what I would tell you is what we've learned from customers in the last 12 to 18 months is that it's not just about this concept of digital transformation. What we've seen from our customers is those that have had this digital mindset, which really means that they are the pioneers, they are the ones that are willing to drive digitalization throughout their organization and really look at how they can leverage cloud to improve their overall innovation process, those customers have really achieved some incredible success. And I would go as far as to say is that those customers with the digital mindset, they've actually been able to transition or make that transition to a remote working environment or work from home as a result of COVID much more seamlessly than those customers or companies that did not have that digital mindset.
BOB: And in fact, I would argue that the ones that didn't have a digital mindset, they've quite honestly been exposed as a result of COVID and they've struggled because of that. And when I think about the impact of COVID, I think that it's also very evident when we think about our customers in the SMB space, because they have the same need to leverage better collaboration and capabilities that's enabled to the cloud, but what they don't have is the personnel or the financial resources to make that jump as fast as some of the larger companies could. And I think an example of a SMB that had that digital mindset and thrived because of it, is Rurok Industries. Now, Rurok is a small mountain bike manufacturer, they're a startup, but ironically, even though they're a startup, they still have a global footprint because they have design centers here in the US, in Las Vegas, they have a design center in the Philippines, they're manufacturing over in Taiwan, and they have customers essentially throughout the world.
BOB: So Rurok is a classic problem of a startup trying to thrive in this global economy while dealing with the challenges of COVID. Now, Rurok had recently selected Solid Edge and deployed Solid Edge as their overall global design system, but because of COVID, they now faced a new challenge and that they needed to be able to remain competitive and create and design these next generation mountain bikes while protecting all their employees through travel restrictions and isolation guidelines. And what Rurok... They benefited from this, is they leveraged our Teamcenter Share technology, they were actually a pilot customer of Teamcenter Share, and it gave them instant capability to enable design collaboration around the globe and allow them to continue to compete and drive down their overall innovation life cycle to produce next generation mountain bikes. In fact, their CEO, PJ Tolentino and his team have a great video summary of how they're leveraging Teamcenter and Solid Edge in the cloud to drive this collaboration and able to even leverage advanced capabilities such as augmented reality to support their design collaboration process.
BOB: If I think further beyond COVID, I'd also say that something new we're hearing from customers, I would classify as “instant-on.” What this means is, yes, our customers want all the benefits associated to the cloud; lower cost, improved collaboration, and agility. But they're also saying it's not enough just to have that technology generically, they need technology delivered to them that enables the best practices within their industries so they can have an immediate impact on their overall productivity. And that essentially is one of the driving forces behind what we recently launched called Teamcenter X. It's a cloud-based, instant capability for PLM that leverages all the robustness of Teamcenter. But more importantly, we pre-configured it with some best practices around design, collaboration, document management, raw material management, change requirements, and other capabilities that our customers need to drive their innovation process. And I would summarize it to say, think of Rapid Start, Teamcenter Rapid Start with all the benefits of the cloud.
BOB: And lastly, I'd say it's not enough to give our customers that instant-on access to industry best practices, but also be able to understand through telemetry, what some best practices are within their own organization, and then allow that to be somewhat codified so that new users can immediately adopt the best practices of the industry as well as best practices within their own organization. And then lastly, I would also say that - something we continue to hear that's more consistent with what we've heard previously - is this concept of flexibility. That is what we refer to as “your way, your pace.” Our customers continue to tell us that they need to move to the cloud, they need to move the digitalization, but they need the ability to be flexible in how they do that. Whether it's the leverage their existing infrastructure, but purchase our software in a different mode, or whether they need to manage services capability, or whether they want to go to a full SaaS technology model as well as SaaS business model. So it's this concept that’s given them the flexibility to leverage their existing investments, their existing best practices, while adopting the cloud to drive the benefit in the area that it's most needed.
JIM: Great. Thanks, Bob. It's interesting, our research is also showing some indications that companies are accelerating their digital transformation based on the impact of COVID. And it's certainly a way that companies are looking to survive and maybe even leapfrog a little bit.
JIM: Your role spans really from early conversations with potential customers through some of the longer-term relationships you've had with existing customers and understanding how they gain value from your solutions. Digitalization is such a broad concept. As companies digitally transform, it could be anything from streamlining a design workflow to developing a robust digital twin with the connectivity to actuals - the sensors on the twin itself - and bringing in enterprise information to make improvements in the plant or service. So there's just so many different kinds of initiatives that companies can take. What are you seeing as some of the things that your customers have achieved through digital transformation and the use of the cloud?
BOB: Thank you, Jim. That's an excellent question. I guess there's two or three examples that come immediately to mind. And I'll start with a company that most people probably don't associate with PLM, and that's Land O'Lakes. Now, interestingly enough, Land O'Lakes is a very well-known company, mostly here in the US, and they are celebrating their 100-year anniversary next year. And Land O'Lakes, I think, faces the same challenge that I see across every industry. That is that they have a backlog of demand on their IT organization. They have more IT projects than they can effectively deliver in a reasonable time. So, Land O'Lakes took a decision that they did not want to outsource this because they recognized this was a critical differentiator for them. Rather they wanted to bring that innovation back in house.
BOB: So what Land O'Lakes decided to do was partner with us to leverage our Mendix technology, our cloud native low-code application development platform. They wanted to leverage that not just so their own IT professionals could code the capabilities that their business users needed, but rather so that IT could orchestrate innovation across their business, across their ecosystem. So today, Land O'Lakes is using Mendix to drive and enable very personalized online portals that support over 350,000 farmers, distributors, retailers, and wholesalers. And they're doing this in a way that helps them achieve their goals for overall sustainability but more importantly to drive a much more effective supply chain.
BOB: Now, I use that example because I think it also points out something that is a trend that we see emerging and we believe will become very relevant in the future, and that is that the employees of our customers are no longer just consumers of our technology. The employees of our customers are increasingly moving to be the shapers and even the developers of our technology and tailoring it to the specific needs of their company. And I think that's an important trait that's going to ultimately reshape our industry in many ways. That's one example.
BOB: A second example is a company called Vyaire, they're a medical device company. What's interesting about them is they were recently spun out of a much larger organization, but as part of their spin-out they needed to build from scratch their overall PLM environment. So they partnered with us, leveraging Teamcenter and leveraging our cloud delivery of Teamcenter, so that essentially they are able to deploy a PLM solution across their enterprise, drive adoption and enablement in their users, and reach a level of productivity all within three months. That's, I think, an excellent example of what the cloud can provide in terms of agility and speed to enterprises of all size.
BOB: And then the last example that I can think of is from the aerospace industry. Now, unfortunately, I don't have permission yet to share this particular company's name, but it's a great example of how they've had to leverage a broad portfolio of simulation design and data management collaboration and do that leveraging the cloud so that they can still drive this collaboration while everybody works remotely.
BOB: Now, this particular company is designing an electric aircraft for general aviation, and they identified a serious problem during some of their virtual prove-outs, and that they needed to improve the overall ingress, the access for a pilot to get into the cockpit. And ultimately that meant they needed to stretch that aircraft a few inches to meet the regulations for ingress. Now, if we think about the impact that has to an overall aircraft in terms of its performance characteristics, of its aerodynamics, and the amount of design and simulation and analysis whether they'd be for static loads, overall performance, fuel consumption, it's quite a large task.
BOB: Now this company, because they're able to continue to design and collaborate and do all this while working remotely, completed that entire design change and validation of that design change in just seven days. I think that's a tremendous example of what customers can accomplish by leveraging both the integrated portfolio of capabilities across their innovation lifecycle, and also leveraging the cloud that enables them to do that, whether it's to work from home or whether it's to enable overall global collaboration.
JIM: Yeah, I know. We talked before about how companies would really be changing the way they're working, and certainly companies have changed things pretty dramatically. Those are great examples, Bob. I really appreciate it.
Thank you for joining me today. It's always a pleasure. I really enjoy sharing with your experiences and what you're seeing your customers be able to do with your technologies and with your services. So thank you so much for joining, and please stay well.
BOB: Yeah, and Jim, thank you for the opportunity to share some of these examples with you and your listeners.
[post_title] => Digital Transformation at Siemens' Customers (podcast)
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How are companies adjusting their strategies to survive COVID-19 disruption without losing sight of long-term business sustainability? Read our survey of over 190 companies to find out how they are prioritizing limited resources to maintain focus on success factors including:
Recognizing Turbulent Times
ware capabilities will help you improve how you integrate mechanical, electronics, and electrical designs?
Tech-Clarity’s buyer’s guide, How to Select the Ideal Solution for Today’s Smart Products: Buyer’s Guide for Electrical Design, explores this question. As companies strive to make modern products smarter, innovative and more affordable, the integration of mechanical, electrical and electronic systems has become critical. Unfortunately mechanical and electrical engineers speak different languages, use separate tools, follow different design approaches and have inherent knowledge silos. Companies that have solutions to overcome these challenges will have a significant advantage in the global economy.
Please enjoy the summary* below. Please visit our sponsor, Siemens, for the full research (registration required).
To make matters worse, there are inherent knowledge silos across the two domains. Ignoring these challenges and not finding solutions to break down barriers and bring the teams closer can come at a significant cost to the company. Tech-Clarity research [1] finds collaboration challenges results in:
This guide is not an all-encompassing requirements list. It provides a high-level overview. PCB Design is also an important component of electrical and electronic systems design, but for the purposes of this guide, it was considered out of scope. For more information on a complete integrated product development suite beyond electrical design, read the Tech-Clarity report, “Buyer’s Guide for Engineers: How to Select Essential Tools for Product Design.”
manufacturing.
What does effective storytelling have to do with succeeding with Industry 4.0? Plenty.
[post_title] => Succeeding with Industry 4.0: Understanding the Whole Elephant (article)
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How can schools best prepare today's STEM students to close the engineering skills gap so that new graduates are ready for the real world?
Tech-Clarity’s research report, “How Academia Can Close the Engineering Skills Gap in the Age of Digitalization” explores this question. This research shares a global perspective on what colleges and universities are doing to develop the engineering talent needed in the age of digitalization. It also examines the impact COVID-19 has had on instructions and offers lessons learned that can be used to improve the educational experience in the Fall, as well as in the future.
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor, Siemens (registration required).
Requirements for New Engineers
Industry needs more engineering graduates. New engineers must be comfortable with cross discipline projects, a range of technology including digitalization, and horizontal organizations. Along with this deep skillset, industry wants engineers to be strong problem solvers with the aptitude to apply technology to solve problems. Previous Tech-Clarity research finds that industry believes schools could do better to meet these requirements.
Requirements for Learning Approaches
Much of this is due to the traditional lecture-based approach to education. By reshaping the curriculum to focus on project-based learning and partnering with industry thought leaders, there is tremendous opportunity to improve students’ education.
Schools should:
Next Steps
Based on this research and our experience, Tech-Clarity offers the following recommendations:
What should supply chain-centric innovators consider when looking for PLM? How has the PLM landscape changed over the last several years, and how does SaaS fit into that picture?
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor, Upchain (registration required).
"Cloud PLM" is not a Cookie Cutter Decision
Choose the Right SaaS PLM Solution
Where should mold makers focus to boost business profitability?
With significant business pressures and the technical complexity of injection molding, mold making is a challenging business. While tool makers face many obstacles, those surveyed identified five top challenges that make it harder to maintain a successful business. This blog post reveals these top five challenges, and the strategies to deal with them.
Read the full guest post on the Siemens NX Design Blog.
[post_title] => How Mold Makers Can Improve Their Business
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How can manufacturers most effectively design, develop, and launch custom-engineered products that must be engineered to customer specifications? Tech-Clarity's eBook, Bringing Custom-Engineered Products to Market, shares survey data from over 200 companies to offer insights and best practices.
Please enjoy the summary* below. Click here for the full report, thank you to our sponsor Propel (registration required).
Custom-Engineering Increases the Top Line
Product customization has increased in recent years and is expected to continue to grow "significantly" for most companies over the next several years. What's driving this expansion? The benefits reported by our survey respondents help explain why.
Customization Improves the Bottom Line
Driving higher sales is no guarantee of greater profitability. If custom-engineering results in selling products too cheaply or allowing costs to get out of control, the company can still lose money. Fortunately, 44% of respondents also share the custom-engineered products help them achieve higher sales margins. Whatever the cause, higher margins help ensure that the top-line benefits of custom-engineered products fall to the bottom line.
Speed without control, however, can be counterproductive. It could lead to errors or delays if companies don’t design quality into their designs upfront. These problems can have a significant impact considering that respondents say most of their engineering customization happens during customer inquiry / investigation phase and/or during quote / proposal stage – when time is at a premium.
The challenges highlighted create serious consequences. Survey respondents indicate that these challenges lead to low margins, inefficiency, unhappy customers, rework/scrap, lost orders, missed market opportunities, and more. These are the negative business consequences of speed without control.
Are your production approaches as smart as they are sophisticated? Before you answer, consider whether all the information about each aspect of the fab is readily available. Imagine the benefits in flexibility, quality, costs, agility, speed, confidence... this is the vision of smart manufacturing. To capture today’s myriad opportunities, these improvements are essential. The good news is, it’s possible today. Please visit our sponsor Siemens for the full webcast (registration required).
What is needed for manufacturers to improve the maturity of BOM-related processes to help to manage complexity, improve efficiency, prevent mistakes, and enhance collaboration across departments and the supply chain? Read our buyer's guide to find out.
Please enjoy the summary below. Click here for the full report, thank you to our sponsor PTC.
Diagnosing BOM Management Issues
It’s important to recognize that these requirements are in addition to the basic needs of managing product data, as most companies will extend their PDM or PLM environment to manage BOMs. These solutions provide platform capabilities such as access control and IP protection that serve as a critical foundation for effective BOM management.
What do manufacturers need to know when they select a cloud Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution?
Although manufacturers have started to adopt cloud solutions for many aspects of their business, PLM has lagged behind. Our research shows that over one-half of manufacturers are considering cloud and about one-quarter already leverage the cloud support product innovation and manufacturing. Given the increased interest and adoption, we developed selection criteria to help companies navigate the options and choose the best-suited PLM cloud option for their business.
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor PTC (registration required).
A Solution First Approach
Cloud solutions are becoming more popular, yet PLM adoption in the cloud has been slower than other applications. The transition, however, is picking up pace. In fact, more companies are now asking, "why not the cloud?" instead of "why consider cloud?". We commend that companies pick their solution first and then choose their deployment option. This is effectively a "solution first" approach as opposed to a "cloud first" approach. We find that companies are just not willing to shortchange functionality in this crucial area. They recognize it's important to evaluate the functional capabilities of a PLM system to ensure they'll gain the significant top- and bottom-line benefits that PLM delivers.
PLM Benefits and Business Value
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) spans multiple levels, offering value in multiple ways. PLM basics help manage products, parts, collaboration and release processes which leads to important benefits including increased productivity, preventing errors, reduced cost, improved quality, enhanced reliability, and more.
Enterprise PLM expands that value by further helping companies develop, manufacture, and support their products. Our PLM Beyond Managing CAD study finds that expanded PLM use improves business performance, and that higher performing companies have more departments and third parties using PLM.
Get the Right PLM to Provide the Value
PLM drives tangible business value. This value is evolving and expanding quickly as companies pursue digital enterprise initiatives and expand the benefits to new business models capabilities. This value is available, but requires the right PLM system.
Recommendations for Cloud PLM Selection
To help companies research and analyze potential solutions based on company needs, including needs that help deliver benefits well into the future, Tech-Clarity offers the following recommendations:
Is structural analysis enough or should design engineers use CFD too?
This guest post on the Siemens Solid Edge Blog explores this question. With product complexity increasing, it is harder than ever for engineers to make the right decision decisions. Complexity comes from the ever increasing amount of components, configurations, and electronics. Consequently, greater complexity has also increased the importance of understanding additional physics. For example, it's critical to understand the interactions of airflow around electronics so that they do not overheat. This is where Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) fits in.
CFD helps analyze airflow, among other fluids, and can help you uncover common problems that lead to failure, beyond what only structural analysis does. With this in mind, how else can it help design decisions?
This guest post discusses the many ways Computational Fluid Dynamics can help engineers design better products.
To learn more, view the related webinar.
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What step are many companies missing to ensure their Industry 4.0 initiatives succeed? Why Strategy Matters to Industry 4.0 Success discusses the importance of enterprise strategy. The right strategy makes even pilot projects more likely to live up to their potential. This eBook talks about how thinking big for enterprise transformation makes initiatives more pragmatic.
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor, Critical Manufacturing (registration required).
Strategy matters to Industry 4.0 success in several ways. Projects that have a clear context in strategy can deliver benefits not only locally, but roll out more widely and deliver enterprise benefits. Continuous Improvement (CI) progress can be smoother and more assured. With that clear strategic foundation, Industry 4.0 enables manufacturers to deliver higher value to their customers and markets now and into the future.
In short, Strategy Matters to Industry 4.0!
*This summary is an abbreviated version of the research and does not contain the full content. A link to download the full report is available here.
If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
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How can you choose the right PDM system for your business to make sure you achieve your productivity, product success, and profitability goals? The product data management (PDM) Buyer’s Guide is a reference tool to provide direction on what to look for when selecting a PDM system for your company. This guide is composed of four sections covering software functionality, service requirements, vendor attributes, and special company considerations.
Please enjoy the summary* below. Please visit our sponsor PTC for the full research (registration required).
Beyond these basics, there are special considerations for smaller companies and for the largest of enterprises. There are also special considerations for some industries. The guide addresses these and then goes beyond software functionality to focus on the entire experience of owning and operating the solution. The guide and associated checklists include product, infrastructure, implementation, service, and business requirements – all of which impact the benefits received and total cost of ownership (TCO) of PDM. The PDM Buyer’s Guide is not intended to provide an all-encompassing requirements list. Instead it covers the high points that manufacturers should look for in a PDM system. Think of this as a “PDM litmus test” to see if a solution is a good high-level fit for your business before spending significant time and effort analyzing detailed features and functions.
Although the checklists focus only on PDM requirements, it’s important to consider more than your current needs when choosing a system. Many companies eventually want to grow beyond basic PDM to a more complete PDM system. These more advanced capabilities are covered in our Expanding Beyond Your Outgrown PDM System Buyer’s Guide.
Other companies may start with PDM and evolve through a maturity process to a more complete Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) environment. PLM extends the core PDM foundation to support more product development and engineering processes, manage a richer view of products, include more people in product development, and support processes further upstream and downstream from Engineering in the product lifecycle.
In addition, PDM is becoming the core 3D foundation for the digital enterprise, supporting advanced initiatives like the Internet of Things (IoT), model-based design (MBD), and three dimensional augmented / virtual reality. Modern PDM / PLM systems should enable a product digital twin that can serve as the central foundation on which to consolidate (or view) a variety of product-related data captured in systems across the enterprise. It’s important to consider these needs when selecting your software and ensure that your solution has the capability to expand with your growing needs.
Can the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world get smarter? Join Julie Fraser in this session to challenge yourself. Consider what you don't already know in this session at Siemens Industry Software’s Realize Live virtual user conference. It is based on the paper Smart Manufacturing for Semiconductor she authored prior to joining Tech-Clarity. This session explores how exploding revenue opportunities come with challenges. To meet customer expectations and maintain margins, companies may need to adopt new approaches and technologies. This presentation has passed, please click here to watch the full session (registration required).
How do companies make progress toward Industry 4.0? Based on our research, those who invest in people, processes, and technology for manufacturing data management have made more strides in Industry 4.0. Manufacturing Data Management: Lessons from Top Performers explores the many challenges of bringing together all the data production facilities need.
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Critical Manufacturing (registration required).
This research aims to learn about current challenges, strategies, and programs for manufacturing data management. Over 300 responded, from manufacturers in various industry segments and of all sizes, working with data from plants in every corner of the world. We uncovered a significant and nearly universal outstanding need: better ways to integrate IT and OT data. We also discovered that there are paths that appear to lead to greater success for those who travel them most aggressively.
Top Performers have made mindset, organization, and staffing changes. They are also far more likely to be using commercial software solutions and adopting modern approaches to accelerate their ability to manage manufacturing data effectively. As a result, a larger percentage of these Top Performers have already made dramatic improvements in business performance. They are in a position to make more gains.
Even for Top Performers, challenges remain. These include data and systems integration, putting IT and OT data into a common context, agreeing on "sources of truth," and identifying data owners.
Note also that this is early days for coherent manufacturing data management. Yes, several times as many of the Top Performers have a program, staff members, capabilities, or dramatic gains on KPIs. Yet they are still only a minority.
There is more to do for every manufacturer. Faster decisions have always made a difference. However, doing things as we've done them may no longer suffice.
Seek New Approaches to Manufacturing Data Management
So, beyond doing what has been possible, we also encourage companies to seek new approaches. Solution providers are advancing their offerings. Some have integrated more functionality into plant systems. New offerings are becoming available to support manufacturing data management now and in the near future.
Be ready to explore new approaches. Validate their fit and ability to help meet your manufacturing data management challenges. Leverage both new and existing technologies and approaches to progress toward your Industry 4.0 vision.
How do companies make progress toward Industry 4.0? Based on our research, those who invest in people, processes, and technology for manufacturing data management have made more strides in Industry 4.0. Manufacturing Data Management: Lessons from Top Performers explores the many challenges of bringing together all the data production facilities need. Please enjoy the summary*…
How is the cloud playing a role in engineers’ design processes? Tech-Clarity’s Jim Brown got together (virtually) with Siemens Digital Industries Software Senior Marketing Director Paul Brown to share perspectives and examples. You can also see related video interviews including: Digital Transformation Progress with Bob Jones, Cloud Progress Report with Bill Boswell, and Siemens Digital Transformation Progress…
Are mobile devices ready for CAD? Is CAD ready for mobile devices? When should you consider use cases for CAD on a tablet? CAD tools have evolved significantly over the last several decades, which has coincided with several platform shifts. With the advancements in tablets combined with evolutions in CAD, we may be at the…
How has digital transformation progressed for Siemens’ customers and how are they leveraging Siemens’ cloud technologies to fuel their digital initiatives? How have Siemens’ customers with a digital mindset faired differently than others during the COVID-19 disruption? Tech-Clarity’s Jim Brown got together (virtually) with Siemens Digital Industries Software EVP Bob Jones to share perspectives and…
How are companies adjusting their strategies to survive COVID-19 disruption without losing sight of long-term business sustainability? Read our survey of over 190 companies to find out how they are prioritizing limited resources to maintain focus on success factors including: Addressing changing business models Adopting new technology Protecting the environment Please enjoy the summary* below….
What software capabilities will help you improve how you integrate mechanical, electronics, and electrical designs? Tech-Clarity’s buyer’s guide, How to Select the Ideal Solution for Today’s Smart Products: Buyer’s Guide for Electrical Design, explores this question. As companies strive to make modern products smarter, innovative and more affordable, the integration of mechanical, electrical and electronic…
What does effective storytelling have to do with succeeding with Industry 4.0? Plenty. With the right narrative by level and function, the whole company can engage with Industry 4.0 strategy. At that point, everyone, whether top-level management or shop-floor workers, can buy-in. Once they do, they can participate effectively in setting the standards required to…
How can schools best prepare today’s STEM students to close the engineering skills gap so that new graduates are ready for the real world? Tech-Clarity’s research report, “How Academia Can Close the Engineering Skills Gap in the Age of Digitalization” explores this question. This research shares a global perspective on what colleges and universities are…
What should supply chain-centric innovators consider when looking for PLM? How has the PLM landscape changed over the last several years, and how does SaaS fit into that picture? Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor, Upchain (registration required). Table of Contents The State of Cloud PLM Why Cloud SaaS is…
What progress has Siemens made in helping themselves, and their customers, leverage the cloud for digital transformation? In this episode of Tech-Clarity TV, Tech-Clarity’s Jim Brown and Siemens SVP of Business Strategy & Marketing Brenda Discher sit down virtually to have a great discussion despite the challenges of a remote interview compounded by poor bandwidth…
How is the industrial software cloud transition coming along? This episode of Tech-Clarity TV focuses on the cloud progress report for industrial software including the cloud priorities and value in the new normal. Tech-Clarity’s Jim Brown and Siemens’ VP of Cloud Marketing Bill Boswell discuss the unique and strategic value of industrial software and give a…
Where should mold makers focus to boost business profitability? With significant business pressures and the technical complexity of injection molding, mold making is a challenging business. While tool makers face many obstacles, those surveyed identified five top challenges that make it harder to maintain a successful business. This blog post reveals these top five challenges,…
How can manufacturers most effectively design, develop, and launch custom-engineered products that must be engineered to customer specifications? Tech-Clarity’s eBook, Bringing Custom-Engineered Products to Market, shares survey data from over 200 companies to offer insights and best practices. Please enjoy the summary* below. Click here for the full report, thank you to our sponsor Propel (registration…
Are your production approaches as smart as they are sophisticated? Before you answer, consider whether all the information about each aspect of the fab is readily available. Imagine the benefits in flexibility, quality, costs, agility, speed, confidence… this is the vision of smart manufacturing. To capture today’s myriad opportunities, these improvements are essential. The good…
What is needed for manufacturers to improve the maturity of BOM-related processes to help to manage complexity, improve efficiency, prevent mistakes, and enhance collaboration across departments and the supply chain? Read our buyer’s guide to find out. Please enjoy the summary below. Click here for the full report, thank you to our sponsor PTC. …
What do manufacturers need to know when they select a cloud Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution? Although manufacturers have started to adopt cloud solutions for many aspects of their business, PLM has lagged behind. Our research shows that over one-half of manufacturers are considering cloud and about one-quarter already leverage the cloud support product innovation…
Is structural analysis enough or should design engineers use CFD too? This guest post on the Siemens Solid Edge Blog explores this question. With product complexity increasing, it is harder than ever for engineers to make the right decision decisions. Complexity comes from the ever increasing amount of components, configurations, and electronics. Consequently, greater complexity…
What step are many companies missing to ensure their Industry 4.0 initiatives succeed? Why Strategy Matters to Industry 4.0 Success discusses the importance of enterprise strategy. The right strategy makes even pilot projects more likely to live up to their potential. This eBook talks about how thinking big for enterprise transformation makes initiatives more pragmatic….
How can you choose the right PDM system for your business to make sure you achieve your productivity, product success, and profitability goals? The product data management (PDM) Buyer’s Guide is a reference tool to provide direction on what to look for when selecting a PDM system for your company. This guide is composed of…
Can the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world get smarter? Join Julie Fraser in this session to challenge yourself. Consider what you don’t already know in this session at Siemens Industry Software’s Realize Live virtual user conference. It is based on the paper Smart Manufacturing for Semiconductor she authored prior to joining Tech-Clarity. This session…
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