A quick peek into some research on … the importance of good supply chain information in A Risk-Based Approach to Component and Supplier Management: Mitigating Risk with Component and Compliance Intelligence. The research discusses how good intelligence on the supply chain can help mitigate risks such as counterfeits and fakes, obsolescence, and regulatory noncompliance. The report provides examples from a number of leading manufacturers including defense contractor BAE Systems, electronics industry service provider Jabil, and high tech company ON Semiconductor.
Insights & Activity
Choosing an ERP to Fit PLM?
What I learned this week … came from a question in response to my post on The Evolving Roles of ERP and PLM in Manufacturing. The question as asked was “For a mid-size company that has a complex Bill of Materials, are there specific ERP systems that integrate well with CATIA and SmarTeam?”
The Evolving Roles of ERP and PLM in Manufacturing
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.
A Vision for PLM and Beyond – Dassault Systemes
I had the chance to talk with … Dassault Systemes CEO Bernard Charles and his team at Dassault’s 2009 customer conference today. I attended the general sessions in the morning and then spent some time speaking with DS execs in a smaller group setting. Once again, Bernard and the team painted a very different picture of PLM than some might have in mind. Dassault does PLM, but the vision does not stop there. It doesn’t matter if you call it PLM 2.0 (as Dassault does) or put some other label on it – DS has a very unique view on what the future will look like. And they have plans to play a broader role than CAD, CAE or product design.
Expanding PLM’s Purview – Quality and Risk Management
I had the chance to talk with … both Dyadem and MasterControl earlier this year about their Quality Lifecycle Management (QLM) solutions. The conversations are examples of how PLM is expanding to cover additional product-related processes. Quality is among a number of product lifecycle processes – including compliance, service, product costing, direct sourcing and potentially others- that are logical extensions to PLM. QLM, however, is still a standalone solution for the most part. So what is QLM, and how does it fit into the product lifecycle and into product lifecycle management (PLM)?
Social Computing Drives Innovation
What I learned this week …came from a side conversation during some research I am working on in the innovation systems ecosystem. I was discussing the importance of different solutions in the space with this major electronic manufacturer, and he started to get very passionate when he turned the conversation to Web 2.0 and how it can improve innovation. With the work I have been doing on social computing in PLM, we ended up having a fascinating conversation about the potentials. It’s always nice when you see confirmation of a trend from an unexpected source.