What I Learned

Learning about PLM – Who Should We Listen To?

It is time for me to update the sources where I learn about product innovation, product development, engineering, and manufacturing – and the software that supports it (PLM, etc.). So I thought I would look for suggestions.

Warning: PLM Only Part of Product Compliance Puzzle

PLM can help, but compliance requires a multi-pronged approachthat includes strong data gathering, analysis, and docuumentation capabilities (this is where PLM comes in) but also intelligent supply chain relationships and physical validation.

Fight or Embrace Best-of-Breed in the Manufacturing Systems Ecosystem?

What I learned this week came from some reflection on a workshop I conducted on enterprise systems for a small division of a large A&D contractor.Should we fight best-of-breed or embrace it?

Exponential Times – What Does it Mean for Manufacturing and PLM?

What I learned this week … came from watching the Did You Know 3.0 Video and asking myself what it means to the world of manufacturing and product lifecycle management (PLM). The answer? Quite a lot. If you haven’t seen the video, it is worth 5 minutes of your time to give you an entertaining and informative look into the times we live in. The part that really caught me was that we live in “exponential times.” Things are changing rapidly in our personal and professional lives, and manufacturers need to consider the ways the world is changing in order to be relevant with the right products (and the right processes) to capitalize on the future.

Single Bill of Material – Holy Grail or Pipe Dream?

What I learned this week … is a thought sparked by a post in the Daily PLM Think Tank on Engineering and Manufacturing Data Management back in 1992. The post isn’t from 1992, but Oleg was re-reading some books from that time and commented on some issues that the manufacturing industry is still struggling with after 17 years of progress. I know there are strong proponents of the single bill of material (BOM) concept, but I wonder if we will every really get there and whether we haven’t made some really good progress managing bills of material with different perspectives. And maybe, just maybe, there is an easier way.

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