By Start Staff
Start Magazine, The Voice
November 7, 2005

Manufacturers that excel at meeting production targets are four times more likely to use product-lifecycle management (PLM) software than other manufacturers, according to a recent benchmark survey by the Aberdeen Group Inc., www.aberdeen.com, Boston, Mass. In the study, manufacturers were asked to rate themselves in the area of product production with the criterion being the percent of products they produce that meet revenue, product cost, launch date, quality, and development cost targets.

Of the companies that ranked highest in the five benchmark categories, 80% make use of centralized innovation data and knowledge, and 40% use integrated automation solutions.

Results from the study show that companies that invest in PLM have realized a 19% increase in product revenue, 15% decrease in product cost, and 16% reduction in product development costs. PLM improvements result in real financial benefits, leading companies to view product innovation goals in business terms instead of as operational metrics, according to the study.

An example of realizing benefits from PLM is Peguform, www.peguform.de, Botzingen, Germany. The automotive supplier is looking to improve not only what it manufactures now but also in the future with the help of a recently implemented PLM solution from UGS Corp., www.ugs.com, Plano, Texas. Peguform chose Tecnomatix eM-Designer and eM-Plant solutions.

“We expect to optimize our planning processes and existing production lines and facilities considerably,” says Thorsten Wunsch, head of the process planning plant layout department, Peguform. The selected systems will be used in planning new facilities and production lines as well as improve current plant operations.

Computing server manufacturer Liquid Computing Corp., www.liquidcomputing.com, Ottawa, Ont., sought a PLM solution to provide collaboration, reduce development cycles, and manage environmental compliance data for product design and development. The company found its solution in Omnify Software, www.omnifysoft.com, Wilmington, Mass.

Omnify reports the implementation took just two days and the solution is scalable for Liquid Computing as it sees growth.

Though these companies have found solutions, choosing the right methods isn’t always easy. Jim Brown, vice president of product innovation and engineering research for Aberdeen, says, “Manufacturers are achieving operational improvements that yield significant bottomline results. But companies are still confused regarding which of a wide selection of possible PLM improvements will best help them profit from innovation.”

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