Industry Requirements & Benefits of PLM

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
Shyam Durai

INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS AND THE BENEFITS
OF PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

School of Industrial & Manufacturing Science

MSc THESIS
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY

School of Industrial & Manufacturing Science

Department of Manufacturing

MSc THESIS

2006-09-03

Shyam Durai

INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS AND THE BENEFITS
OF PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

Supervisor: Prof. Rajkumar Roy

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the Degree of Master of Science

Cranfield University, 2006-09-06
All rights. Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the
written permission of the copyright holder.

i
ABSTRACT

Industries face challenges from all directions in todays globalised world. It has
become clear that sophisticated, unique products that meet customer demands are the qualities
required to ensure that market share is maintained and grown. Product Lifecycle Management
(PLM) tools, processes and technologies are playing a very influential role in equipping
companies achieve their goals. This study aims to document the key challenges the
automotive industry has when using PLM, how the industry copes with collaboration between
extended enterprises such as OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. The platform for achieving the
objectives of the study is a survey that will document the benefits of PLM at participating
companies.

The study engages the automotive industry by conducting interviews with the senior
management at participating automotive companies. These participants range between
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 to tier 5 suppliers. The questionnaire
covers a range of topics to create a profile of the organisation, the engineering requirements,
achievements at a corporate & engineering level and strategies for the future. A set process of
statistical analysis is applied to the results from the participants. These results are also
combined with data from three other European nations who recently conducted the same
study with their respective automotive industries. The statistical process largely focuses on
the degree of PLM application and level of PLM integration across the organisation.

The results revealed key areas of the new product development lifecycle that PLM
needs to support, such as the ability to conduct remote design reviews and creation of a
standardised new supplier introduction process. The documented benefits of PLM will
provide factual information to senior management, enabling them to make strategic decision s
with solid information to provide support in the direction they wish the company to take when
considering the implementation of PLM.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people have played have supported me throughout the course of this thesis. Firstly I
would like to thank my project supervisor Prof. Rajkumar Roy for his constant guidance. My
industrial sponsor John Kitchingman and his team at IBM Ferg Watts, Alasdair Pettigrew
and Darren Matthews have each played significant roles in arranging interviews, approving
the questionnaire and generally having a lot of patience! The Cranfield support team have also
been very supportive in arranging transport and other logistics.

The summers are tough and demanding on all students. I thank all my friends here at
Cranfield for their company through the 3 months of individual adventures. The BBQs and
dinners have helped us to find the balance between play and work. My Spanish has definitely
improved thanks to these gatherings!

Last but not least I would like to thank my loved ones. My parents have bought over plenty of
home cooked food whenever they have visited me and these gestures have definitely helped
me miss home a little less.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

PLM Product Lifecycle Management
PDM Product Data Management
EE Extended Enterprise
cPDm Collaborative Product Definition Management
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
CAD Computer Aided Design
CAQ Computer Aided Quality
CAM Computer Aided Manufacture
CAE Computer Aided Engineering
DMU Digital Mock up

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................iv
LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................................viii
1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1
1.1. Motivation.................................................................................................................1
1.2. Introduction to PLM: .................................................................................................2
1.3. Benefits of PLM study - background:.........................................................................3
1.4. Company Background and expected outcomes...........................................................4
1.5. Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................5
2. Literature Review.............................................................................................................7
2.1. PLM defined:.............................................................................................................7
2.1.1. Why PLM is needed?...................................................................................... 10
2.1.2. Typical components of a modern PDM system:............................................... 12
2.1.3. Benefits of PLM.............................................................................................. 14
2.2. Collaboration and extended enterprises.................................................................... 16
2.2.1. Risks of collaboration: .................................................................................... 16
2.2.2. Processes and factors that affect collaboration:................................................ 17
2.3. Collaborative Product development systems ............................................................ 18
2.4. Modern PLM systems:............................................................................................. 21
2.4.1. Summary of cPDm and PLM components:...................................................... 22
2.4.2. Previous study conducted in 2000 on collaborative product development
between suppliers and OEMs:....................................................................................... 23
2.5. Integrating the different enterprise systems .............................................................. 25
2.5.1. Enterprise Resource Planning systems:............................................................ 26
2.5.2. Integration of ERP and PLM systems.............................................................. 27
2.6. PLM systems in Automotive and Aerospace ............................................................ 29
2.6.1. Aerospace companies are using PLM to achieve the following:....................... 31
2.6.2. Summary of Aerospace ................................................................................... 32
2.7. The research gap...................................................................................................... 32
2.8. Summary................................................................................................................. 33
3. Research Objectives and Methodology.......................................................................... 35
3.1. Research Aims:........................................................................................................ 35
3.2. Research Objectives:................................................................................................ 36
3.3. Scope and other key issues for the objectives: .......................................................... 36
3.4. Research Deliverables:............................................................................................. 37
3.5. Methodology/Process:.............................................................................................. 38
3.6. Questionnaire Development..................................................................................... 39
3.6.1. Interview-based Survey:.................................................................................. 40
3.6.2. The questionnaire............................................................................................ 40

v
3.6.3. The types of questions..................................................................................... 41
3.6.4. Contents of the questionnaire .......................................................................... 43
3.6.5. Pilot Study ...................................................................................................... 43
3.6.6. Process for analysing the data.......................................................................... 44
3.6.7. Summary......................................................................................................... 45
3.7. Participant profiles................................................................................................... 46
3.7.1. Summary of participants: ................................................................................ 48
3.8. Summary................................................................................................................. 49
4. In depth analysis of PLM industry ................................................................................ 51
4.1. Product Spectrum.................................................................................................... 51
4.2. PLM Strategy .......................................................................................................... 52
4.2.1. Companys approach to PLM strategy............................................................. 52
4.2.2. External influence on the corporate PLM strategy ........................................... 53
4.2.3. Supplier selection policy ................................................................................. 54
4.3. PLM related management methods .......................................................................... 54
4.3.1. Use of Design for X methods....................................................................... 54
4.3.2. Use of Innovative IT product development methods........................................ 55
4.4. PLM system architecture ......................................................................................... 56
4.4.1. Main Operational IT systems........................................................................... 56
4.4.2. Information backbone systems ........................................................................ 57
4.4.3. PLM IT architecture........................................................................................ 58
4.4.4. Feedback for suppliers .................................................................................... 59
4.4.5. PDM functions currently in use....................................................................... 59
4.5. Engineering data controlled by PLM........................................................................ 60
4.6. Status of PLM integration........................................................................................ 61
4.6.1. PLM IT environment interfaces....................................................................... 61
4.6.2. Supplier introduction....................................................................................... 63
4.6.3. Integration of PDM and CAD systems ............................................................ 63
4.6.4. Non-technical integration................................................................................ 64
4.6.5. Effects of integration....................................................................................... 64
4.7. PLM use along the product lifecycle........................................................................ 65
4.8. Collaboration........................................................................................................... 66
4.8.1. Defining the extended enterprise ..................................................................... 66
4.8.2. Level of collaboration ..................................................................................... 66
4.8.3. Methods for communication............................................................................ 67
4.8.4. Project management solutions with the EE...................................................... 68
4.8.5. Challenges with regards to PLM and Extended Enterprise............................... 68
4.8.6. Issue resolution ............................................................................................... 69
4.8.7. Constraints, test criteria and validation process ............................................... 69
4.8.8. Product evolution............................................................................................ 70
4.8.9. Key performance indicators (KPI)................................................................... 71
4.9. Business performance and PLM benefits.................................................................. 71
4.9.1. PLMs impact on product innovations............................................................. 71
4.9.2. New product development programme time .................................................... 73
4.10. Product lifecycle performance................................................................................ 73
4.10.1. Engineering time distribution ........................................................................ 73
4.10.2. Knowledge management ............................................................................... 74
4.10.3. Achieved benefits.......................................................................................... 74
4.11. Strategy focus and IT project portfolio................................................................... 75
4.11.1. Strategy for IT implementation...................................................................... 75
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4.11.2. Important IT projects..................................................................................... 76
4.12. PLM project management ...................................................................................... 76
4.12.1. Last PLM project overview and deviation from project target..................... 76
4.12.2. Return on Investment .................................................................................... 77
4.13. Implementation approach....................................................................................... 77
4.13.1. Process change.............................................................................................. 77
4.13.2. Standard of PDM solution............................................................................. 78
4.14. Success factors....................................................................................................... 79
4.14.1. Factors that influence a PLM initiative.......................................................... 79
4.14.2. Risks............................................................................................................. 80
4.15. Summary ............................................................................................................... 80
5. PLM Requirements Capture.......................................................................................... 81
5.1. Component Reusability............................................................................................ 81
5.2. Status of PLM implementation:................................................................................ 82
5.3. Industrys Definition of PLM................................................................................... 83
5.4. Top Management and Company policy towards supplier selection process .............. 83
5.5. PLM influence on organisation ................................................................................ 84
5.6. Supplier selection policy.......................................................................................... 85
5.7. Implementation of Design for X methods ............................................................. 86
5.8. Innovate IT product development method................................................................ 87
5.9. The number of CAD and PDM systems used to support engineering........................ 88
5.10. Product information systems to support engineering information ........................... 89
5.11. PLM IT architecture............................................................................................... 90
5.12. Managing multiple interfaces................................................................................. 91
5.13. Warranty data feedback ......................................................................................... 92
5.14. PDM functions currently in use.............................................................................. 93
5.15. Engineering data controlled by PLM...................................................................... 93
5.16. PLM IT environment interfaces ............................................................................. 94
5.17. New supplier integration process ........................................................................... 95
5.18. PDM and CAD systems integration........................................................................ 96
5.19. Integrating non-technical applications.................................................................... 97
5.20. Positive effects of non-technical applications integration ....................................... 98
5.21. PLM use along the product lifecycle phases........................................................... 98
5.22. Collaboration......................................................................................................... 99
5.23. Level of Collaboration......................................................................................... 100
5.24. Extended Enterprise project management tools: ................................................... 102
5.25. PLM and EE context............................................................................................ 102
5.26. Issue Resolution Process...................................................................................... 103
5.27. Parameters sharing Assembly, product and test constraints ............................... 103
5.28. Product Specification Evolution........................................................................... 104
5.29. KPIs: ................................................................................................................... 104
5.30. Summary and consolidation of industry requirements: ......................................... 104
5.31. Summary ............................................................................................................. 105
6. Benefits of PLM............................................................................................................ 107
6.1. Design changes over the product lifecycle phases .................................................. 107
6.2. Product lifecycle performance................................................................................ 108
6.3. Product development performance......................................................................... 109
6.4. PLMs impact on product innovation..................................................................... 110
6.5. Knowledge management using PLM...................................................................... 111
6.6. Achieved benefits .................................................................................................. 112

vii
7. Discussion and Conclusion........................................................................................... 113
7.1. Methodology: ........................................................................................................ 113
7.1.1. The collected data ......................................................................................... 113
7.1.2. Scope............................................................................................................ 114
7.1.3. Strengths and weaknesses of the study: ......................................................... 114
7.2. Contribution to knowledge:.................................................................................... 115
7.3. Conclusion............................................................................................................. 116
Table of References .......................................................................................................... 117
Appendix A: Benefits of PLM - Flyer.............................................................................. 121
Appendix B: Benefits of PLM Starter Kit .................................................................... 123
Appendix C: Questionnaire .....................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

viii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Evolution of Product Lifecycle software. Gartner and Business Trends (an overview)............................. 8
Figure 2 From the study by Bruce et al: The effect of collaboration on the product development process ....... 18
Figure 3 CIMdatas World-Class cPDm Business Solution Model. ......................................................................... 22
Figure 4 Factors and outcomes of collaborative design.......................................................................................... 32
Figure 5 IBM claims that PLM integrates these five functions................................................................................. 35
Figure 6 Model of the survey data collection process (source: Czaja and Blair (1996))......................................... 41
Figure 7 Process of analysing the results and producing the deliverables (client reports) ...................................... 44
Figure 8 The process sheet produces an X and Y value representing the degree of application............................. 45
Figure 9 The seven UK participants on the PLM maturity map. 3 Advanced PLM users and 4 PLM stragglers . 48
Figure 10 Component reuse in development .............................................................................................................. 51
Figure 11 The breakdown in months of the last major PLM project (completed) ................................................... 76
Figure 12 Deviation from project target (figures shown in % terms) .................................................................... 77
Figure 13 Component reuse in new developments (Share in each classification group in %) ................................ 81
Figure 14. The external entity to influence suppliers and OEMs .............................................................................. 84
Figure 15 The meaning of the PLM strategy when choosing suppliers and development partners........................ 85
Figure 16 Use of design for X methods UK participants .................................................................................... 86
Figure 17 Using innovative product development methods ...................................................................................... 87
Figure 18 The number of CAD systems used to support engineering ...................................................................... 88
Figure 19 Number of information backbone systems ................................................................................................ 89
Figure 20 Leading information providing IT systems in engineering (figures shown in % terms) ........................ 90
Figure 21 Web based access to central PLM system components ............................................................................ 91
Figure 22 How the participants shared their warranty data with suppliers............................................................... 92
Figure 23 Interdisciplinary data integrated in a shared or networked data model.................................................... 94
Figure 24.Allocating engineering applications to PLM and/or ERP system............................................................ 95
Figure 25 The integration policy chosen by participants .......................................................................................... 96
Figure 26 The cumulative answers by all participants ............................................................................................... 96
Figure 27 The average result of PLM stragglers and advanced PLM users for non-technical applications .......... 97
Figure 28 Participants defined what Extended Enterprise means to them by defining who they are ..................... 99
Figure 29 Level of cooperation with company employees, partners, suppliers and customers ............................ 100
Figure 30 Figures indicate the choices made by the participants on the tools they use for communication with the
EE ................................................................................................................................................................................ 101
Figure 31 The number of participants to use the relevant project management tools............................................ 102
Figure 32. Tracking product specification evolution against the original specifications....................................... 104
Figure 33. Share of product changes in predevelopment (Averages of entries in each group in %) .................... 107
Figure 34. Distribution of the number of product changes in the product creation ............................................... 108
Figure 35 How the daily work time is distributed in engineering .......................................................................... 109
Figure 36. Time taken from the product creation phase to the launch (time to market)........................................ 109
Figure 37 Participants views on how PLM impacts innovation.............................................................................. 110
Figure 38 Supporting knowledge management by using PLM) .............................................................................. 111
Chapter 1:Introduction
Page 1
1 Introduction
1.1. Motivation

Products are getting increasingly more and more sophisticated to design and manufacture.
Companies face challenges from many different directions to produce products that customers
will buy. Companies in all industries of all sizes in today s world are under unique pressures
in the marketplace. Fresh competitors are entering traditional markets and market barriers are
being brought down slowly allowing freer trade making it a game of survival of the fittest.

To maintain market share and gain growth, companies have to do their core activity to the best
of their abilities with the resources available. Companies are expected to offer products that
are innovative, reliable, priced appropriately, unique, easily disposable within the set
constraints of the market forces and legal requirements.

These challenges have always existed in different forms, increasing as time goes by and
therefore solutions have been created in the form of tools, technology and processes help
companies achieve their goals. Some of these tools, technologies and processes fall under the
umbrella of Product Lifecycle Management also referred to as PLM tools.

PLMs roots go back few decades and has slowly evolved to become what it is today because
of the ever changing industry requirements. Since 2001, it has surpassed PDM (Product Data
Management) as the tool that can help industry achieve its goals. In this context of the
pressures that industry is under and PLMs relatively short life, it is important to identify the
benefits that it has to offer. PLM as will be explained shortly can affect every area of an
organisation and therefore its implication and the benefits need to be identified so that
industry can make informed decisions.

This thesis aims to identify the actual achieved benefits of PLM direct from an industry that
has used it extensively. Further, with the current climate of higher levels of collaboration
between two or more organisations, the challenges and industry requirements that PLM needs
to address to help organisations achieve their goals to be identified.

Industry requirements and the benefits of product lifecycle management
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1.2. Introduction to PLM:

PLM can be defined as the following:

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an integrated, information-driven approach
comprised of people, processes/practices, and technology to all aspects of a products life,
from its design through manufacture, deployment and maintenance culminating in the
products removal from service and final disposal. By trading product information for wasted
time, energy, and material across the entire organisation and into the supply chain, PLM
drives the next generation of lean thinking. (Michael Grieves, 2006, PLM and page 39)

The automotive and aerospace industries in particular depend heavily on PLM solutions in its
product development arena because of the complexity of their products. Product complexity
has risen a great deal and that has meant that companies have to work with a lot of external
partners to achieve innovation in technology. One organisation can produce all its innovation
itself; therefore companies add innovation to their products by working with industry leading
organisations. Similarly, in order to reduce development time and errors, engineering need to
have levels of visibility of the downstream activities such as manufacturing. Because of the
high levels of customisation, sales teams need to be able to pass on customer specifications to
production.

The components within PLM allow an organisation to integrate its systems and its processes.
With the integration of systems, data visibility and sharing across the product lifecycle/other
departments is far superior. Instead of departments working in silos and storing data within
their local area, now the organisation is being integrated horizontally into the other
departments.

Given the increasing complexity, and innovation required to launch and sell successful
products, companies cannot handle large development independently. Sophisticated products
may mean larger number of components to provide the necessary features and it is not
possible for one entity to give complete attention and manage the tasks involved in developing
or upgrading each of these components/features. Therefore coordination amongst large
number of engineers, be it within a single organisation or external enterprises has become
very critical.
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Engineers within an organisation are often based in multiple locations within a country or in
distant locations where development centres have been built to take advantage of the abundant
low cost skill. Increasingly two organisations choose to create products by collaborating and
taking advantage of their individual expertise. This can pose a larger challenge than that of
engineers being based in different geographic locations. Information accessibility and
compatibility are major issues that need to be dealt with to maximise the full potential of the
collaborative effort.

Just like in the past when PLM has evolved to meet the industry direction and challenges, it
must evolve to meet the requirements of the latest direction or trend that industries are taking.
The issue that needs to be dealt with is what the industry expects from PLM when working in
a collaborative manner. Users develop new practices and processes that PLM solutions need
to support. With the core activity of product development taking place beyond the traditional
boundaries of the company by reaching into the extended enterprise, PLM needs to quickly
evolve and support its users through its functionality.

The study will aim to identify industry requirements of PLM in a collaborative environment
by seeking out current practices, processes and pain points.

Given these requirements, PLM tools have been designed to consolidate and bring together
disparate systems, of different formats that were not accessible to teams located in different
geographic locations.

1.3. Benefits of PLM study - background:

The Benefits of PLM study was conducted in 2004 by IBM Germany with 28 participating
companies from Germany and Austria. The participants were all automotive OEMs, Tier 1 to
Tier 5 suppliers. In the industry, whilst the usefulness of PLM tools is widely accepted the
exact benefits have not been documented making it difficult for clients to take up the
solutions. Companies are hesitant in investing in products that dont have documented
benefits or easily calculable returns. The return on investment for PLM solutions is difficult to
calculate as it influences the outcomes of products, and these products are themselves
Page 4
influenced by various factors. But generally speaking possible benefits can be gained and
documented over time and therefore the study conducted by IBM Germany has helped in
deriving the benefits that users of PLM have gained. There are obviously varying degrees to
which companies use PLM and that influences the benefits gained. While that study has given
an insight into the benefits of PLM, the trends of use and attitude towards PLM, results can
vary from place to place and company to company. Therefore the UK study will be useful to
identify the benefits that the UK industry has gained with the use of PLM because of their
practices, processes and attitude.

1.4. Company Background and expected outcomes

The sponsors of this project, IBM hope to gain an understanding of the industry requirements
of PLM solutions in a collaborative environment. With this knowledge IBMs consulting
services will be in a position to understand the needs of the industry in depth and be able to
communicate this to their partners who are often the software vendors that develop PLM
products. The software vendors and IBM consulting services would benefit in different ways.
Software vendors will be able to use the collected information when developing their products
for the future and in the mean time IBM will be able to keep these issues in mind when
providing consultative solutions for clients.

IBMs Global Business Services are the main sponsors in the UK. Their PLM team currently
have a strong presence in aerospace, defence, automotive and smaller sectors such as retail.
Being a large player in the PLM arena means clients are dependent on them to continuously
give them advice on solutions, process changes and strategies. Their consultants are of course
industry experts, however they are always giving information out and in order to build a way
of absorbing industrys needs and learning for themselves, the 2004 study has slightly been
modified.

The primary objective of that study was to identify the benefits of PLM. However, the same
study and structure can be used to gain more value adding information such as identifying the
challenges that industry is facing. Based on these challenges and the views of the industry,
what the requirements are. Further, instead of thinking of PLM from purely inside one
organisation, how it impacts on development and innovation when dealing with an outside
Page 5
organisation also needs to be investigated. Given these requirements, the following keywords
can summarise the goal of the study:

Benefits of PLM Industrys challenges with PLM Industrys requirements of PLM
Requirements for Extended Enterprise collaboration functionality
1.5. Structure of the thesis

The thesis layout will be as follows:

Chapter 1 Introduction Introduce the concept of PLM, motivations behind the study,
historical background, the sponsor and their motivation.

Chapter 2 Literature Review In-depth review of PLM, its role in industry, its evolution,
the components of PLM, collaboration in industry and search for literature gap.

Chapter 3 Methodology Detailed analysis of research objectives, the deliverables,
historical background, scope of study, questionnaire development and participants selection.

Chapter 4 In-depth study of PLM issues The issues that were raised when a detailed
discussion was conducted with one participant.

Chapter 5 Position of participants After the survey, the position of the participants on the
PLM maturity map.

Chapter 6 PLM challenges and requirements Having conducted the survey, the challenges
and industry requirements that were identified.

Chapter 7 Benefits of PLM The achieved benefits of PLM and industry trends for using
PLM.

Chapter 8 Discussion & Conclusion

Chapter 2: Literature Review
Page 7
2. Literature Review
During the course of this literature review, the author will aim to define what PLM is,
how it evolved, why it is important, how it could play a key role in the collaborative
environment and its role in todays automotive industry. This study should set the stage for
further research into making a case for why some of the tools and solutions are needed. Since
PLM tools are still in their infancy and the boundaries have not been accurately defined, the
scope of this tool is still unknown. The working practice of the tool in relation to industry
requirements such as extended enterprise requirements need to be studied and established to
meet the requirements. The literature review will try to focus on PLM with an automotive
bias. At times publications focused on other industries such as aerospace will feature as the
principles are very similar. As mentioned earlier in the introduction, the aerospace,
automotive and defence industries have been the keenest in taking on board PLM into their
daily work, given the complexities of the products involved.
2.1. PLM defined:

Foundations:

The need for PLM tools can be described by thinking about the type of products that
are being developed in todays market place. The market place requirements, technological
capabilities have led to the increasing demand for complicated and sophisticated products.
The amount of information that surrounds these products requires increasingly organised,
sophisticated practices and tools. Before going into depth of what and why PLM tools are
necessary and the capabilities they offer, it is worth looking at a definition:

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an integrated, information-driven approach
comprised of people, processes/practices, and technology to all aspects of a products life,
from its design through manufacture, deployment and maintenance culminating in the
products removal from service and final disposal. By trading product information for wasted
time, energy, and material across the entire organisation and into the supply chain, PLM
drives the next generation of lean thinking. (Michael Grieves, 2006, PLM and page 39)

Businesses in all industries and of all sizes are constantly looking for solutions that
would enable the business to run more efficiently.
Page 8

Before looking at how the different components that make up the PLM system evolved, its
worth looking at how industry commentators define PLM. Marc Halpern, Director of PLM
Research for Gartner Group explains that PLM systems often exist in different names
depending on recent trends. In an article by Kenneth Wong, called PLMs Growing Pains
March Halpern explains that PLM systems are also referred to as PDM and CPC and suffer
from an identity crisis. The reason for this identity crisis according to the Director is Whats
unfortunate is that there are certain vendors that promote the notion that CAD, simulation,
virtual modelling and some support for PDM equal PLM.

From a product design perspective, over the past decades, drawings have moved from paper
based to electronic models. The paper based drawings have been converted to math-based
descriptions of the physical representation of products. The systems had originally started out
as simple drawing systems to aid the designer in producing faster and more accurate drawings
and hence they received the name computer aided design. (Michael Grieves, 2006 and 46)

Figure 1 Evolution of Product Lifecycle software. Gartner and Business Trends (an overview)

Similar to the CAD systems, further IT systems have sprung up to support the product
development activities. CAD systems store very product centric data; the math-based
specifications describe the products from a geometric perspective, but do not fully describe
them. (Grieves, 2006) To support this information held in CAD files, systems to hold other
product characteristics such as Bill of Materials have come up. The BOM has list of parts and
subassemblies that make up a product. (Stark, 2005)The CAD based information and other
CAD based characteristics combine to fully describe a product. Characteristics such as cost,
weight, supplier etc can be described here and quite often different BOMs exist for different
departments such as finance, manufacturing and engineering.
Note: CPC another acronym for
cPDM (collaborative product
development)
Page 9

To organise this growing collection of data in the form of CAD drawings and
engineering characteristics data (BOM), Product Data Management applications were
developed (PDM). Companies tend to have multiple CAD environments, various programmes
with each programme consisting of thousands of unique component drawings. These
components then have attribute information/characteristics stored in BOMs, of which there
can be multiple versions for the different functions of the company. This vast amount of
information needed to be stored in a structured manner and made easily accessible. Such vast
amount of data stored in various formats, in various computers needed to be consolidated
upon. In the word of CIMdata consultant M Philpotts, PDM is defined as a tool that helps
engineers and others manage both data and the product development process. PDM systems
keep track of the masses of data and information required to design, manufacture or build
products and then support and maintain them. (Philpotts, 1996)

PDM is the backbone on which other systems are built upon.(Pullin, 2004) Following
PDM came Computer Integrated Manufacturing or else known as CIM. CIM embodies the
idea that a computer system could integrate the functions necessary to design, engineer, and
manufacture a product. (Grieves, 2006). This is essentially an extension of the integration
between CAD and CAM tools using CAD drawings to generate numerical control programs.

Over time the evolution of the industry also meant that the solutions and practices had
to evolve to meet the requirements. Production mechanisms were shifting from being mass
produced to products built with great deal of individuality. Customised mass production was
the requirements of customers and businesses were aiming to satisfy these needs (Bryan and
Sackett, 1997). The mass customisations meant products would become more sophisticated
and complicated. The systems in place obviously needed to support this evolving requirement.
Systems needed additional functionality to support change control, configuration
management, product structure, digital manufacturing etc. Users expected PDM to
encompass more capabilities and functionality in support of product development. PDM,
which initially focused on CAD and engineering file management, became a term that also
included process management using workflow and shared information using visualization and
collaboration.(CIMdata, 2003).

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The above mentioned components are the core of a PLM system and have evolved
with time offering further functionality based on their core competency. PDM systems have
evolved to enable collaborative product data management, CAD tools now combine with
CAM or CAE tools to assist in digital manufacturing. As Michael Grieves says Continual
increases in computing power, storage capacity, and communication bandwidth enabled these
technologies to keep increasing in scope and functionality so that they were able to advance
in capability.(Grieves, 2006). The combination of these tools produce outputs that vary
depending on their intended purpose. Different combinations and goals lead to different
approaches. Therefore defining and putting PLM tools into one box or exact definition is not
possible.

The above point on industry orientated approach can be reiterated in an article titled
Demystifying PLM from March 2003 by Beth Stackpole. This industry commentator goes
on to explain that in practice no one vendor can offer an end to end solution or a complete
package. This is significant as it highlights the fact that PLM is more than technology and for
each of the components within PLM, there exists different specialist vendors. Another
industry commentator has highlighted that although PLM has very strong benefits, one of its
biggest challenges is conveying a message that PLM is not just another software tool but an
enterprise business process philosophy. (Teresko, 2006)

2.1.1. Why PLM is needed?

In the following section, the author shall make the case for why PLM is needed today.

All business now face intense competition from not only their traditional markets but
because of the advent of globalisation, from businesses based overseas. Competitive
advantage comes in various forms such as technology, low cost labour, and because of
globalisation, companies from various geographic locations can take advantage of their
unique position to enter markets previously protected. To stay ahead of this intense
competition, companies need to produce innovative products with low costs, quickly and
better in functionality than rivals. (Boswell, Bill and Mahoney, Patrick G.,
2005)Globalisation was an opportunity but also a challenge to manage product control over
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projects located in distant locations. Part of the challenge was also to maximise the benefits of
globalisation.

Outsourcing of product development is an increasingly common trend. Outsourcing
provides the opportunity for a company to focus its efforts on the activities it considers most
important and/or provide its competitive advantage, while getting other companies to carry
out activities it considers less important. (Stark, 2005). Whilst focusing on the companys
core competency, it is also likely that the outsourced tasks are given to companies whose core
tasks are the outsourced tasks therefore getting best performance or quality. Now that some
tasks are outsourced, the job of product development becomes increasingly more complex.

It cannot be said that collaboration is a new need as it has always been necessary. But
with the rise in work given to third parties, geographic distances and the greater complexity of
products, managing collaboration is an important task. The advantages to be gained by
collaborating in product development include the ability to secure access to new technologies
and skills or to share or acquire information for product development (Bruce et al., 1995).
This statement by M Bruce et al along with the previous point of outsourcing highlights the
new opportunities or advantages provided by collaboration. Given these benefits, systems and
process need to be able to support and foster for a fruitful outcome. The premise that is
behind the move to PLM with respect collaboration is that if we cannon co-locate in physical
space and time, then we should attempt to co-locate in our virtual space and time. (Grieves,
2006)

Since the 1960s, in response to the rising recognition of the potential dangers of
products and production to mankind and the planet, the focus on the product lifecycle has
steadily increased. (Stark, 2005). The importance of the product lifecycle, government
policies and regulation play a greater role in product development. Businesses are now
responsible for the products they produce from the day of conception, to introducing it into
the market and until the end of the products life. In the past, once the product was made and
shipped to the customer it was not responsible for activities thereafter except for issues to do
with warranty. Requiring manufacturers to manage their products when they become waste
is an innovative form of regulation, one that has been adopted by countries in Asia, Europe,
and North America on a variety of products that range from vehicles to appliances to
batteries.(Toffel, 2003)
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With the challenges in product development, it obviously makes sense for companies
to design a product meant for sale in multiple countries at the same time. This means taking
into consideration the different regulations that exist in different countries/regions.
Management of this challenge is a good example of why strong processes and tools are
needed to ensure that all regulations are met and taken into consideration during the design
process. The effect of regulations and complex products mean larger volumes of data and the
requirement for efficient data management systems. Whereas developers once thought in
terms of megabytes of data, they now think more of gigabytes and organisations think on
terms of terabytes (10
12
bytes), petabytes and exabytes (10
18
bytes) of data. The increase in
the volume of data enables organisations to develop better products, but also increases the
difficulty of managing and keeping control of data. (Stark, 2005)

Other driving factors for PLM systems are:
! Network economy necessities
! Improved communication and technology
! Improved supply chain capabilities
! Knowledge management
! Need for greater productivity and innovation
(Saaksvuori and Immonen, 2002)

2.1.2. Typical components of a modern PDM system:

Having looked at some of the needs of PLM systems a quick summary of the
components of a modern PDM system can be made as it is at the heart of any PLM effort.
Mike Philpotts, 1996 has summarised the concepts that PDM systems support based on
reviewing the expectations of commercial PDM software. The author claims that the
functionality of PDM systems can be placed in two categories: user functions and utility
functions.

The user functions enable users to access functionality such as:
! Data vault and document management Secure storage and retrieval of product
definition information.
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! Workflow and process management This function enables automation of repetitive
processes which are usually a companys set of business processes. This helps to
drive a business with information.
! Product structure management This function enables the management of the
different structures of data such as bills of material and other product configurations.
! Classification This is a useful feature that belongs to the product structure
management. It allows connecting various pieces of data to a particular part enabling
easy retrieval at a later stage.
! Programme management Assists in the tracking of schedules, resources and
provides work break down structures. A useful tool for project management.

Utility functions enable easy use of system and to support the above mentioned user
functionality. The author says Utility functions interface with the operating environment and
insulate its functions from the user. Some utility functions include:
! Communication and notification
! Data Transport
! Data Translation
! Image services
! System Administration

An article by Paul Dvorak called An easy-to-implement PDM explores how
the above listed user and utility functions can be provided by different software vendors. The
author studies package PDM/Works 2001, and concludes by stating how simple
implementation has now become for small companies. Implementation at large organisations
can take longer as a great deal of customisations occurs but now smaller companies have
access to this software. PDM tools have now matured and reached a stage where it can be
implemented no more by small teams but by individuals by simply following instructions.
Other user navigation functions such as drag-and-drop, right-mouse-click, easy
transferring of files from one area to another, colour-coded icons, users level of access,
automatic revision sequencing are some of the features that the author claims can be expected
in modern PDM systems.(Dvorak, 2002)

In Beyond PDM by Jean Thilmany, the author describes an interesting feature
offered by PTC in their PDM product Windchill. Windchill allows designers to source
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products immediately during as the component is being designed. Instead of supplier
information being available only with the purchasing department, pricing and other supplier
details is made as early as possible. Front loading this task saves time, eases the procurement
process and gives clarity to the budget of the project which is often unclear until the
procurement work is completed towards the end of the project. Configuration management is
used to quickly customise parts according to individual customer needs and increasingly
project management capabilities can be found in PDM systems. Project managers are able to
track progress of component design and thus plan or intervene accordingly with less
interaction or information gathering from other engineers or stakeholders.(Thilmany, 2001)

2.1.3. Benefits of PLM

Having looked at the needs for PLM tools and some of the challenges that encouraged
PLM tools to be created, a brief study on the benefits of PLM tools will be conducted. It has
often been stated that identifying PLM benefits and calculating return on invest can be
difficult as the benefits are not always in quantifiable form. The study should highlight the
benefits that businesses have had after the implementation of PLM and the following chapter
of the literature review will focus on the proposed benefits and expected benefits of these
tools.

John Stark (2006) discusses the benefits of PLM and the difficulty in quantifying
benefits. The benefits of this tool can come in soft and tacit manners. The tools enable
capturing and sharing customer requirements better. The greater amount of information
available to more people involved in the design engineering process, greater then collective
contribution. This can lead to greater product innovation.

Greater innovation can increase the number of customers by developing and
supporting new products which obviously leads to rise in revenues. While ERP systems
support businesses to run organisations in an efficient manner by allowing strong control over
resources, PLM systems or combination of the components that make up PLM systems can
help business in their product development environment. After all product development is the
entity that generates revenues for a business. With better quality products, companies are in a
position to demand better prices for their products.
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About a quarter of the time is spent in finding, distributing and maintaining
information(Saaksvuori and Immonen, 2002). Accessing appropriate information at the right
time has always been troublesome, especially with products that are highly complex in nature.
Documents historically have not always been available in electronic format and have existed
in different formats in different locations. PLM tools can allow better access to product
information. The organisation of information is the key enabler. The tacit knowledge of
engineers can also be captured and shared. Capturing knowledge of certain individuals is not
directly related to PLM, but the ability to share and use this information makes this possibility
a great value adding task. The knowledge of individuals can also be used as intellectual
property of the business, as the knowledge gained in some products was possible because of
the businesss investment in that field.

It has been reported that upto 80% of the product development cost can be influenced
during the early development stages. Unpredicted costs are always unwanted and these
usually rise because of the errors caused in the design stage. The errors are often not picked
up until later stages thus leaving repercussions in different ways such as lost time, cost of
materials and the effort of engineers. Traceability of changes can be a very important feature
in a collaborative environment as it could help in clearly identifying legal
responsibility.(Geazant et al., 2005) Even if a change was detected and an engineering change
was raised, most processes and systems work by seeking approval from different stakeholders
in and the information can only flow in a sequential manner. This is obviously a time
consuming process, but if the information/model could be simultaneously shared with all the
stakeholders, suppliers and partners, thus decision making time can be cut down greatly. The
impact of changes in sophisticated products such as cars, aeroplanes can be identified quicker
with information being available to all the stakeholders.(Boswell, Bill and Mahoney, Patrick
G., 2005) With greater availability of information and the networked manner in which
businesses are, all the downstream functions can be bought in early; during the design stage.
Therefore the departments who will handle products downstream are in a position to highlight
areas of concern and ensure that these issues are designed out. This capability can benefit the
new product development stage by reducing the number of errors and therefore time and cost
that errors usually incur.

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With additional responsibilities over the lifetime that the product is in use, the
development product data can be useful. PLM tools therefore provide tools to manage old
product data and make it available to other departments such as product support. Making this
data available enables product support to deliver better quality customer service and
maximises the use of storing this knowledge.

2.2. Collaboration and extended enterprises

Collaboration is defined as a type of cross-organizational linkage, which in addition to high
levels of integration is characterized by high levels of transparency, mindfulness, and
synergies in participants' interactions - (Jassawalla and Sashittal, 1998)

The following section of the literature review will be around the need for
collaboration, risks and the factors that influence collaboration outcomes. Since the beginning
of collaborative undertakings between two or more entities, some form of technology has
usually played a key role to supporting the activities. (MOHR and SPEKMAN,
1994)Therefore some of these technologies and their capabilities will be examined.
Collaborations can occur within large organisations but this study will focus on the
collaboration between two independent entities.
2.2.1. Risks of collaboration:
As mentioned earlier in this review, the reasons for collaboration in the current global
climate are well established. the case for collaboration is stronger than ever. It takes so
much money to develop new products and to penetrate new markets that few companies can
afford to go it alone (Hamel et al., 1989). Not only the cost but the technologies currently
available make collaboration feasible under the correct management environments. There are
obviously risks and opportunities in any undertaking. A study conducted by Harrigan (1986)
showed that only 45% of 1000 collaborations were said to be successful by the partners
involved. In another instance, Norburn and Schoenberg have highlighted that upto 40% of
strategic partnerships did not have the expected end results.

The risks of collaboration hasnt been studied very well as this is a relatively new area
and collaborations havent gone on long enough to identify patterns and the reasons for
failure. However it is possible to identify some possible risks when joining in collaboration.
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G. Hamel et al has highlighted that the risk of skills, knowledge and other intellectual assets
being transferred from one collaborating partner to another can be a great danger or in
creating an insecure environment. Other authors such as Farr & Fischer and Perks (2001)
have suggested that these collaborative partners could become potential competitors for
themselves.(Perks, 2001)
2.2.2. Processes and factors that affect collaboration:
Bruce et al conducted a survey in 1995 to analyse various aspects of collaboration
management aimed at the development of existing or new products. The method used by the
author was to study in parallel 300 UK companies by sending out a questionnaire to them and
case studies of eight companies in three technology markets; computerised business systems,
mobile communications and electronic data interchange. The author aimed to get an insight
into the factors that influence collaboration at a human level and is worth understanding when
examining how technologies are expected to support this activity. To give an example of the
type of issues covered and the results received, please see Figure 2.

Figure 2 shows the participants opinion on collaboration and highlighted areas of
concern. Cost, complexity and managing the collaborative product development process are
the main areas of concern but as it has been established before, collaboration is a task that will
be pursued. When asked about the major factors which in the experience of the participants
contributed the most to successful collaborative product development, they responded with
the following answers:
! Choice of partner
! Establishing the ground rules
! Ensuring equality
! Processual factors
! People factors
! Environmental factors

It must be highlighted at this point that these results are not thorough but can be taken as a
good guide to the opinions of businesses who have undertaken collaborative product
developments.

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Figure 2 From the study by Bruce et al: The effect of collaboration on the product development process

The study by Bruce et al is a good guide and introduction to the collaborative
environment. The next step is to examine how technology and in particular components of
Product Lifecycle Management tools can bridge the risks and challenges of collaboration
whilst assisting in the actual development stage. The 300 participants of this study were from
the information and communication technology sectors, and the study was conducted in 1995.
Therefore the responses of the participants would have changed with time and evolution of
issues they faced but, Bruce et als article does give an insight into the issues that the
participants considered important.

2.3. Collaborative Product development systems

Earlier in the review it became clear that PLM is made up of numerous individual
components such as CAD, CAM, CAE, PDM systems. A new component that enables
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collaborative product development is known as collaborative Product Definition management
(cPDm). cPDm can be defined as the following:

collaborative Product Definition management (cPDm) is the segment of PLM that addresses
managing the complete product or plant definition lifecycle (i.e., the virtual or digital
product), including all of the mechanical, electronic, software, and documentation
components and the processes that are used during the lifecycle including planning,
designing, manufacturing, in-service operation and maintenance, and end-of life retirement.
(CIMdata, 2005)

cPDm is at the heart of the collaborative product development effort by allowing
management of the intellectual assets that brings the greatest advantage to the collaborative
effort. It is claimed that the cPDm is the foundation of PLM enabling technologies such as
PDM systems, collaboration, visualization, enterprise application integration etc.

Based on an Overview of cPDm by CIMdata, the following is an examination of
cPDms foundation technologies:
! Data Translation: These predefined translators are used to convert data formats
between different applications and ensure that standard data formats are used during
data exchange. Only the most popular or specifically requested data translators are
available but it is feasible to establish the rules to call up additional data
translators.(Stevens, 2001)
! Data Transport: Data is based in different geographical locations and the user
doesnt always have to know the detail of where it is stored. cPDm solutions allow
users to use conventional business identifiers to find information. Data can be
moved from one location to another or one application another without the user having
to worry about the operating system or networking command.
! System Administration: The administrator is responsible for setting up parameters of
the system, and maintaining its operational performance requirements. Most cPDm
solutions are designed to be tailored to adopt corporate standards and to match the
needs of business processes and users. This is similar to the work and information
flow feature found in PDM systems. To allow administrative control over applications
such as CAD, CAM, ERP etc, standard off-the-shelf interfaces are available for the
widely used applications.
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! Communication and Notification: Online, automated notification of critical events
can be sent out based on set of rules. Email is the medium of sending notifications.
Software triggers can be initiated based on a set of rules such as translation of data
from one format to another.
! Visualisation: Visualisation technologies support collaborative working by enabling
the viewing and working of product and plant definition data such as drawings and
solid models which could have been created in different systems. These technologies
allow visualisation of scanned documents, 2D drawings, and 3D CAD models. They
also allow users to animate assembly and disassembly sequences, animate fly-
through into and around assemblies, incorporate data from several CAD systems into
a viewable assembly etc. This function also allows easy access or a platform such as
web browser plug-ins through which graphical data can be made available to non-
engineering functions.(Li, 2006)
! Collaboration: This feature enables users to access a variety of information such as
product definition despite being located away from the immediate location of the
information. Even when using conventional electronic technologies such as e-mail,
conferencing it is not easy to discuss and understand product issues, therefore
Collaborative visualisation using 3D model data provides a tool that allows team
members to collectively explore product and plant definition information. One lead
user will have access to what other team members are viewing and thus can
manipulate this view to according to his or her requirements. To summarise,
collaboration functionality enables technologies such as
o E-mail and web technologies to communicate messages between team
members
o Audio and Teleconferencing to allow real-time audio/visual communication
o Collaborative visualisation tools for synchronous 2D and 3D view and mark-
up
o Data translation to enable CAD data to be imported into the collaboration
tools
o Control access and manage collaborative data and relationship.
! Enterprise Application Integration: EAI encompasses technologies that enable
business processes and data to communicate to one another, across applications and
networks, integrating numerous individual systems into a seamless network.
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2.4. Modern PLM systems:

Earlier in the review, the components of PDM systems were examined. Following is a
review of some new components that can be expected in PLM solutions based on the article
by CIMdata called The high-end MCAD and cPDm market segments of the PLM industry:
o Digital Manufacturing: Digital Manufacturing allows industrial companies to
transform the way they define the manufacturing processes that will be used to
produce their products by creating an environment in which manufacturing process
definition is conducted in collaboration with product design activities. Digital
Manufacturing allows documentation of how the assembly ought to be done in the
design stage and therefore force the designer to consider elements of design for
manufacture. Previously it is reported by the author that Digital Manufacturing has
existed as a separate entity, independent from the over all PLM strategy, but now its a
more integral part of the PLM strategy.
o Service After Sales: Integration of PLM components such as product data
management (PDM) and change management with component supplier management,
customer relationship management, maintenance and operations systems, and
logistics systems creates environments that improve support and operational
efficiency. This function works best because it has access to upto date product
definition which can be useful for customer service, maintenance, developing and
executing service and logistics plans. In the PLM strategy, services such as these are
an integral part in utilizing and maximizing the efficiency of current information. It
has been highlighted as an area that should add great deal of value to suppliers for
their after sales support.
o Portfolio and Requirements Management: This functionality enables the effective
requirements management capture and utilization so that the company can design,
build and deliver products that meet customer expectations. Portfolio management
begins at the concept phase and helps the company to manage product families.
Companies can use the product information in this tool to determine which of the
ideas and potential products fits in best with their aims. A cycle plan of what products
are in development, production enables the company to make the appropriate
resources available.
o Asset Management within discrete Industries: This is a major function in large
industries that need to manage assets such as plants, oil rigs. Companies have lately
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taken this tool up for managing facilities used in production. The author states that for
the manufacturing industry in general, asset management has become a key
component of the digital manufacturing solution and without the detailed knowledge
of the asset information it wont be possible to digitally simulate the manufacturing
processes that would be used to produce a product.
o Total Product Management: PLM has traditionally been used to handle information
and processes associated with mechanical design, but these same systems are an
effective tool for managing electronic and software components embedded in
manufactured products and plants. Because of the importance of electronics and
software found in most parts, cPDm solution providers now offer management
solutions for electronic design and software along with mechanical components.
2.4.1. Summary of cPDm and PLM components:

Having studied the literature to identify the components of cPDm and PLM, it is becoming
increasingly clear, the mash up of different technologies being put together to create a
component or independent product.

Figure 3 CIMdatas World-Class cPDm Business Solution Model.

CIMdata has used its experience of speaking with cPDm users and studying cPDm
commercial solutions to create figure 3. It proposes that cPDm business solution model is the
foundation technology on which PLM is built on. The Core Functions have functions that
are typical of a PDM solution as referred to earlier in this literature review. The
Applications layer is believed to be a combination of core functions to create an application
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that can support certain management needs of a product definition lifecycle. The business
solutions layer leverages all the layers below to create solutions that are specific to an
industry sector or can be described as a solution that will support specific business orientated
objectives.(CIMdata, 2001)
2.4.2. Previous study conducted in 2000 on collaborative product
development between suppliers and OEMs:

Soderquist and Nellore conducted a study in 2000 to Identify user needs in integrated
automotive component development and the following review is an examination of their
findings. The study was aimed to fill the gap that existed about merging the possibilities of
new information technologies and the operational needs of specific groups of users, for
example product development engineers. The focus was on two collaborative projects:
! Automotive OEM and its systems supplier (working directly with the OEM)
! Five medium-sized expert suppliers (working either directly with the OEM or through
the systems supplier)
Three groups of user needs that were not satisfied by existing information solutions were
identified:
! Improvement of coordination and communication
! Enhancement of the access to new technological information
! Support for the development of an organisational memory

Whilst the entire study might not be directly relevant to the main focus of the literature
review, it is worth examining the early findings of a similar objective collaborative new
product development.

Failure of existing system usage:

The following is a summary of poor usage of the then existing information systems:
! Although Electronic Data Interchange had been available in the majority of the
suppliers black box customer relations, both with OEMs and systems suppliers, they
were used only at the project outset to transfer initial specifications and conducting
basic tasks such as scheduling production and managing invoicing. It was not used to
identify what systems to employ for the individual components.
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! Internal data banks containing patents, design studies, existing commercialised
products only existed offline and had limited access.
! No multi-company group-ware existed, in the sense that CAD and EDI links were
bidirectional only. Moreover, these links did not allow for qualitative information,
questions or discussions.

User needs in Improvement of coordination and communication flows:

Issues were raised by project managers and design engineers relating to the
coordination and communication of the product development process. Coordinating with the
suppliers and keeping them informed was a major worry. Project managers have highlighted
handling collaborations with numerous suppliers simultaneously to be a problem area. The
problem was not the task of simultaneously engineering components but to simultaneously
manage the related information flow, and above all, to ensure the relevance of the
information at their disposal. The handling of information flow led to long periods of
uncertainty after late design changes as supplier engineers were not told if their design
solution was accepted by the customer or not.

Following is a summary of the three main industry requirements:
! Informing the individuals in each contributing supplier firm about who the other
participants in the system are, and what their respective roles and competencies are.
! Informing the appropriate engineers in the supplier firms in near real time of the
modifications undertaken to individual components and the impact of this change on
interfacing components and systems.
! Following the above request, allowing the individuals to comment on the design
modification, and encouraging dialogue.

Access to new technological information:

To ..keep up with the evolution of the suppliers specific field of expertise, and to
develop new knowledge in terms of trends and evolution.. was described as the process of
technology scanning. Its a process of using a constant flow of information related to
product and process technology to knowledge and therefore improve product development
and lead to greater innovation. The following is a summary of the industry requirements:
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! Ensuring exhaustive and rapid dissemination of the results of technology scanning
activities. The usefulness of this information laid on the efficient dissemination
process as the analysis would be conducted by operational design staff and decision-
making managers.
! Improving the integration of operational R&D staff in the technology scanning
process.

Development of an organisational memory:

R & D managers and engineers had expressed their desire to utilise earlier design
efforts, and reduce the amount of design work being done that had been rejected earlier so
that efficiency of R & D projects could improved. Work was redone or sometimes the feeling
of re-inventing the wheel risen because of the lack of easy access to old product
development data. Therefore the two specific user requests were:
! Allowing access to blueprints and specifications for design studies that were never
prototyped, produced or commercialised.
! Provide storage of project histories including design reviews and customer
feedback.
(Soderquist and Nellore, 2000)

The above study conducted by Nellore and Soderquist has given a valuable insight into the
problems associated with this industry in the year 2000. Given that 5 years can be a long time
in any fast moving industry, such as the automotive, the study can be taken a useful place to
start but not be a strong basis for assuming that the industry has similar problems today. The
study has focused on collaborative issues when OEMs and their external entities, in this
study described as suppliers, have worked together. Many of the issues raised such as
developing an organisational memory was as important then as it is now aka knowledge
management/reuse. The study however did not consider the issues faced by research and
development centres within one organisation based in different locations communicating and
sharing information with each other.
2.5. Integrating the different enterprise systems

Businesses use different technologies/systems to support them in different tasks.
Valuable information stored in each of the independent systems can be useful and the
Page 26
strengths of each of these systems can be drawn upon. Independent systems hold information
in the form of silos and are not easy to access. To add value to the information stored in these
silos, they need to need to be made accessible and the separate systems; integrated. One of the
key systems that PLM tools may have to integrate with is Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) systems.
2.5.1. Enterprise Resource Planning systems:

In the article Enterprise resource planning: Implementation procedures and critical
success factors by Elisabeth J Umble (2003), the need for ERP systems, its components and
critical success factors are described. This article is examined simply to appreciate the essence
of how ERP systems contribute to businesses and what information they hold.

The author examines the challenges that businesses face today and their requirements
to meet their goals. Businesses are under pressure to lower total costs in their supply chain,
shorten throughput times, reduce inventories, efficiently coordinate global demand, supply
and production etc. These challenges are already hinting the need for collaborative product
development to remain competitive and therefore the author encourages businesses to share
critical information with suppliers, distributors and customers through the use of ERP
systems.

ERP systems, similar to PLM systems are not easy to define. They exist as
independent systems serving different goals. It is claimed that ERP systems provide two
major benefits over non-integrated departmental systems:
! a unified enterprise view of the business that encompasses all functions and
departments
! an enterprise database where all business transactions are entered, recorded,
processed, monitored and reported

These systems support businesses in:
! Planning of aggregate sales and production levels (sales and operations planning)
! Development of the specific build schedule(master production scheduling)
! Forecasting
! Sales planning and customer-order promising (demand management)
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! High-level resource analysis (rough-cut capacity planning)

The author claims that once the systems started supporting the business in large areas
of the business, they began being classed as company-wide systems. The above functions
show that ERP systems assist businesses in running operations efficiently and some of these
systems hold product related information.
2.5.2. Integration of ERP and PLM systems

Having established the tasks of ERP and PLM systems undertake, the reasons and the
value businesses aim to gain through integration can be analysed.

Integration with an ERP system enables the project team to interact with accounting
and material resource planning functions of the enterprise to optimise the design from the
earliest phase. (GAO et al., 2003)

During the review of literature, it has been emphasised on a few occasions that a major
benefit in integration of ERP and PLM systems is the ability to reduce late engineering
changes. Most benefits highlighted by the author revolve around the benefits of data
accessibility. According to article Integrating PLM and ERP by Ed Miller, information can
be transferred quicker and accurately between different departments such as manufacturing
and engineering which can speed workflow, avoids recreation of data and also improves
communication. The author is quoted in another article by Lisa Kempfer as saying:

PDM and ERP are the heart and soul of managing the overall product definition and
production life cycles. The ability of companies to effectively link those two technologies will
dictate the success of manufacturing organisations.

Early papers discussing the integration of ERP and PLM systems, used the term PDM
II to define the possible new entity that would bring the greatest benefit to the business after
integration. PDM II was defined as next-generation product development management
systems and an innovation engine. PDM II was expected to allow collaboration right from
the concept phase and have efficient access not only to product design data, but to
manufacturing process definitions, etc that ERP systems hold that can be useful when coupled
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with the product design data. Ed Miller has also discussed user interfaces and user
environments. Without radically changing what users such as engineering and sales teams are
used to, it is possible to give them access to all the necessary information. Ed Miller claims
some systems use bi-directional synchronisation between PDM and ERP systems to allow
engineering and manufacturing teams to work in their respective systems. Tasks such as BOM
generation, configuration management, and document management will reside in PDM.
Manufacturing will then use ERP to complete related tasks such as production processes and
cost calculations which will then update PDM. Therefore with data transactions happening in
an automated manner, user interfaces can remain the same and thus make integration a more
feasible task.

Some of the challenges of integration has been the confusion of the purpose of the two
systems once they are fully integrated. In the article Linking PDM to ERP by Lisa
Kempfer, the author states companies can sometimes be unsure of which tasks should be
handled by which system, which system should control the information, and how best the
systems should be working together. The author also places higher importance on the soft
issues such as organisational barriers and issues rather than the technical challenges
companies can face during integration. Its also interesting to note that another reason for
confusion according to the author is that ERP and PDM (a component of PLM) overlap in
functionality in certain areas. As the two systems have evolved over the years, the author
states that they each support bills of material, parts classification, component information,
configuration management, process workflow, and program management. Ed Miller describes
that the core of the challenge is in control and flow of information throughout the systems, as
both systems have unique ways of storing, accessing, exchanging data.

What has come through with experience in industry is that there isnt one process or
practice when it comes to integrating PLM and ERP systems. Every companys requirement
is unique and therefore what can be established are the factors that can lead to a final solution.
Even the software vendor that has provided the PLM and ERP solutions are up for debate
according to Beth Stackpole in her article Demystifying PLM (March 2003). In a section of
the article titled The Integration Challenge: Linking ERP to PLM Is a Must but Theres no
One Strategy, the author cites various examples to explain that some companies prefer to use
the same vendor for both ERP and PLM despite the possible tradeoffs in functionality. The
advantage, that the author claims companies get in this strategy is to achieve complete
Page 29
integration rather than a problematic implementation stage where only a partial
implementation is achieved.
2.6. PLM systems in Automotive and Aerospace

As mentioned earlier, the greatest acceptance and usage of PLM solutions has been in
the automotive and aerospace industries. Therefore to get an idea of its current state, its
worth examining available literature. Case studies from vendors will also be considered as
they are a good avenue to understand latest challenges and implementation practices.

Whilst studying the various pieces of literature that is available, it is quite clear that
there is a great deal of emphasis in collaborative working within an organisation and naturally
over time with the extended enterprise. Organisations have hundreds of engineers located in
various design centres that need to be bought together and both automotive and aerospace
companies have spent significant amount of energy solving this issue.

Throughout the reviews and case studies one point that can be highlighted is the
interoperability between different systems. The PLM system that a company uses to support
its activities can be made up of many components and each of those components can be
provided by different vendors. For example PTCs Windchill can be used as the PDM system
on which other activities can be conducted. Windchill can host 3D visualization of product
information activities, interoperate with various CAD solutions and support in collaborative
activities. PDM solutions often have compatible interfaces with other popular CAD packages
such as Dassault Systemes Catia etc.

In the article Working Seamlessly across the globe by William Kimberley, the
author talks about how the automotive industry aims to use PLM solutions. Companies aim to
simulate products virtually in 3D from conception to maintenance across the extended
enterprise using different PLM components. While using the offerings of Dassault Systemes
products mainly primarily Catia, Delmia and Enovia; the author examines how automotive
companies plan on using these products capabilities. The capabilities of these tools can be
described as the following:
! Catia design purposes
! Delmia manufacturing processes
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! Enovia and Smarteam Resource management

Delmia enables the development activities from an early stage to completion of the
design process to be validated in a 3D virtual environment. Whilst a design engineer is
designing a component, the engineer has the opportunity to consider the manufacturability of
the component. The engineer can define the manufacturing processes and simulate the
manufacturing environment virtually during the design stage. Interoperability between
components and manufacturing process can be assessed at an early stage, thus reducing the
possibility of errors occurring when the product is in actual production. These 3D simulations
can also be made into instruction booklets that will enable quicker learning on the shop floor.
The shop floor staff can understand their tasks through these instruction booklets and this
better understanding can lead to reduction in training periods.

Another example of how PLM components help engineers work can be modern PDM
systems. In the article Maserati back in the race by Brian Davis, the author describes how
PLM solutions helped Maserati to rebuild its name for high-performance vehicles and thus
far played a key role in racing car development programme. Since the racing car is in constant
evolution, all 250 members involved in this small project needed access to the product data.
The constant evolution also meant that every change made to a component from each phase to
phase or race to race needed to be tracked. Therefore a specific component of the PLM
solution was implemented to manage the entire lifecycle of each part and therefore the team
could create different configurations based on their needs. The team eventually developed 26
different racing models based on the data in the PDM system. This was possible because of
the ability to access component evolution data.

Maserati were also able to utilise the virtual product development facilities to reduce
the time needed for testing and production which could have been lengthy due to the high
number of product evolutions. Additional data such as performance data was added to each
part number and the evolution. The above examples are suitable to highlight flexibility of
PLM systems and their components in meeting the requirements of the automotive industry.
PLM systems appear to have the ability to deliver the information stored within the PDM
systems effectively to the users. Future challenges may lie in making real time information
available in collaborative environments.
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2.6.1. Aerospace companies are using PLM to achieve the following:

From the early 90s aerospace leaders such as Boeing have used extensively to
achieve their goals. For the Boeing 777 project, through the use of Catia V4, the engineering
team were able to avoid physical mock ups therefore reduce cost and time by modelling the
777s parts as 3D solids and simulating the geometry on a computer. (Williams, 2004) In the
same project, many goals such as reducing number of changes, errors and reworks were
achieved and that confidence has allowed the aerospace industry to push the boundaries of
how new technology can be used. In the same article by Arnie Williams, the author explains
how Boeing plans to use technology to achieve more ambitious results in current projects. For
the 7E7 project, the company aims to model the full behaviour of an aircraft throughout its
lifecycle meaning all stages of the lifecycle including operations and maintenance. Boeing
now does less assembly work than before. With design and supply partners based all over the
world and all over the United States. Similar to the challenges that Airbus has faced since
early on. Boeing has chosen to create its own series of protocols and systems called the
Global Collaborative Environment that are based around the foundations of PLM. All its
partners will now work in a standardised manner and follow Boeings protocols for everyday
working, sharing and protecting vital data. With all this integration knowledge sharing
capability within PLM will be exploited so that, experiences gained within this project can be
reused in future projects. Airbus faces similar problems and has chosen to take the internet
centric route to connect with its partners. (Williams 2005)

In the aerospace industry, simply because of the size of the product equals more
sophistication, number of parts and therefore high number of suppliers/collaborators. Virtual
product management has seen a great deal of interest as it enables effective knowledge
sharing with suppliers and design partners. Simple activities such as sending data over the
internet can reduce time spent on communication and costs if medium of data exchange is
through a physical entity. A large firm; often the OEM can host the bulk of the PLM
applications, allow suppliers and small supply chain partners to view their data via the portal.
This means small suppliers and design partners do not have to incur the expenses of design
software. The supplier would be in a position to product definition data blueprints used in
design and manufacturing and thus allow greater knowledge on the assembly process. The
OEMs internal processes are more visible than before to design partners. However, the
author concludes that ERP supported internet technologies are in the best position to
Page 32
maximise these capabilities. Other components need to be integrated to the ERP system that
will host the internet portal. The following diagram can give a better indication of the role
played by the various pieces of technology. In figure 4, PLM tools are referred to as
Collaborative Innovation Software. (Laframboise and Reyes, 2003)

Figure 4 Factors and outcomes of collaborative design. (Laframboise and Reyes, 2003)

2.6.2. Summary of Aerospace
The literature review suggests that the aerospace industry is slightly more ahead of the
automotive industry and this can be attributed to the product and thus the challenges. There
also appears to be a great deal of emphasis on collaborative work and that has lead to the
numerous major organisations using standard IT systems to build their own collaborative
processes, practices and protocols. Communication has been cited as a major reason for errors
occurring and thus leading to large number of changes and product costs. So, major emphasis
has been placed on ensuring that suppliers and design partners have high degree of visibility
of the product data. (Rupp, 2004)

2.7. The research gap

This extensive literature review with just over 50 references has given a good
foundation for conducting the study. It was however not possible to find a group or extensive
set of up-to-date requirements for the automotive industry. Numerous research articles and
journal papers have cited positive examples of PLM implementations, but achieved benefits
has been hard to come across. The achieved benefits of organisations over the past 6 years are
not documented. Many books claim that PLM can theoretically offer advantages, but can it
really in industry? Can it face the challenges that industry has to offer and still provide
advantages?
Page 33

PLM is still evolving to meet industry requirements. This study will provide an upto
date collection of industry requirements that PLM vendors, solutions providers will both find
useful.

2.8. Summary

The literature review has concluded that PLM is very important to industry. It is
capable of evolving and adapting to the needs of industrial requirements. There is a great deal
of confidence in the benefits it can offer and its strengths as a tool for collaboration. PLM is a
collection of smaller components so it is made of interoperability in the right conditions. It
can also combine with systems such as ERP or with smaller bespoke systems. Solutions are
generally developed so that it can be applied in any industry.

The following chapter will explore the research objectives further and methodology
for achieving the goals of this study.

Chapter 3: Research Objectives and Methodology
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3. Research Objectives and Methodology

3.1. Research Aims:

The study aims to document The benefits of PLM and Industry Requirements of
PLM functionality - two sets of data that are currently not available to the industry. The
industry requirements of PLM in the new product development phase need to be identified
and there will be a particular focus on extended enterprise collaboration functionality. PLM as
a whole is in an evolutionary phase and therefore once the industrial requirements are
identified, they can be incorporated in the future. Figure 5 shows a diagrammatic view of
PLM. These five functions will be studied and their requirements for industry identified.

In heavy industries such as automotive aerospace, organisations have been working
collaboratively with their respective extended enterprises for decades now, but with the
processes, practices and systems in place currently, their challenges and requirements need to
be identified. With greater pressure and dependence on systems in place to ensure that
collaborative activities can take place effectively, this area needs to be scrutinised and to
create the supporting requirements.

The benefits of PLM achieved by companies in the automotive industry will be
identified and documented. PLM has been viewed as a complete package (under one
umbrella) only over the past 6 to 8 years. Disparate systems have been integrated or in some
cases new integrated systems installed over the past 6 to 8 years according to the PLM school
of thought and therefore the study will aim to identify the benefits that organisations have
achieved since the period that PLM as a concept became well established and understood.

Figure 5 IBM claims that PLM integrates these five functions
Page 36
3.2. Research Objectives:
Therefore, to summarise the research objectives for this study are:
To perform an in-depth study to understand key issues related to PLM in an
industrial environment.
Further, investigate how PLM impacts innovation in the automotive sector
between OEMs and tier one suppliers, and their associated requirements whilst
paying particular attention to extended enterprise collaboration.
To conduct a survey within the industry to understand the expected benefits of
PLM solutions.
3.3. Scope and other key issues for the objectives:
It is important to set the boundaries of the research objectives as the issues that this
study aims to deal have very large scope. Some of the boundaries are applicable to all three
research objectives whilst others are more specific to each individual objective.

Although PLM is widely used in various industry sectors ranging from automotive to
construction and ship building, this study will focus exclusively on automotive. The reasons
for this are many. As mentioned earlier, automotive and aerospace are the sectors that are
using new PLM technologies earlier than other industries therefore it only makes sense that
one of these two industries are studied as they have had the opportunity over time to gain
experience and achieve benefits. In particular, the Benefits of PLM study conducted in
Germany and Austria involved exclusively participants from the automotive sector, so in
order to maintain the consistency it would be sensible to conduct the study in the UK only in
the automotive sector.

Given the time available, the number of participants in the study cannot exceed 10 to
15. From an early stage, it is important that this ambition is declared and pursued. The study
would have strong validity if it had at-least 10 to 15 participants who maybe OEMs or Tier 1
and Tier 2 suppliers. The type of OEMs such as premium automobiles or commercial vehicles
will not be dictated as all OEMs, despite the product they produce have similar
challenges/requirements.

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The manner in which the study is conducted in influences the final outcome or
achievable results. Due to the lack of time and sticking to the methodology practiced in the
previous study (Germany and Austria 2004 Benefits of PLM study), the chosen platform on
which the study will be conducted is interview-based survey. The experience of the staff who
are interviewed will return their opinions in identifying success factors etc. The respondents
will answer by checking with internal documents to return facts and figures, giving personal
opinions on the benefits their organisation has achieved. No processes or actual
documentation will be studied in any great depth order to identify the actual benefits achieved
by this author. In the ideal scenario where the constraints are at their minimum, studying
processes and documented facts would be the best way to identify the benefits achieved by
each organisation. When trying to capture the industry requirements for extended enterprise
collaboration, the opinions of the interviewees will be used to understand the challenges the
industry faces.

For confidentiality reasons, no participants will be named. The German and Austrian
study will be a basis for methodology; however the results will not be combined.

3.4. Research Deliverables:

1. Interviews in Industry

Deliver report titled Industry requirements and the benefits of PLM that contains chapters
on:
An in-depth study to understand the key requirements of PLM in the automotive
industry.
The challenges and requirements for PLM functionality in the automotive industry,
including extended enterprise collaboration supported by Literature Review.
Benefits of PLM study in the UK

2. Research thesis

The resulting findings will be presented in the thesis which will be submitted on 6
th

September 2006.

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3. Conference/journal paper

A conference/journal paper will highlight the outcomes of this study in further detail.
This will be included in the appendix of the thesis.

3.5. Methodology/Process:

The source of information to create the foundations for achieving the set objectives
will be derived from extensive literature review, previous documentation, books and most
importantly the participants of the study. Knowledge will be pooled through the study of
books, journal and conference papers, and magazine articles. At least 50 to 60 citations will
be made on the various components of this study on which the next level of work will be
undertaken.

The methodology in which the industry will be engaged to extract the required
objectives is one for debate. But the objectives, when mixed with the above mentioned
boundaries and limitations, its quite clear that fewer options remain with the strongest being
the use of structured interviews. Whilst it may seem obvious that the questionnaire from the
previous study should be carried over into this study, it would need some revision, application
of lessons learnt, addition of fresh questions to pin point the industrys requirements for
extended enterprise collaboration.

The length of the questionnaire must be maintained and if possible shortened to ensure
that the participants dont feel overwhelmed with the time and effort required to participate.
Using lessons learned documentation and consulting with the persons who previously
conducted the study, the questions that did not generate useful results or caused problems can
be either modified or removed. Using extensive literature review, personal experience,
consultations with sponsor consultants who are involved in engaging client problems on a
regular basis, a sound set of additional questions can be derived and inserted into the
questionnaire to investigate the problem areas and industry requirements for the extended
enterprise collaboration functionality.

Significant number of participants will be signed up through the sponsor IBM. A
leaflet to advertise the study [see appendix], along the reasons and benefits that participants
Page 39
can expect to gain will be sent to participants via the sponsors consultants. The participants
can expect to receive the results in two forms at the end of the study.
! The final report which will be submitted to the sponsor, will also be presented to each
of the participants with some modifications. The participants can expect to receive the
reports with their individual results highlighted against the other participants so that an
indication of each companys performance can be benchmarked in relation to other
companies.
! Additionally through the form of a workshop in which sponsors consultants will work
with the participants to use the results and identify the pain points and create a
roadmap for improvement.

A Gantt chart, created during the early stages of the thesis will be used to track the
activities completed and if the deadlines are met. The Gantt chart will be made available to
parties such as the sponsor, the supervisor and in meetings such as review meetings.

Once the questionnaire has been created a pilot study will be conducted to simulate the
live environment.

3.6. Questionnaire Development

Using questionnaires to collect information can be very effective and can lead to
various types of results. The nature of the medium, questionnaire, allows customisation to the
requirements. Structuring the questionnaire is one challenge, but the other is also to ensure
that its presented to the appropriate candidates in the right manner to ensure that the needed
results are collected. Questionnaires can be sent out by mail, email, or filled up in the form of
telephone interviews and face to face interviews. Each of these methodologies meet different
requirements and produce varying degrees of results.

To ensure accurate results are derived, the number of participants was limited to
between 10 and 15. If there were greater number of participants then the method of
conducting the survey may have been via email or sending the questionnaires through the post
given the time constraints. So to conclude personal interviews were considered to be the best
medium through which accurate results could be derived. Telephone interviews were
considered an alternative in the event of further severe time or any other restrictions. The
Page 40
language used for certain tasks in each of the participating companies often differs and
therefore some questions in the questionnaire may need explanation/clarification. Most
questions in the questionnaire have brief notes and/or examples. The answers for each
question is not always in a structured manner, therefore the interviewer would be in a position
take make notes using his/her judgement of the participant.

3.6.1. Interview-based Survey:
The personal interview process was also used by the sponsor to engage the participant
if they were a client. Not only is the study a useful way for the sponsor to identify benefits of
PLM, but also to pin point their challenges across the board in a participant. Since the study
focuses across the entire PLM spectrum, challenges from all different areas of everyday
operational activities can be raised. Using a process, these challenges can be accurately
mapped when undertaking further workshops with the client. Therefore, the study also
requires a personal touch. Tacit knowledge needs to be captured and a relationship created in
order to build trust.

Interview-based surveys typically flow according to the following interview schedule:
! What the interviewer says by way of introduction;
! Introductions to particular questions, or groups of questions;
! The questions (word for word);
! The range or set of possible answers (sometimes referred to as prompts);
! Response codes;
! Possible skips in sequence (e.g. where a yes answer is followed by a particular
question, a no answer by a skip to a different question);
! Closing comments;
! Reminders to the interviewer about procedure.
(Colin Robinson, 1993)
3.6.2. The questionnaire
Literature has shown that conducting surveys can have great deal of benefit only when
they contain standardised questions. Asking wide range of open-ended questions in an attempt
identify the benefits of PLM can lead to poor results. There can be opportunities in which the
participants can highlight areas in which they have benefited and has not been covered by the
questionnaire. BUT, the questionnaire has been developed in such a manner that it focuses on
Page 41
the areas that PLM is supposed to benefit users in. For example, the number of design
changes over a product lifecycle at a participants organisation can be logged as this is an area
in which PLM is supposed to benefit the users. So to summarise standardising the
questionnaire and extracting specific information should lead to useful results.

Researcher
specifies:
- subject of question
- analytic use of
question
- respondents task
Interviewer
administers
questions
Respondent
comprehends
question (interprets
subject and task)
Respondent
recalls
information,
forms judgement
Respondent
gives
answer
Interviewer
records
answer
Researcher
analyses
response
Interviewer/
coder enters
data into data
set
Researcher/
analyst
Interviewer
Respondent

Figure 6 Model of the survey data collection process (source: Czaja and Blair (1996))

Figure 6 shows a model formed by Czaja and Blair (1996) to show where the
questionnaire fits in the overall process of the study of by the researcher. The tasks typically
undertaken by the analyst and the respondent are represented. A respondent has to interpret
the question, recall information and form a judgement to give an answer (Colin Robinson,
1993). Literature has stressed the importance of using multiple questions in order to find
answers to complex issues; not to overload one question but to break it up into sections.

3.6.3. The types of questions

Given that the questionnaire is structured, certain types of information are being
extracted using certain methods. The questionnaire aims to extract from participants variety of
data and therefore the types of questions will have to vary according to the needs of the
objective. Given the objectives, the types of questions that the questionnaire features is given
below:

Quantitative questions: These questions seek factual information such as number of
employees or revenues earned in a certain year.
Example:
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Number of employees

To identify the importance of some factors, participants are asked to rank factors using
a scale of 0 to 5. Typically they would say: Please evaluate each sub-item between 0
and 5. The reference scale (e.g. 0 = not important to 5= very important) is
specified for each question.
Example:

Importance of PLM

Percentage questions: Here the participants are asked to estimate the relative
percentage of a total number or the distribution of given sub-items.
Example (percentage):

Market share

Example (distribution):

Product revenue

Services revenue

" 100%

Multiple choices: There are two possible ways of answering the question depending
on what is sought. Participants are requested to tick only one option or some cases
make multiple responses. There will be a note to tell the participant what I sought.
Example (only one option possible):

OEM

supplier

Example (multiple responses possible):

PDM

ERP

X
X
X
60 %
40 %
15 %
4
12.000
Page 43
Some multiple questions can be of matrix in nature to understand in which year the
chosen answer applies. Although majority of the questions would focus on the participants
current status (2006), information on the past (2002) and the future (2010) can be sought.
Based on this information; long-term experiences, evolutions and trends will be extracted.

3.6.4. Contents of the questionnaire
Below is a list of chapters with a brief description on the objectives of each of the
chapters:
! Enterprise Information: A profile of the participants products and financial
performance will be created. This section is vital in creating a small window into the
participants world and where possible identifying the influence of benefits of PLM on
the participants products and over all performance.
! Status of PLM implementation: To understand the participants functionality.
! Status of PLM integration: To understand how this functionality is integrated across
the organisation.
! Business performance and PLM benefits: Having established which PLM
components exist in the organisation, this section aims to identify the benefits that
organisations have achieved. A crucial section in documenting the benefits of PLM.
! PLM implementation strategy: This section tries to extract information on how IT
projects in the participants organisation would be implemented. So the participants
recent experience in PLM and approach to PLM can be extracted.

The questionnaire that was used in the 2004 study had a total of 23 pages. This was
revised and the updated questionnaire had content for upto 24 pages [see appendix].
The section on collaboration in chapter 3 was expanded significantly from the
previous study.
3.6.5. Pilot Study
Approval for the questionnaire came from the feedback of the sponsors PLM team
and the individual who was responsible for the 2004 study. Having received their approval, it
only made sense that a pilot study should be conducted with the assistance of an individual
who had a great deal of experience in the automotive industry. There was one particular
individual in the sponsors team who had worked in the automotive industry for over 30
years. An environment similar to that of a real personal interview with an imaginary
Page 44
participant was created. This meant going through the starter kit [see appendix] which
would introduce the participants to the study before beginning the actual interview based on
the questionnaire. The pilot study assisted in the correction of grammatical errors,
modification of questions so that the relevant point was bought to the fore and identification
of questions which may need further explanations. It took over 3 hours to complete the
questionnaire and the feedback given in this session was invaluable.

3.6.6. Process for analysing the data

To maintain consistency, the same practices that were used in the 2004 study will be
applied when analysing the results of this study. Once the data has been collected there are
few steps that need to be followed in order to produce a report that can present the trends, best
practices, linkages and the pain points.

Questionnaire
(Raw Data)
IBM processes
SPSS data
(UK)
SPSS data
(combined)
Client reports

Figure 7 Process of analysing the results and producing the deliverables (client reports)

The key to analysing results is the IBM process document that has been made
available in the form of an excel spreadsheet. It can be visualised as a black-box that produces
a set of results or outputs which need to be leveraged for data mining and results analysis. The
IBM process evaluates each of the answers given by the participants. The possible answers in
the case of the multiple choice questions is already in the process sheet and a value has been
assigned for each possible answer. Each question is part of a subchapter that has its own value
and further, each of the five chapters have a value. To summarise, the process sheet absorbs
choices made by the participant and creates two final values. The values represent the degree
of functionality and integration that the participant has. The values can be used to present the
participant on a graph such as that in figure 8.
Enter into Excel
Spreadsheet
Create
Produce
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Level of integration
D
e
g
r
e
e

o
f

a
p
p
l
i
c
a
t
i
o
n

Figure 8 The process sheet produces an X and Y value representing the degree of application and level of
integration. The resulting point on the graph defines the level of PLM maturity of the participant.

The process sheet is essentially confidential and is used as a foundation for many
studies conducted by the sponsor. No documentation on how the process, the values for each
question is available.

The transfer of data from the questionnaires to the process sheet to produce the two
values representing degree of application and level of integration is the first step of many. But
this is the foundation of the remaining analysis that the study requires.

An SPSS document was created to contain the results of the UK study. During the
creation of the client report, the questions that were previously existed from the 2004 study,
the SPSS document was very useful. However, for the new questions on Extended Enterprise,
a manual process will be used for studying the trends. The SPSS document required no
change. Questions that were not put to the UK participants were ignored with a . Rather than
a value of 0 to ensure that the final result for that participant was not greatly affected.

The SPSS document took on board the sum of the two final values produced by the
process sheet (degree of application and level of integration). This coupled with manual data
entry of all the results from the questionnaire were the basis on which trends were created.
Syntax files written for the 2004 study was created to extract the data out of the SPSS files.
3.6.7. Summary

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To summarise, a combination of processes from the 2004 study and further literature
review has equipped the author to analyse and present the findings of this study. Keeping in
mind the use of SPSS files for future surveys that the sponsor will conduct across Europe, the
authenticity of the SPSS file had to be checked.

3.7. Participant profiles

Company A:
Company A premium car maker that employs approximately 500 people of whom 65 are in
product development. With revenues of approximately 140 million the company is very much
a growth stage. Although it has a small product range, being a premium car maker the
products are naturally sophisticated. Typically for a premium car maker new technology,
innovation and uniqueness is what this organisation strives for.

Company B:
A multinational lower and mid range car manufacturer with a design centres dispersed
globally. This participant represented their UK design operations and provided data on
development primarily. Although primarily an R&D centre, it boasts annual budget of approx
200million and employees 925 people in development. Sharing and managing data for their
many product ranges across this large organisation is their primary concern.

Company C:
Company C is another large OEM with a presence in major international markets. With an
assembly line on site, this participant employees 8000 people of whom approximately 4000
sit in product development. Producer of lower range premium automobiles at a mass
production level, it has a small portfolio of products.

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Company D:
This participant is a lower premium car manufacturer which does not mass produce cars. This
organisation has a small product portfolio with a relatively unsophisticated product. The
uniqueness of this organisation is in its engineering capability and the manner in which this
expertise is used. The expertise is not only applied to their products but also to other partners
and therefore product data management and sharing is very important to this organisation.
The participant operates from one site only but has remote working needs as they visit
extended enterprises as part of their services.

Company E:
The lone supplier in this study, is a manufacturer of steering columns. The participant has a
presence in numerous overseas markets and has sister companies across the UK. However, it
is independent of the other companies based in the UK and only wishes to be integrated with
its head quarters based overseas. The product range varies from client to client and so does
the working practices. The products are customised for each of the clients, however a great
deal of importance is focused on cost savings rather than technological leadership as their
clients are lower and mid range mass producing OEMs.

Company F:
A premium car manufacturer that has a single R&D centre but multiple production centres
within the UK. This participant is heavily influenced by the parent company and naturally
seeks greater integration to leverage the knowledge that could be available. Being a premium
car manufacturer, engineering and technological leadership is of great importance. Each car
can be unique and therefore the complexity of data handling is higher.

Company G:
This participant is also a premium car manufacturer with a similar profile to that of company
F. This participant has a larger product range supported by two different systems making data
handling and integration an issue. It has a single site R&D centre with production spread over
two different geographic locations. Technology leadership and engineering innovation is of
great importance to this participant.

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3.7.1. Summary of participants:

The 7 participant companies represent a variety of needs, practices and product portfolios.
The OEMs produce automobiles that are lower, middle, lower premium and truly premium
are truly diverse. For some of the participants, technological leadership is of great importance
to maintain market share and growth whilst for others cost savings and quality is the highest
priority. With the constraints of time and period of year it was only possible to have one
supplier.

However this supplier shares the same characteristics as many suppliers in the
automotive industry. It has headquarters overseas and deals with multiple clients
simultaneously. Based on a core set of products, they have to be customised to meet the
requirements of the individual client and delivered in the fashion that the client chooses. This
participant should give an important insight into the challenges facing suppliers.

Figure 9 shows where the different participants sit on the PLM maturity map.

Figure 9 The seven UK participants on the PLM maturity map. 3 Advanced PLM users and 4 PLM
stragglers

PLM champions
PLM stragglers
advanced PLM users
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3.8. Summary

To summarise, this study will primarily be an inductive one as it involves the use of a
questionnaire and personal interviews with participants representatives. These results will
then be analysed using the sponsors quantitative methods to produce the base on which
further quantitative analysis will be conducted (data mining) to identify trends. The data
mining trends will naturally have to be related to logic as to why these trends were detected
and therefore documented.

Chapter 4: In depth analysis of PLM industry
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4. In depth analysis of PLM industry

In order to understand the objectives of the task at hand and the issues that the PLM
industry currently faces, an in-depth analysis was conducted with the help of one of the
participants company G. To really appreciate the current state of the industry, and to focus
on the value that the questions are aiming to capture, this detailed discussion and analysis of
the participant will allow further knowledge build up. When conducting the survey with
future participants, their challenges, overall performance, and objectives can be better
understood after this in-depth analysis.

To achieve this task, the topics and issues that the questionnaire aims to capture are
put forward and discussed with company G. This should reveal their current status and what
their objectives are. There are many methods for achieving a goal and certainly, an open
discussion will suggest the different possibilities and where possible, the motivation behind
the different objectives can be revealed.
4.1. Product Spectrum

1.4-1
Please estimate the share of parts/subassemblies used in a new
development.
State the share of parts/subassemblies for each of the following options.

New

Slightly modified

Reuse of standardised old parts/subassemblies

" 100%

Figure 10 Component reuse in development

50%
20%
30%
50%
20%
30%
already available/standardised parts
new parts
slightly modified parts
already available/standardised parts
new parts new parts
slightly modified parts slightly modified parts

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Company G has produced more new parts than they would normally, for a new
product development programme. Automotive companies of all nature OEMs and suppliers
(component manufacturers) are aiming to reduce the amount of work input into a new
programme, whilst still achieving innovation, unique trend setting products, which customers
would buy. In the case of company G, although 50% of the components come from
standardised parts or slightly modified parts, they do not consider it, very high. They are
unaware of the optimum balance; however they are seeking to find the balance between low
number of new parts and high amounts of innovation. The new parts percentage of 50 is likely
to decrease in future programmes, as the new parts can be carried over or re-used in these
future programmes.

4.2. PLM Strategy
4.2.1. Companys approach to PLM strategy

2.2-1 Do you have a documented and communicated corporate PLM strategy?
Yes No

Documented corporate PLM strategy

If yes: Please state the time horizon of the strategy (year):

Questions 2.2-1 and 2.2-2 are important in determining the organisations approach to
PLM. PLM tools or components of it cannot be implemented with a stand alone approach
within one particular department. For it to be considered a PLM tool and achieve the
capabilities of a PLM tool, it ought to be integrated into the remainder of the company. Often,
departments implement PLM solutions purely within their own function leading to a silo type
scenario where data is stored in one area and benefits this area only. The reason for emphasis
of this point is to highlight the fact that PLM is a company issue. It affects all departments
and therefore it is vital for any strategy of PLM, to consider the company/organisation as a
whole entity. With this approach being well documented, integration can be ensured and
therefore the process evolution can take place from an early stage.

Furthermore, to have a company wide, well documented and effectively
communicated corporate PLM strategy, it is necessary for the Top Management (TM) to
support PLM. PLM affects the organisation in terms of costs, new product development

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programmes and company wide IT and processes. Keeping this in mind, staff at TM is the
entities that are able to consult their departments, thus helping create and support a strategy
that benefits all organisations. Company G do not have a documented corporate strategy and
their TM support PLM strategies, but allows their project teams to make decisions. The TM is
not heavily involved and project teams cite this as a major disadvantage.
4.2.2. External influence on the corporate PLM strategy

2.2-3
Who influences your corporate PLM strategy?
Please select the three most influential parties and briefly describe their influence
(positive and/or negative).

OEMs/suppliers

External service
providers

Development partners

Competition

Customers

Software vendors

The type of PLM strategy chosen, can be influenced by various factors such as
product requirement, internal expertise etc. More so, there are some external entities that
usually play a major role in influencing the PLM strategy of an organisation. In company Gs
terms they chose the following:
o Development partners have a positive impact on PLM strategy. These partners enable
company G to realise which product designs are feasible and can ensure faster market
accomplishment. Development partners play a key role in the new product
development programme and therefore, the PLM strategy is likely to be influenced by
this group.
o Competition is said to have a negative impact. Whilst, competition enables company
G to develop products very quick, it leads to various teething problems. In the anxiety
of trying to compete with competitors, products are developed without proper tests
being conducted and the initial process is not adhered to. Company G tries to develop
products quicker than they can, leading to lower quality products and customer
dissatisfaction.

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o Customers have a positive impact. Customers define the product that company G
produces. The rate of change and pressure for innovation encourages them to invest in
high technology specifications a drive to achieve customer satisfaction.

Whilst these are the three main options chosen by this participant, it is likely that they
would seek assistance from expertise within the organisation or external. Software vendors
can play a major role in some organisations.
4.2.3. Supplier selection policy

2.2-4
Do you select partners/suppliers in consideration of their PLM strategy?
0 (PLM strategy is not important) ! 5 (PLM strategy is a critical criteria)
2002 2006 2010

PLM as decision criteria for partner/supplier selection

Company G in 2002 did not consider PLM strategy to be very important. No emphasis
was placed on this issue, but with experience, the objectives have been refined by the type of
relationship they wish to have with their suppliers/partners. Currently, they maintain sharing
designs as quickly as possible with design partners. By 2010 though, they aim at increasing
level of integration to achieve close to real time communication.

Engineers would like their suppliers to be able to integrate and work in a manner such
that, no time is lost in communicating, seeking information etc.

4.3. PLM related management methods
4.3.1. Use of Design for X methods
2.3-1
Have you implemented Design for X methods?
(early consideration of lifecycle aspects in the design process)
Multiple answers are possible.
2002 2006 2010

Design for disassembly

Design for manufacturing

Design for assembly

0 3 4
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Design for service

Design for quality

Other:

Company Gs results are shown in the above question. These tools are used to support
the interdisciplinary teams in product development. Design for X methods as they are
commonly known, are not absolutely necessary, but with the interdisciplinary teams they can
add significant value as each Design for X involves more than one engineering function.
Engineers in the interdisciplinary teams can coordinate and maximise the value of the
Design for X method, they have available. Company G is keen to adopt design for
disassembly and design for manufacturing. Design for manufacturing will take them closer to
achieving digital factory. Data sharing and over all visibility of the manufacturing process
downstream should ensure that engineers design the products with more relevant data
available and therefore have lower number of design concerns at latter stages.

Design for disassembly has become important because of the end of life regulatory
policies that are coming into effect in the upcoming years.

4.3.2. Use of Innovative IT product development methods

2.3-2
Which innovative IT product development methods does your enterprise
have in use?

Parametric geometry modelling

Behaviour modelling (kinematics, dynamics)

Cross discipline modelling (e.g. mechatronics or E&E)

Digital product master for virtual product creation

Configured DMU for reviews and collision checking

Digital test bench for virtual prototyping

Design in context

Other:

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Company G does not use parametric geometry modelling and digital test bench for
virtual prototyping. Company G are very keen on maximising the use of these innovative
tools and solutions. Having these facilities available to them is a great advantage but ensuring
that processes are adhered to and in general, the engineers maximise the value of these
solutions is a key priority.

A digital test bench can be used by engineering for testing and analysing virtual
prototypes. It is considered to be more important than the parametric geometry modelling.
With the goal of creating a product in a complete virtual environment, a tool such as digital
engineering test bench is very valuable to the organisation.

4.4. PLM system architecture
4.4.1. Main Operational IT systems

2.4-1 Please state the number of main operational IT systems (e.g. CAD systems)
and integrated product data management systems (e.g. PDM systems) used
for product development purposes at your company.
2002 2006 2010

Operational IT systems

Product data management systems

Company G has gone from 1 CAD system in 2002 to having 2 in 2006 and expects to
have the same two in 2010. This is because migration from one CAD version to another takes
place in a phased manner. Further, the CAD system that is being phased out is likely to be
made available, albeit with lower number of licenses until the products that it supported have
reached the end of their production life. It is generally considered to be healthy that a minimal
number of CAD systems are used by an organisation. The number of product data
management systems is often influenced by the number of CAD systems. At company G, they
currently have two because of the newly introduced CAD system; however there will be one
PDM system that will support all engineering data by 2010.

The range of use and type of integrated data management systems is also queried.
Currently, there exists a division and enterprise wide PDM and CAD data management
1 2 1
1 2 2
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systems. CAD data management integration into the corporate group has been achieved this
year (2006). This is important because it allows the availability of CAD and PDM data further
across the division or enterprise. CAD data management integration into the corporate group
is sought as it allows easier sharing of parts. Parts sharing can be achieved through other
methods, but the process is made easier.

4.4.2. Information backbone systems
2.4-2 How many engineering information backbone systems do you use for the
unification and distribution of product information?
2002 2006 2010

Number of information backbone systems

Please state the leading product information system in your enterprise. (Please
tick only one option per year.)
2002 2006 2010

No leading system, many different systems are in use

Document management system

PDM system

ERP system

Enterprise Information portal

Other:

Company G have cited reference to parent company policies regarding the number of
information backbone systems they currently have in place. Information backbone systems
are those that support engineering in operations. Systems such as change management and
project tracking fall under this category. Having such a large number of backbone systems has
made everyday operations, rather difficult. Because of the complexity and the number of
systems in place, not all staff is involved in using these systems. They are used by individuals
in certain functional positions. Future integration across into non engineering areas is
considered difficult and a single system would be preferred to replace as many existing
information backbone systems as possible. With changes taking place in the parent
organisation, it is likely that the number of systems will decrease to 12.

12 25 12
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Currently, no leading product information system is used by company G. Many
different systems act as a product information system. The goal is to create a single PDM
system as the leading product information system by 2010. This requires considerable
consolidation and migration work into the single PDM system.

4.4.3. PLM IT architecture

2.4-3
Please describe your PLM IT architecture.
Tick the option that best describes your current (2006) and aspired (2010)
architectural solution.
2006 2010
Leading/serving system:

One major leading system (for large part of functions and data)

PDM as hub*

Integrated ERP and PDM as hub*

ERP as hub*

Different systems with multiple interfaces between systems involved

Other:

*The solution serves as the central system (hub) providing
interfaces to all other systems (spoke).

The PLM IT architecture of company G is not very strong. It is believed in the
industry that, PDM systems are the base from which PLM solutions are created. The current
solution in company G is one that they are keen to move away from. A collection of systems
that have interfaces between each other is what acts as the basis for a company wide PLM
architecture. It is hoped by 2010, one major leading system will act as the PLM IT
architecture.

Currently there is very limited web-based access to the system within the organization.
Complete web based system architecture can allow easy integration with suppliers for certain
non-engineering activities. However, company G is aiming to have a core system with
partial web-based access to functions by 2010.

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4.4.4. Feedback for suppliers

2.4-5
If you are an OEM, how is the warranty data feedback into the supplier
community?

During Lessons Learnt Programme

Periodically

Live access to OEMs warranty DB

Other:

Although this question sought an answer regarding the manner in which warranty data
is feedback into the supplier community, it raised a number of other issues regarding the
lessons learnt programmes run by the organisation. Suppliers are currently notified
periodically of their components performance. Company Gs lessons learnt programme
currently does not include suppliers. Discussions raised issues on how the lessons learnt
during development programme can be feedback effectively and ensured that they are not
repeated during future programmes. Legal implications of this lessons learnt information was
also considered.

4.4.5. PDM functions currently in use

2.5-1
In which product lifecycle phases are PDM functions continuously available
for the users?
Please tick the option if the function is available.

Core PDM functions
Document/data
management

Product structure
and variant mgmt.

Configuration
management

Classification mgmt.
and retrieval

Release and
change mgmt.

Delivery
Develop-
ment
Procure-
ment
Pro-
duction
Service/
aftersales
Research/
Marketing

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Project
Management

This question is trying to identify the spread across the organisation that PDM
functions are available. Some departments have the mentioned functions available but, not
integrated with the PDM functions and therefore not integrated with the rest of the lifecycle.
Where they are integrated, they exist in the form of silos. Integration across the other areas of
the lifecycle has been minimal or only in key areas if product structure and variant
management was used as an example.

Extended PDM functions
Requirement
traceability mgmt.

Engineering
collaboration

Direct material
sourcing

Product portfolio
management

Decision support
and analysis

Digital factory

MRO

In the remainder of the question, that seeks PDM functions availability in terms of Extended
PDM functions, a similar result is visible. No function is available in more than 3 stages of
the lifecycle. Numerous functions, such as Requirement traceability management is available
in development, procurement and service/after sales. However, these systems are not
integrated with the PDM system and are therefore across the other stages of the lifecycle.
Company G does not handle Delivery as this is entirely handled on the part of the dealers;
therefore there is no PDM function integration in this area.
4.5. Engineering data controlled by PLM

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2.6-1 What kind of data is integrated in a common interdisciplinary data model or
data view?
2002 2006 2010

Mechanical design (e.g. CAD)

Electric & electronic (E&E)

Software

Non-technical data (e.g. costs)

Other:

The use of non-technical data is considered valuable during the early stages of the
development work as an integrated data on expenses allows estimating costs in product
development. Considering the cost impact at an early stage always helps an organisation to
understand further how their capital for a new programme will be handled. Further the
expenses can be integrated from the ERP systems as they usually tend to hold such data.

Increasing product complexity has been shown not to rise from complex mechanical
design but from software, electric & electronic. A combination of mechanical, electric &
electronic and software is known as mechatronics. In the near future, these three elements
would exist as part of mechatronics and therefore the data model will have to be able to
represent that information.

4.6. Status of PLM integration
4.6.1. PLM IT environment interfaces
3.1-1
In which way are engineering applications integrated into the IT
environment?
Please tick whether the application is integrated into the PLM, ERP or in both IT
environments.
Leave the option blank if you do not use the function in your enterprise.
PLM ERP

Requirements management

Project management

Information management

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BOM management

CAD

DMU

CAM

CAQ (quality)

Simulation/calculation

Testing/Prototyping

Visualization

Factory planning

Resource planning

Production planning

Other:

All the listed functions can be connected to either PLM or ERP for various reasons.
Integrating with the PLM environment enables virtual product creation, therefore tools such
as visualisation, simulation, CAD and DMU are likely to be integrated here. The integration
into ERP is for real product creation purposes. It can be said that the activities further down
from development, such as resource and production planning, information management (non
engineering related areas) are likely to be integrated into ERP systems. ERP systems are
traditionally available outside of engineering as they handle the companys other resource
management such as human resources, finance etc day to day running of the organisation is
supported via this system. Company G has integrated only BOM into both ERP and PLM
systems. Once the designs in the development BOM has been approved, they are then ready
to be used in manufacturing. Therefore the data in the BOM will be used in conjunction with
other ERP functions such as resource and production planning.

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4.6.2. Supplier introduction

3.1-2
What is the current process for integrating new partners (OEMs/Suppliers)
into your company in the context of systems integration?

Different OEMs work with their suppliers in different fashions, similarly their
approach for integrating a new supplier into their organisation can also vary. It is influenced
by company policy, processes and generally overall capabilities. It is widely acknowledged in
the industry that greater degree of integration would result in greater collaboration and
productivity. Therefore company G is aiming to achieve higher integration levels than it
currently can. It allows suppliers and other design partners to integrate with their CAD
environment. Efforts are underway to integrate with the design BOM, but due the systems
capability this is currently not possible. Peculiar security policies also do not allow for
integration via a leased line connection which would essentially mean greater bandwidth
and a common network sharing drive.

4.6.3. Integration of PDM and CAD systems

3.1-3
Please describe your integration of PDM and CAD systems.
State the number of CAD systems for the appropriate integration.
2006 2010

No direct link to PDM

Interface (link to CAD data base)

Integrated CAD/PDM data base

PDM functions integrated into CAD system

As seen earlier, in question 2.4-1, this question seeks to identify the integration
between the PDM and the CAD systems. Usually, the number of CAD systems and number of
PDM systems are related to one another but they dont always have to be integrated. In the
case of company G, there are currently two integrated CAD/PDM databases, but this is due to
evolve into one CAD system with integrated PDM functions. This option is believed to be the
ideal scenario and is feasible in the case of company G as they will have one main CAD
system, plus one system that would be in the phase out period.

1

2

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4.6.4. Non-technical integration
3.1-4
Do you integrate non-technical applications into the engineering
environment?
Please describe the kind of integration by using the following scale:
0 = No integration
1 = Communication
2 = Information exchange by interfaces
3 = Common database
4 = Integration of functionalities (EAI)
5 = Process integration

Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO)

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Customer Relations Management (CRM)

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Requirement Traceability Management (RTM)

Service & Support

Other:

Company G has achieved best case integration through the use of information
exchange by interfaces. The customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain
management applications (SCM) are integrated into the ERP systems. With integration of
non-technical applications into other engineering environments, the aim is to share
responsibilities across the companys different departments through the use of well defined
processes and roles in order to achieve optimisation. Whilst, this is the aim, it is not a major
priority at company G. It has no maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) capabilities at the
moment. MRO systems are used for handling plant and equipment maintenance. This is
something that company G aim to take on board soon because of the increasing complexity of
handling this area of operations. There are numerous standalone systems that support an
activity similar to MRO; however they can be optimised with greater integration and
consolidation into main system.
4.6.5. Effects of integration
3.1-5
What effects did integrating the above specified systems have?
Please state the 3 most important effects.

2
1

2
0
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Company G chose not to answer this question as it is considered too early to say and
also no measurements were taken. Further, the degree of integration is minimal at best
achieving integration through information exchange by interfaces.

4.7. PLM use along the product lifecycle
3.2-1
Please estimate necessary information available on access along the product
lifecycle.
State the 3 worst and 3 best cross-phase communications by indicating the phases
concerned and describing the possible cause (see example below).
unidirectional communication
bidirectional communication

3 worst communication across the product lifecycle
o Styling (Research & marketing) into development - unidirectional. During the pre-
development stage lots of work is done to create an image of the car; the concept is
explored and detailed. Unfortunately, this data does not flow into information in the
same manner in which the details are created. To explain further, the detailed
drawings are conceptualised using a tool known as Alias in collaboration with a CAD
tool. However, these drawings are not made available to development and therefore
development is forced to recreate them. This problem is believed to be more about
process management than technical capabilities.
o Development into procurement - unidirectional. There is poor notification of changes
made in development to other downstream activates, with the most problematic being
procurement. Changes are notified late and these lead to large costs for the
organisation as development of prototypes etc is not stopped or modified earlier.
Again this is an issue of process and effective use of IT to communicate the changes.
o Production to assembly (internal of production) bidirectional. Due to breakdown in
communication, production is sending components that have failed tolerance
management into assembly. This raises a quality issue, as these components havent
passed all the set tests of tolerance management.
3 best communication across the product lifecycle
Delivery
Develop-
ment
Procure-
ment
Pro-
duction
Service/
after sales
Research/
Marketing
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o Pilot Hall engineering going into manufacturing (internal of development)
unidirectional. High levels of feedback goes into the rest of engineering and the
manufacturing teams so that manufacturing needs are understood and changes made as
early as possible.
o Production to delivery unidirectional. Meeting customer demands and delivering on
targets. This is cited to company Gs work ethic and production capabilities but also to
understanding the customer requirements well.

4.8. Collaboration
4.8.1. Defining the extended enterprise
3.3-1
How would you define the term Extended Enterprise (EE) in the context of your
business? Please also list your Extended Enterprise entities?

Company Gs defines extended enterprise as an extension of business functionality
to augment their design capability. They consider the parent company, suppliers and external
design houses to be their EE entities. The external entities with which they share poor
integration can be defined as EE and this is the reason that the parent company is considered
to be an EE. With increasing amount of design work going overseas, they are seeking greater
new partner integration process and in terms of systems.

4.8.2. Level of collaboration
3.3-2
Please estimate the level of collaboration.
Describe the possible level by using the following scale:
0 = No co-operation
1 = Communication
2 = Predominantly paper based data exchange
3 = digital data exchange
4 = common project IT environment
5 = Process integration
2002 2006 2010

Partner

Supplier

Customer

Users from other PLC phases

2 2 2
3 2 1
2
1 1 1
2 3
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The best level of collaboration currently reached is with design partners and suppliers
through the use of a digital data exchange mechanism. It is claimed that the industry in
general is currently choosing web portals and online marketplaces to integrate with suppliers.
They are easy to setup and begin operations. High levels of collaboration with partners and
suppliers can lead to efficient cooperation. It is noticeable that with the other users of the
product lifecycle phases remains at predominantly paper based data exchange. This also
includes electronic paper based data exchange. The degree of collaboration cannot go greater
than communication in the terms of customer as they are the end users. Some organisations
do design work and consultancy for other organisations, so they would need greater
collaboration capabilities with their customers.

4.8.3. Methods for communication

3.3-3
What tools/technologies are in place to aid better communications with the
Extended Enterprise?

Virtual team rooms / Web Portals

Visiting engineer from Extended Enterprise

Standard data exchange (CD-ROM, tape, etc)

A 3
rd
party neutral exchange mechanism (e.g. Odette, Autoweb, etc).

A direct secure link to the OEM (e.g. leased line, etc)

Other:

Methods of communication have been of focus of late as it plays a major role in
achieving real time communication with the extended enterprise. Therefore, it has become
company policy in recent months to completely reduce standard data exchange through the
use of CD-ROMs, tapes and any other medium of storage that has to be sent via post.
Interestingly, it is the parent organisation policy not to use a direct secure link to connect with
extended enterprise partners. Company G aim to renegotiate this with the upcoming
collaboration projects with their parent organisation. It can allow tools and technologies that
create a virtual visiting engineer from the extended enterprise who works in a manner
similar to company Gs policies and practices.

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4.8.4. Project management solutions with the EE

3.3-4
To what extent does you Extended Enterprise solution include:
Multiple answers are possible. Company G chose none of the following

Document management

Change Requests

Change Notes

Concession Requests

Company G are currently using a manual process for handling all the above options.
It is a problem and tracking of change requests by extended enterprise has to be handled
separately and manually. There isnt much integration between company Gs concern system
and the basic database (excel) sheet used for extended enterprise systems. Company G place
importance on implementing systems to manage document management and change
management in general with their EE.

4.8.5. Challenges with regards to PLM and Extended Enterprise

3.3-5
Thinking in a PLM and EE context, what are your top pain points with the
current strategies you have in place to address the needs of PLM & EE?

o Software performance when using their virtual product management system remotely.
This system is one of two and is integrated with the parent organisation. This problem
exists despite the existence of large bandwidth for communications, so the issues are
with the systems handling remote operations.
o For company G, the speed at which they can seek approval from their parent
organisation is a matter of concern as the process is slow and bureaucratic. They are
unable to develop their own PLM strategies for EE collaboration. The parent company
is also very slow at introducing the new strategies
o Data for products that were developed before being taken over by the current parent
organisation are housed in legacy systems. The life of these legacy systems need to be
extended and the data migrated to new systems as the products are still being
produced. The components are being reused in other projects also, so it can be very
useful to make these systems more accessible.

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4.8.6. Issue resolution
3.3-6
What is your issue resolution process for design quality and how does that
take into account your Extended Enterprise?
Explanation: In terms of CAD drawing quality and meeting the specifications

EE are currently unable to raise concerns externally through electronic means. Design
reviews play a major role in issue resolution and negotiation. EE are able to upload their
drawings to a company G system to conduct live class testing. This is a method of allowing
the EE to constantly work according the design work of the surrounding components.

A highlighted problem here is, despite allowing the EE to conduct clash testing; they
are not notified of changes early. Within company G, there are internal processes requiring
engineers to notify surrounding component owners of changes that may affect them.
However, not all engineers adhere to this process internally, thus making communication with
the extended enterprise further challenging. EE also do not conduct clash testing for few days
at a time, and if changes have been made in this period, they are unlikely to know.

4.8.7. Constraints, test criteria and validation process

3.3-7

3.3-8
How do you define the test criteria, validation process and what process is in
operation today?
How is the assembly constraints communicated with your Extended
Enterprise currently?
How is the product interfaces communicated with your Extended Enterprise
currently?

Data held within BOM existing components specification

Paper based specification

Other:

For every piece of work that is given to suppliers, a work package is created.
Company G encourage suppliers and production to conduct workshops to understand
assembly constraints. These constraints are however not made available electronically. They

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refer to the upcoming possible introduction of Digital factory software (Delmia) as a way of
improving the current practice of overly relying on manual processes. Work packages
generally are made of paper drawings, electronic contextual data, manually written specs and
electronic drawings. These are not time consuming as they are part of the process that the
organisation has been using for sometime. However, to increase speed and standardise the
manner in which work is given out to the EE, there is scope for consolidation here.

Daily DMU tests within company G in their engine bay helps clear out any errors. The
issue of dealing with product interfaces is a problem they have not just with the EE but also
internally. Clash testing is not used to detect if two different components mate. This is an area
they are looking to improve in the coming years.
4.8.8. Product evolution

3.3-9 If it is assumed that all product and specification information is shared
electronically, how do you track project/design evolution against the original
specifications?

Use of a bespoke software package/developed application

Design reviews

Other:

For the tracking of design evolution, periodic design reviews are conducted. Having
an electronic method of tracking product design change is not considered very important. To
overcome the problem of moving away from the original specifications, better processes are
recommended to ensure that design engineers are continuously aware of the work they are
undertaking.

With the increased amount of collaboration, design reviews have become a major
forum for problem solving and since they only happened periodically, there is a frustration
with many EE partners that it is affecting their speed of collaboration. Increased
communication outside of design reviews is considered key. Secondly, the overall
dependence of periodic design reviews need to be reduced to increase the speed of issues
resolution and general communication. Suggestions of conducting remote design reviews
through the use of web portals, common web interfaces and team rooms are discussed.

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4.8.9. Key performance indicators (KPI)
3.3-10
Please list your KPIs for measuring success or failure of your Extended
Enterprise solution:

There are no set key performance indicators for measuring the success or failure of an
EE solution. Solutions that are currently in place for the EE have not been major projects, so
they havent received the attention required for the generation of KPIs. Also, the issue of
integrating with the EE is yet to become a major issue. However, if it were taken up as an
agenda, then the KPIs that are currently used to measure other PLM implementations would
be reused here too. The number of design interactions, design reviews and design changes
caused by the EE would the type of KPIs considered.

4.9. Business performance and PLM benefits
These questions aim to identify the benefits that PLM have had on the organization. The
questions aim to capture the view of the organization and factual information such as number
of design changes.
4.9.1. PLMs impact on product innovations

4.1-1 How does PLM improve your product innovations?
Please tick the 3 most important options.

Developing mass-customized products

Decreasing innovation costs

Extending the product economic life-time

Increasing the amount of reused parts

Decreasing number of variants

Faster rollout of innovations

Effective use of platform strategies

Other:

Company G gave the above answers based on both their expectations of and the
results they achieved. Because of the nature of their organisation, product innovation and
technology leadership aspirations, they want to optimise their energy in terms of cost, time

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and resources in new product development stage. In parallel to developing new parts, creating
the visibility into the standardised parts that are available is of key importance. They are
encouraged to reused parts that have been developed for older products or from the parent
organisations product range. Therefore, they aim to maximise this untapped resource through
effective use PLM. Effective use of PLM strategies is similar to the previous requirements of
maximising already available material, in this case platforms. Platforms can be used in
future models, and since creation of platforms is a time consuming and expensive task, they
are keen to reuse them where possible.

4.1-2 How many design changes do you have during the phases of a typical
product development and launch?
Please estimate the share in percent (totaling to 100%).

Pre-development

Design

Detailing

Test/ product launch

After SOP (First 6 months of production)

" 100%

The above results are approximations as the real metrics are not readily available. It is
suitable that great deal of changes is made during the early stages of a new product
development programme. In this case it is only 15%, and the lack of visibility on downstream
activities is cited as the main reason for a low number of changes at pre-development. The
main aim however for company G is to minimise the number of changes during SOP as
changes at this point would effectively mean that there wouldnt be ample time for testing.
Products would be sold with components that have passed all quality tests and are likely to
return with warranty issues. Also having a great deal of changes during the SOP stage means
pressure on achieving deadlines and perhaps even delaying production something that no
organisation wishes to do.

25%
25%
25%
10%
15%
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4.9.2. New product development programme time

4.1-3 Please state the following durations in months
State the time span in month for a new vehicle program or work package
(suppliers)

Concept development

Total development time

Time to start of production (SOP)

Time to market

42 months to launch a product is considered an average performance. The complexity
of the product they are developing is the main reason; it isnt possible to rush the
development. There are various contributing factors such as cycle plan, resource availability.
Finishing a project too soon may mean that another new programme may not start for a period
of time during which engineers are not so heavily implied. Having said that, organisations are
always aiming to reduce the amount cost, time and effort placed into a project as it would
only mean longer for them to recuperate the money.
4.10. Product lifecycle performance
4.10.1. Engineering time distribution

4.2-1 Please state the engineering time distribution.
Estimate the operation time in % of daily labour time.

Access information

Communication

Administration

The amount of time spent by engineers on product value adding time is always aimed
to be maximised. Company G approximate that their engineers spend 45% of their time
accessing information, communication and administration. Different techniques can be used
to solve these different challenges. Accessing information and Communication can be solved
through the use of better IT tools with aid of processes. Administration would need better
organisational support more than IT tools. These tasks are not considered unimportant as they
all contribute to the value adding time, however, it can be further optimised.
20%
10%
15%
30
6
month
s
42
39
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4.10.2. Knowledge management

4.2-2 How does PLM support knowledge management?
Please tick the 3 most important options.

Documentation of factual and process knowledge

Reuse of internal know-how

Management of intellectual property rights

Decision making support

Use of enterprise knowledge portals (e.g. yellow pages)

Fixed workflows for knowledge collection, structuring and distribution

Use of management information systems

Other:

Thinking back to the earlier question on how warranty feedback is passed on to the
supplier, the question of knowledge management as a whole was raised. Company G,
interestingly did not choose reuse of internal know-how or documentation of factual and
process knowledge. Their answers reflect the lack of IT support within their organization
currently. With those systems in place perhaps they would consider other areas of knowledge
management more important. Currently accessing information and having information
available to them is their main priority.
4.10.3. Achieved benefits
4.3-1 Please estimate the benefits of a PLM introduction.
Please tick the 5 most important benefits.

Company Gs achieved benefits are listed below:
o Process Availability of information in early and late phases.
o Data Data quality.
o Organisation Cooperation and communication.
o Product Lower amount of product changes
o Product Higher ability for innovative products

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All of the above reflect the discussions had previously. Company G want to share and
integrate across their organisation so that they can have visibility of information, and
therefore leverage this one great benefit to create many other benefits. Cooperation and
communication is key to achieving good links with all stages of the product lifecycle.

4.11. Strategy focus and IT project portfolio

4.11.1. Strategy for IT implementation

5.1-1 Which strategy do you focus on when implementing IT applications in the
range of PLM IT environment?
Please tick one option per year.
2002 2006 2010

"We try to implement new technologies first."

"We wait until someone else has tested the tool."

"We wait until clear standards have established."

"We try to stay with current environments as long as
possible."

Introducing new ICT technologies for the PLM infra-structure is always
dependant on requirements. Advanced PLM users try to use new ICT technologies first.

Due to the high costs involved and the nature of the PLM introductions the
organisation is seeking to make, it is unlikely that untried technologies would be
implemented. Company G is only just building their foundations of PLM and are not seeking
to try to implement new technologies first. This answer also shows the confidence of the
decision making people. If they were low on confidence, they are unlikely to implement an IT
application that doesnt have clear standards and its benefits documented.

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4.11.2. Important IT projects

5.1-2 Please state the 3 most important IT projects.
Please describe the projects briefly (e.g. PDM or ERP introduction, CAD migration,
etc.) and state their costs in the period of 2002 to 2010.
According to your enterprise estimate the importance of each project for each of
the years.
1 (subordinate) ! 5 (most important, critical for the enterprise success) Please
assign each value (1 to 5) only once per year.
Importance

Costs
(EURO)
2002 2006 2010

Company G believes it has spent extensively on its recent IT projects. The new ERP
system (SAP implementation) is an ongoing program, similar to the others. The CAX
Roadmap will be the most important PLM implementation. It is the roadmap for achieving
the digital factory through the implementation of Delmia from Dassault Systemes. This
entire package involves increased CAD integration, tolerance management, digital factory and
simulation capabilities. This phase by phase implementation will allow easier user acceptance
and maximize learning. Upgrading CAD systems from Catia V4, to V5 is the first phase.

The culture of the organization, current financial status has greatly influenced the
speed at which decisions are taking place.

4.12. PLM project management
4.12.1. Last PLM project overview and deviation from project target

Figure 11 The breakdown in months of the last major PLM project (completed)

Office Automation
CAX Roadmap
SAP implementation
1.1 mill
11.8 mill
8.1 mill
1 3 4
5 5 3
5 4 3
2
9
6
6
Project duration 23
status
analysis
project
preparation
pilot
stage
implementation, system customising, data migration
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The last major PLM project was conducted in 1997 during a time when the company
had a different management and was owned by another parent company. However, that was
the last PLM project with recorded outcomes in terms of cost, time, system functionality and
system integration. Although the project was only 23 months long, it took 15% longer than
originally scheduled. Figure 11 gives further breakdown of the project accomplishments. Up
to 75% of the project costs was on external services, but since 2001 the PLM team has grown
in size, so company G expect tighter control over project target achievements in the future.
Communication with the external service provider was cited as a major reason for failure in
achieving the targets.

Figure 12 Deviation from project target (figures shown in % terms)

4.12.2. Return on Investment

Around !13 million has been spent in on PLM implementations over the last 4 years.
Many of the implementations are on going. No return on investment figures were available,
which is a cause for concern. Not all returns can be calculated in monetary terms and the
engineers were interested in calculating the return in terms of performance improvements.

4.13. Implementation approach
4.13.1. Process change
5.3-1 Please state your PLM introduction strategy according to the necessary
organisation of processes.
Tick only one necessity and one strategy option.

Necessity of business process re-engineering:
+45
-20
+15

-5%

project time
project costs
system functionality
system integration
Page 78

Continuous improvement of PLM and processes

PLM strategy fits into existing processes

Introduce PLM strategy attended with change management

Strategy of business process re-engineering (BPR):

BPR and PLM within the same project but BPR before PLM introduction

BPR parallel to PLM introduction

BPR after PLM introduction

Part one of the above question seeks to identify whether company G finds necessity of
business process re-engineering compulsory or not. It is widely accepted that IT systems fail
if they are fitted into an already existing process. Company G feel that there need to be partial
improvement of both processes and PLM. It is a debatable choice within the organisation, as
it is better for processes to work around and support the PLM system, rather than the
implementation of a PLM system that is customised to work in a manner it may not have been
designed for.

Part two of the question aims to identify when the process of re-engineering could
possibly take place if it is considered to be necessary (part one). Again, there is a confusion of
sorts as the option chosen means that changes will be implemented after the implementation
of PLM. During the discussions, it is also suggested that business process re-engineering
needs to take place prior to PLM implementation to have a smooth phase in period.

4.13.2. Standard of PDM solution
5.3-2
Please estimate the degree of standardization of your PDM solution.
Tick only one option per year.
2006 2010

Commercial system without any adaptations

Commercial system with adaptations

Externally developed individual solution

Home grown system/ interfaces

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Commercial systems are quicker to implement, more standardised, less error prone
and far cheaper than individual solutions that are grown internally or developed externally.
Home grown systems are usually old and have evolved into to become PDM systems as
functionality has been added on over a period of time. Company G aim to maintain their
current commercial system with adaptations for the upcoming years.

4.14. Success factors
4.14.1. Factors that influence a PLM initiative
5.4-1 Which are the success factors for a PLM project initiative?
Please tick 5 most important options.

Division / user involvement

Clear defined responsibilities and rights

Consideration of quick wins (realizable work packages)

Top-management information flow and commitment

Costs ( hardware, software, implementation)

Estimation of improvements (e.g. time/cost saved, increased quality)

Initiative is process, not IT-driven

ROI analysis for the prioritisation of activities

Detailed assessment before implementation

Clear demarcation of the scope

Accompanying professional change management

Other:

Company G has chosen options that are more related to project management. They are
worried about facing high budget costs in future PLM implementations. To overcome this,
emphasis is placed on involving TM to be more involved the over all project management and
this initiative is given high priority. To avoid legal implications, clearly defined
responsibilities and rights are also important factors.

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4.14.2. Risks

All organisations have issues with the implementation phase and similarly, company
G are no different. Because of the scale of the project, it is absolutely necessary to ensure user
acceptance can be high. Failure can affect the manner in which the tool is used and
understood across the organisation. Too much focus on technical details can affect the project
schedule. In order to achieve or surpass the technical expectations, sometimes, project
management teams can go over budget, time and move away from the original goal.

What are the greatest risks of a PLM component introduction?
Please indicate the 3 options you think are most risky.

User acceptance

Deficient PLM project management

Data migration

Missing cost (ROI) transparency

Lacking Communication

To much focus on technical details

No quick wins / large project steps

Other:

4.15. Summary

This chapter has laid the foundation for understanding the industry. Discussions over
longer period of time, plus detailed analysis of the company have given an insight into why
the organisations are worried about going down certain paths. Many factors influence the
decisions and although chapter 5 will not be covered extensively in the remaining chapters, it
plays an important role in identifying requirements and benefits.

The upcoming chapters will look at the results as whole all 7 participants to identify
the PLM requirements. These will be based on the challenges the industry is facing. Chapter 6
will document the achieved benefits of PLM..

Chapter 5: PLM Requirements Capture
Page 81
5. PLM Requirements Capture

The previous change has given good knowledge on the state of the industry and issues
that organisations have to deal with before deciding which road to go down. The detailed
discussion that was undertaken on each question has given the author good experience and a
state of mind with which a survey could be conduced. Having conducted the survey with the
remaining participants, it is now time to put together all seven participants and analyse their
performance as a collective.

This chapter aims to use the data provided by the participants to identify the requirements of
the users of PLM. Chapters 2 and 3 of the questionnaire which are titled Status of PLM
implementation and Status of PLM integration respectively will be the primary basis of
identifying the requirements. However, chapter 4 of the questionnaire titled Business
performance and PLM benefits can also play an invaluable role in identifying the
requirements of the industry.

With the given data, a general analysis on the best trends, approaches taken by the
different participants coupled with their comments will be scrutinised to identify their
requirements. Naturally, not all questions are going to reveal problem areas or requirements,
so where the needs are clearly defined, it may be specified. In other areas, the challenges
facing the industry can be discussed without necessarily defining the precise problem as it
may need further in-depth study. And the conclusion of this chapter a summary of the top
PLM requirements will be listed as bullet points.
5.1. Component Reusability

Figure 13 Component reuse in new developments (Share in each classification group in %)

The above figure shows the average share of new parts, slightly modified and
standardised parts. Both PLM stragglers and advanced users are shown together in this graph.
42%
21%
37%
already available/standardised
parts
new parts
slightly modified parts
Page 82
The components used for a new product development programme seems much polarised in
the sense that components are either standardised or high number of new parts. PLM aims to
reduce the number of new parts and in general balance the share between all three entities.
Industry needs to have a strategy for achieving this balance so that the new parts that it does
produce results in higher levels of innovation, reduced costs and time.

Industry requirement: A process in combination with IT systems to achieve the balance
between standardised parts, modified parts and new parts. A strategy requirement is needed
first before PLM solution.
5.2. Status of PLM implementation:

The most basic implementation level here is the use of a CAD data management
system. Six out of seven participants have already achieved this and five participants have
already achieved implementation of a PDM system. Achieving implementation of PDM and
CAD data management systems are considered the most basic necessity. What does seem to
be the most important step is achieving PLM across the enterprise. Only one of the seven
participants have already achieved PLM across the enterprise whilst all others strive to
achieve this by 2010. Although all participants have parent companies or their headquarters
CAD data management
product data
management
(PDM)
company wide PLM
cross company PLM
advanced PLM users today
PLM stragglers today
advanced PLM users trends
2010
PLM stragglers trends 2010
advanced PLM users 2002
PLM stragglers 2002
Participants self assessed level of PLM use
(Averages in each classification group)
Relevance of the PLM
strategy as part of the
company strategy
Page 83
based in a different geographical location, integrating with these entities was not considered a
major necessity. The benefits of integrating with parent organisations are immense as it can
improve communication, process and systems integration and synchronisation. Knowledge
sharing and reuse can also lead to tremendous benefits, however it is not an urgent
requirement when compared to achieving PLM integration across the enterprise.

Industry Requirement: Achieving PLM integration (IT and processes) with activates that are
downstream from development and across the enterprise is a major next step for participants.

5.3. Industrys Definition of PLM

The participants views on PLM centred on product data management, virtual car
manufacturing and data visibility/data distribution. Participants have not reached the PLM
maturity yet to consider using PLM beyond its IT capabilities. Process synchronisation and
integration across the Enterprise is not yet a major requirement. With greater emphasis placed
on product disposal, handling product data from cradle to grave is a necessity.

Industry Requirement: Handling complex data, distributing and sharing it across the
enterprise regardless of the systems they are held on in order to enable virtual product design
and manufacture can be summed up as the requirement of the participants.

5.4. Top Management and Company policy towards supplier
selection process

With regards to management approach, the industry chose three of four options.
Important decisions being coordinated between Top Management (TM) and PLM project
team was chosen by three participants who are advanced users of PLM. The remaining
participants top management team were either not involved in the PLM strategy or simply
supported the PLM project teams decisions and these participants can be considered weaker
users of PLM. PLM tools are expensive and require great deal of commitment. PLM aims to
influence greatly the development phase of the new product development programme as well
as other stages of this lifecycle. Therefore to pursue PLM implementation without TM
Page 84
leadership can be considered a major disadvantage. This question did not set out to identify
any industry requirements, however during the interviews it became apparent that experts
within organisations seek their TM to be involved greater in exploring and the advantages of
PLM and considering its impact during strategy discussions.

Industry requirement: A top down management approach is sought to achieve quicker
implementation, buy in and most importantly, to achieve company wide buy in.

5.5. PLM influence on organisation

Figure 14. The external entity to influence suppliers and OEMs (Share in each classification group in
terms of number of participants out of 7)

Figure 14 shows software vendors and competitors to be the greatest influence on
PLM strategies in the participants organisations. Software vendors are the biggest source of
information and all participants have their favourites or contractual agreements. In the absent
of an expert within the organisation, software vendors are the favourites to have the mantle of
trusted advisor. Competition is looked at as a negative influence. It is worth highlighting
here that the influence from competitors come in the manner in which their products are
produced or from the public domain. When the participants choose competition, they do not
mean the systems that competition are using. They are interested in knowing that as well,
however it is the pressure they have on their products. The ability to compete with the
competition and not be pulled into the different directions that competition takes is what the
participants find challenging.
5
2
3
2
5
2
software providers
suppliers/OEMs
consumer
development partner
competition
other
Page 85
5.6. Supplier selection policy

Figure 15 The meaning of the PLM strategy when choosing suppliers and development partners (figures
reflect average choices made by participants for each category)

It is interesting to note, all parties currently do not give supplier selection a great deal
of importance. Company F is forced to work with suppliers who use various CAD systems
and therefore, they are forced to have many CAD translators. It is also difficult for
participants to build their own PLM strategy if, they do pick suppliers based on their PLM
strategy. To cite an example, it would make sense to choose a supplier, despite slightly higher
costs if they are able to integrate and collaborate in an efficient manner, than to integrate with
a supplier purely for cost reasons but uses an alien CAD system.

However, some OEMs argue that if a supplier is to work with them, then the supplier
is forced to work in the manner that the OEM chooses. Therefore, there isnt a need to check
for PLM capability as it is laid out up front and there is no room for negotiation. But there
could be change in the approach taken by OEMs. Forcing a supplier to work in the same
manner of the OEMs not only affects the supplier, but also their own suppliers. So the effect
filters from tier 1 to tier 5. Not all suppliers have the financial will power to invest in systems
that are compatible with OEMs, therefore it may actually in the long run adversely affect the
OEMs themselves. In 2010, they are looking to be more considerate of the suppliers PLM
strategy and perhaps using a standardised process and tool for integrating with important
suppliers who work differently to their prior standards.
3,8
2002 2006 2010
0,3
1,7
2,3
1,0
2,0
PLM stragglers
advanced PLM
users
0 ! the suppliers/partners PLM strategy is unimportant
5 ! the suppliers/partners PLM strategy is vital
Page 86

Industry requirement: Standardisation of the approaches taken by the OEMs when
integrating with suppliers. Increased standardisation of PDM, PLM tools to achieve
compatibility with organisations that use different PDM, PLM systems.
5.7. Implementation of Design for X methods

Figure 16 Use of design for X methods UK participants

With the exception of design for manufacturing, all other options were achieved in
2002. Although design for assembly is an important option, more interest has been shown by
the participants in design for disassembly, service and quality. Design for disassembly is
related to the regulatory requirements that all products should be designed for disassembly.
With only 71% of the participants achieving design for service and quality, the industry seeks
to ensure that products are easy to service and are designed for quality. Efficient serviceability
is currently an issue as many OEMs aim to grow their revenues by participating in after sales
services and sales of spare parts. The participants consider design for x methods useful to run
in parallel to their interdisciplinary development teams.

Industry Requirement: Currently the industry is focusing on design for manufacturing as it
has seen the most significant rise in investment. However design for disassembly, service and
quality methods are considered imperative and all participants aim to have this capability by
2010.

86
Design for manufacturing
Design for assembly
Design for disassembly
Design for service
Design for quality
14
57
57
71
57
86
71 86
71
100
100 2002
2006
2010
100
Page 87
5.8. Innovate IT product development method

Figure 17 Using innovative product development methods
(Number of entries in each classification group in % terms)

The industry is yet to realise the importance of a completely configured DMU. Many
of these product methods are not used in all areas of a new product development. For
example, the most complicated area of an automobile is the engine bay and therefore DMUs
are conducted there on a consistent basis. Interdisciplinary modelling is considered important,
however the process of creating the interdisciplinary model can be trouble some. It involves
engineers from different departments working together to the create the model, but each
department can refer to components using different terminology. The lack of a company wide
nomenclature can cause problems, therefore the value of this exercise is not well
understood.

The DMU in collaboration with other tools is likely to play significant role in the
coming future. Its functionality can be maximised if the processes and systems can support it.
It allows early detection of errors, as DMUs are usually conducted on a regular basis. The
technology itself has to evolve as it cannot be for design signoffs. It assists in showing the
clashes, but cannot guarantee problems will not occur in a real component.

It is unclear what the industry requirement is, so the challenges can be summarised.
digital test bench

100
50
parametric geometry
modelling
behaviour
modelling
interdisciplinary
modelling
digital product
master

100
68

75
50
configured DMU

33

75
design in context

100

25
100
100

advanced PLM
users
PLM stragglers

100
100
Page 88
Industry challenges: Organisations should have a company wide nomenclature that applies to
all departments. Greater use of DMU across the new product development plus the evolution
of DMU itself to meet the expectations of industry.
5.9. The number of CAD and PDM systems used to support
engineering

Figure 18 The number of CAD systems used to support engineering

Looking at figure 18, advanced PLM users are aiming to reduce the number of CAD
systems in operation across the enterprise and choose one system as a standard. PLM
stragglers however are slower to adopt a certain policy and continue to maintain more than
one CAD system. If the top management do not pursue the policy of having one major CAD
system, problems with CAD translations, data sharing, contextual data usually tend to take
place. CAD data tend loose a lot of contextual data once they have undergone translation from
one version of CAD software to another and these are referred to as orphan drawings.

Suppliers however are at the mercy of OEMs operating policies and are forced to
work to the terms and conditions of different OEMs and therefore have various CAD systems
to support their clients. Because of the lack of industry wide standardisation in CAD software
or the maturity in CAD translation software, participants such as Company F struggle to cope
as they do not consider CAD translation software during the supplier selection process. This
requires them to make investments into CAD translation software once a supplier who does
not use a compatible CAD system has been signed up. Further, not all CAD translation
software can be purchased so lower quality translation software is used and therefore they are
forced to handle orphan data.
2000 2004 2008
2,5
1,3
3,8
1,7
2,5
1,0

advanced PLM
users
PLM stragglers

Page 89

The number of PDM systems per organisation varies depending on the number of
CAD systems used by them. Company D uses 3 CAD systems at any given time and therefore
supports upto 3 PDM systems that are not integrated. However having a PDM system to
handle the CAD data is a luxury not all participants can afford, so having a PDM system eases
data management. Only Company C has achieved PDM integration across the division and
the enterprise.

Industrial requirement: Standardisation in CAD translation software and cost effective CAD
translation software.

5.10. Product information systems to support engineering
information

Figure 19 Number of information backbone systems

The engineering information backbone systems can be described as those that unify
and distribute data to support the engineering process. Suitable examples would be a change
management system, project tracking system, change notification system etc. Figure 19 shows
how all participants have infact suffered a rise in the number of product information systems
and are aiming to integrate them or replace them with a commercial solution that can satisfy
their needs. Participants are aiming to unify these systems significantly and the systems they
4,3
9,8
4,7
6,5
1,0
2002 2006 2010

6,5

advanced PLM
users
PLM stragglers

Page 90
hope to replace them with are shown in figure 20. Figure 20 describes the current leading
information providing IT system in the organisations. Advanced PLM users are moving from
using PDM systems currently to ERP systems and enterprise information portals whilst PLM
stragglers are aiming to use PDM systems for unification and distribution.

Industry requirement: PDM and ERP systems that support all engineering operations
activities such as change and release management, change and release notifier etc. Different
portals can be the front end for different operations, however a unified and distributed system
must support these activities.

Figure 20 Leading information providing IT systems in engineering (figures shown in % terms)

5.11. PLM IT architecture

Currently, there is a mixture of leading systems that serve as the main PLM
architecture. Only one participant does have any leading system and thus fundamentally no
PLM IT architecture. Two participants have chosen PDM as a hub, and further two currently
have different systems with multiple interfaces. The remaining two participants chose ERP as
a hub and an integrated ERP and PDM as a hub.

The industry is moving in a clear direction. By 2010, 5 out 7 participants aim to have
an integrated ERP and PDM system as a hub. The remaining two participants are aiming for
one major leading system to serve as their PLM architecture.

2004/06 2008/10
no leading system
25
0
ERP
system 25
33
enterprise
information portal

25
0 33
PDM
system

25
67
0
75

25
0
0
0
67

advanced PLM
users
PLM stragglers

Page 91
The industry currently favours the idea of using either ERP or PDM as a hub and then
integrating this system with ERP or PLM, to create one major system or a combination. PDM
will bring in the engineering functions and using PLM, it can be moved efficiently into
production and other downstream activities such as supply chain management and resource
planning. That can be cited as the reason as to why only participant has ERP has a hub
currently.

Figure 21 Web based access to central PLM system components (Share of all entries in %)

Figure 21 shows the web based solution used for accessing the PLM systems
components. The figure of nearly 30% of no web based access is set to reduce. However, the
reasons why the number of complete web based system architecture is set to reduce to
predominantly local clients is not yet clear. But the industry wishes to use web based
solutions to provide accessibility to different areas within their organisation and to suppliers
primarily because of the speed in which this solution can developed and the ease, as there are
no major integration issues.

Industry requirement: Industry is seeking to integrate all development activates into a PLM
solution, and integrate with an ERP solution which handles all the activities that support the
engineering tasks. A solution that can pool together both engineering and non-engineering
tasks in one location plus also allowing access to web based interfaces.
5.12. Managing multiple interfaces

The question of how multiple interfaces are managed because of their extended
enterprise requirements really apples to suppliers. As discussed earlier, OEMs have their own
way of handling such issues forcing their suppliers or in some cases they themselves have
complete web based
system architecture
predominantly local clients,
partially with web based
access to system functions
no web based access to
the system
43
43
29
2006 2010
71
15
Page 92
trouble. Company E (supplier) enjoys long term relationships with their clients, so they
havent been under too much pressure. Also, they tend to work in an independent manner and
only integrate with their major long term clients. They currently have 6 CAD systems, with
no PDM system to support any of the CAD systems. So although they do not have any
integration complexities due to working in a non integrative manner, they have high CAD
costs as they have to maintain a high number of licences.

5.13. Warranty data feedback

Figure 22 How the participants shared their warranty data with suppliers

Although many participants cited quality as an important area when designing their
products, the data that they have within the organisation is not effectively passed back to the
supplier community (see Fig 22). Industry is currently using lessons learnt programmes and
periodic updates for passing information back to the supplier. They find these methods most
productive, however the information transfer doesnt not always take place. Manual processes
such as the use of notebooks and personal diaries store lessons learnt. Valuable information
stored on pieces of paper is lost or never reused or as most of often the case, loose their
importance later on down the line.

Industry requirement: An IT tool to support lessons learnt during development programmes is
required. Transferring that knowledge is considered very valuable. Better processes for
transferring the warranty feedback and some form of tracking methodology to ensure that it is
not repeated again in future programmes.

During Lessons Learnt Programme
Periodic updates to
suppliers
Live access to OEMs warranty DB
3
3
1
Page 93
5.14. PDM functions currently in use

There were contrasting views results across the participants. Three participants had
very minimal PDM functions integration; both in terms of core PDM and extended PDM
functions. These three participants had many functions, however within one department only.
So, despite have a PDM system, and one department using a function, it was not always
integrated with downstream departments. One of the three participants had NO PDM function
to speak of.

The remaining 4 participants had a high degree of integration in the core PDM
functions. Either all departments were integrated or a number of key departments such as
procurement and production being integrated.

Project management, release and change management are some of the important PDM
functions to achieve higher levels of integration.

Industry requirements: Industry gives priority to key engineering supporting activities such as
Project management, product structure and variant management for integration across their
departments. High levels of integration are aimed between development, procurement and
production.

5.15. Engineering data controlled by PLM
Advanced PLM users have placed a great deal of importance on using the non
technical data in connection with other entities to create high level interdisciplinary models.
Users are able to extract delivery costs, production dates, etc. The creation interdisciplinary
models early on in development can be useful for decision makers. It is still a complex
activity, something that industry is trying to develop expertise on. As mentioned earlier, the
cultural boundaries between the engineers from different development teams are sometimes a
cause for concern as they dont always produce the optimum output.

Page 94

Figure 23 Interdisciplinary data integrated in a shared or networked data model
(Number of entries in each classification group in %)

5.16. PLM IT environment interfaces
As the above figures shows, the BOM is the link to downstream activities from development
and therefore all participants have it linked to both PLM and ERP. Other engineering
activities like DMU, visualisation, simulation and prototyping have no advantage by being
linked with ERP. However, information management, requirements management and other
resource planning tools add a great deal of value. After all, the ERP planning functions are
planning on the components stored in PLM.

Industry requirements: Industry aims to find the optimum integration between the functions
that are integrated into PLM and ERP. Currently the BOM is being used as the gateway
between the two entities.

33
100
mechanical
data
E&E
data
software
data
non technical data
Future 2008/10
mechanical
data
E&E
data
software
data
non technical data
Current Advanced PLM users
PLM stragglers
100
100 67
67
25 100
100 100
100 67
100
67
100 100
Page 95

Figure 24. Allocating engineering applications to PLM and/or ERP system environments based on their
integration (Number of entries in each classification group in %)

5.17. New supplier integration process

production planning
CAQ
requirements management
testing / prototyping
DMU
CAD
bill of material
management
project management
factory planning
resource planning
100
100
100
33
20
33
100
50
100
75
100
information management
33 67 100
CAM
100 33 50
100
virtual product creation
advanced PLM users & stragglers
advanced PLM
users
PLM stragglers
integrated in the PLM
environment
integrated in the ERP
environment
real product creation
simulation / calculation
67
75

visualisation
67 100
33
33
67 33
33
50
50
50
33
0
0
0
0
3
2
2
High degree of integration (E.g. BOM
visibility)
Some process of integration
(E.g. Web portals etc)
No standard process of integration
Page 96
Figure 25 The integration policy chosen by participants (figures indicate the options chosen by
participants)

Only one participant allows integration into the PDM system with their strategic
partners. All other participants allow integration in certain areas only; but never completely.
To explain further, the two remaining high degree of integration participants allow BOM
and CAD data visibility. Some process of integration means these two participants have
company processes for introducing a new supplier into their systems. Usually, this is achieved
through the means of web portals and team rooms for data sharing and general
communication. This is not the standard method for integration, but because of their system
capabilities, it is the best option for them. Two participants have no standard process for
integration what so ever. It is currently conducted in an adhoc manner with a great deal of
manual work.

Industry requirement: Industry standard for new supplier integration process. The time, cost
and expertise required for a new supplier integration is also a challenge that needs to be
addressed.

5.18. PDM and CAD systems integration

2006 2010

No direct link to PDM

Interface (link to CAD data base)

Integrated CAD/PDM data base

PDM functions integrated into CAD system

Figure 26 The cumulative answers by all participants

There are currently 7 CAD systems with no direct PDM link and still atleast 1 system
is going to remain this way in 2010. There are two main reasons and therefore challenges for
this. One of the participants is a supplier whilst another OEM is involved in working as
consultants for other engineering firms. Therefore, these two participants have a high number
of CAD systems and it is not always beneficial for them in terms of cost to integrate into them
into a PDM function. If there are a high number of CAD systems to be handled, the
complexity of handling large number of PDM systems is a problem. Further, a high number
4
6
5
1
10
3
1 7
Page 97
of PDM systems also results in rising costs and effort. Industry is aiming to achieve either an
integrated CAD/PDM database or integrate PDM functions into CAD systems.

Industrial challenge: Cost, complexity and effort for integrating and maintaining more than
one PDM system something suppliers have to handle on a regular basis.

5.19. Integrating non-technical applications

Figure 27 The average result of PLM stragglers and advanced PLM users for non-technical applications
integration into engineering environment

All participants are yet to maximise the value of integrating non-technical applications
into the engineering environments. As seen earlier, the challenge is still about the value of
integrating engineering applications into both PLM and ERP. Given this scenario, functions
0 1
degree of integration
in the engineering
environment
2 3 4
maintenance, repair &
overhaul (MRO)
enterprise resource
planning (ERP)
customer relationship
management (CRM)
supply chain
management (SCM)
requirement
traceability
management (RTM)
service & support
0 ! no integration
1 ! communication between the
departments
2 ! exchange of information over system
interfaces
3 ! shared database
4 ! integrated processes and functions
advanced PLM
users
PLM stragglers
Page 98
such as CRM and SCM have been chosen to exist as independent functions rather than as
integrated with engineering functions. Premium OEMs such as companies F and G are keen
on integrating CRM into their engineering system as many of their products are customised
according to the customer needs or dealers sales and marketing teams.

Industry requirement: Understand the value of integrating some of these functions into
engineering applications. Functions such as MRO can take longer to be accepted or utilised
than CRM quicker value adding if benefit shown

5.20. Positive effects of non-technical applications integration

The three most referred to positive effects are for ERP, SCM and service & support systems.
ERP systems provide higher levels of process integration, visibility of enterprise data.
SCM systems lead improved data transfer and reduction in errors.
Service & support are used as a key tool for feedback into engineering teams.

No industry requirement was identified here.

5.21. PLM use along the product lifecycle phases

Unidirectional communication
Bidirectional communication

Only the challenges the industry faced are highlighted below

The three largest points of weakness in the flow of information along the product lifecycle
are:
Development to production Bidirectional. This is considered to be the digital
factorys missing connection. There is inconsistent product and manufacturing
resources development.
Development to procurement unidirectional. Poor change notification for many
participants. Procurement are notified of any changes made in development at a later
Page 99
date when prototypes parts orders have already been made. Development need to
adhere to processes better here.
Research & Marketing and Development Bidirectional. Most participants
development teams are accused of lack of understanding of the concept design. Higher
levels of both process and IT requirements are needed.

5.22. Collaboration

Figure 28 Participants defined what Extended Enterprise means to them by defining who they are.
Options 1 and 2 are almost internal entities rather than external. Option 3 is the true extended
enterprise

Participants found challenges in three areas when defining who their extended
enterprises were. The requirements for each of the options are the following:
Option 1 3 participants considered their downstream activities as their extended
enterprise. They are seeking higher levels of process and IT systems integration with
their downstream departments.

True Extended
Enterprise
Departments
in the other
stages of the
product
lifecycle

Entities within the
corporate/parent
company.
Eg, Other
development
centres, Head
Office, Regional
Sales teams

Entities that are
truly independent
of the
organisation and
parent company.
Eg, Design
Houses, Dealers,
Suppliers etc.

1
2
3
Page 100
Option 2 4 participants wished to do one of two things. Integrate and synchronise
with their parent organisation in terms of processes and IT systems. Other option was
to maximise the knowledge held under the parent organisations umbrella. These are
geographically dispersed development centres and other silos of information.
Option 3 All participants considered their suppliers and design partners as their
extended enterprise. The final goal is to create a virtual visiting engineer.

5.23. Level of Collaboration

Figure 29 Level of cooperation with company employees, partners, suppliers and customers
(Averages of entries in each classification group)

Optimising and aligning processes with strategic partners, as well ass internet based
interoperability are prerequisites for efficient cooperation.

Industry aims/requirements:
o Optimising internal processes in order to be prepared for integration with several
customers/suppliers and to be able to react flexibly when faced with new demands.
0 ! no cooperation
1 ! only personal communication
2 ! predominantly paper based data
exchange
3 ! digital data exchange
4 ! common project environment and aligning
processes
5 ! complete process and IT integration
2002
2006
2010
0 1
level of integration
2 3 4
development partner
supplier
customer
company
employee
5
Page 101
o Selecting and narrowing down some strategic development partners in order to
minimise the coordination effort.
o Intensive process alignment with the customer to remain in the set time limit (e.g. start
of production)
o Preparing the IT environment for the use of online marketplaces and web portals so
that suppliers can be integrated.

Tools for communicating with the extended enterprise

Figure 30 Figures indicate the choices made by the participants on the tools they use for communication
with the EE

The 3
rd
party neutral exchange mechanism is the cheapest and most common way of
communicating with the extended enterprise. Whilst standard data exchange is very similar to
use, over dependence can lead to high costs. Therefore two participants have consciously cut
down completely on their use of standard data exchange mechanisms.

Industry requirements: Web portals and virtual team rooms are available extensively, but
maximising the capabilities are a priority. Real time communication with the EE is still an
issue. Reduction in cost through reducing the dependence on Standard data exchange
methods.

6
6
5
7
5
1
Virtual team rooms / web
portals
Visiting engineer from
Extended Enterprise
Standard data exchange
(CD-ROM, Tapes, etc)
A 3
rd
party neutral exchange mechanism
(e.g. Odette, Autoweb, etc).
A direct secure link
to the
Extended Entity
Others
Page 102
5.24. Extended Enterprise project management tools:

Figure 31 The number of participants to use the relevant project management tools (number of
participants in each category)

All participants recognise the value of these systems, in particular document
management and change requests system. Currently, changes are raised through the use of
emails, design reviews and other periodic meetings. Tracking these change requests is a
problem as the EE are unable to check directly the status of the issues they have raised.

Industry aims: One system to enable to them achieve all the above tasks and other project
management activities. Web based solutions, or a solution that can be embedded into existing
web portals and team rooms are possible options.

5.25. PLM and EE context

Participants cited the following three points as their main challenges:
o CAD related issues: CAD version alignment is an issue. All the same software vendor
may have provided the software, in some cases due to different versions being used,
the quality of data can be a problem. Also, in general CAD systems interoperability
when working with the EE are problems.
o Data conversion participants are unsure how to extend the life and migrate the data
in legacy systems. Four participants expressed this as an area of concern in their
current strategies.
o Integration time, cost and effort for integration with the extended enterprise.

4
3
3
Document Management
Change Requests
Change Notes
Concession Requests
3
Page 103
5.26. Issue Resolution Process

Only three participants have systems in place to allow their extended enterprise to
raise concerns electronically. Although all 3 of these participants have web portals available,
as expressed earlier, their use is not maximised. Only one participant uses the web portal to
negotiate and resolve the issues as quickly as possible. Remaining participants depend on
design reviews.

Industry requirement: Industry is showing interest on alternative methods to physical design
reviews. Simultaneously, communication issues such as issue resolution need to be solved
through maximising the use of web portals infrastructure that 6 out 7 participants already
have.

5.27. Parameters sharing Assembly, product and test constraints

Four participants use manually created packages for sharing assembly, product and
test constraints. Industry currently has its own solutions for each of the problems other than
standardising these documents and storing them in an electronic format so that the time spent
in creating these packages is considerably lower.

Industrys solution for:
o Assembly Constraints Participants themselves aim to achieve digital factory
within their organisation and then allow the EE to integrate into this system.
o Product constraints Allowing BOM access can solve this problem. But, two
participants allow their extended enterprise to conduct clash testing remotely. The EE
are able to upload their drawings to OEMs systems. From here clash testings can
occur. This goes half way to solve the actual problem of two different products
integrating. It ensures they dont clash, but doesnt ensure that they can indeed
interface.
Industry requirement: Solution needed to assist clash testing methods to ensure that
components can interface with surrounding parts.

Page 104
5.28. Product Specification Evolution

Figure 32. Tracking product specification evolution against the original specifications

The value of tracking product specification closely hasnt yet been realised. Currently,
this task is part of the agenda during periodic design reviews.

Industry Requirement: Use processes and IT to ensure that the specifications are met during
every days design work. High levels of integration and consistent clash testing would mean
that its difficult to move away from the product specification. Visibility of the surrounding
components should also help.

5.29. KPIs:

Industry is using standard metrics to check for performance of their EE software.
Metrics such as the number of changes during product development, concerns raised, clash
testing failures etc.

Industry requirement: Specific metrics for measuring performance of EE solutions.

5.30. Summary and consolidation of industry requirements:

o Conducting Remote Design Reviews.
o Ensuring high levels of integrating capabilities so that there is equal distribution of
work between supplier and OEM. Greater use of tools such as iCheck.
o Software performance when connected remotely
o New supplier introduction process improve in terms speed, cost and energy.
2
6
1
Commercial/bespoke software
application
Design Reviews
Other
Page 105
o Establishing nomenclature across the entire organisation so that there are no
communication problems when different departments work together. For e.g. during
the creation of an interdisciplinary model.
o Standardisation of CAD software to reduce the number of orphan drawings after a
translation.
o A solution that can pool together both engineering and non-engineering tasks in one
location plus also allowing access to web based interfaces.
o Increased knowledge reuse capabilities within the organisation and for passing
information to the EE.
o Standardisation of the approaches taken by the OEMs when integrating with
suppliers. Increased standardisation of PDM, PLM tools to achieve compatibility with
organisations that use different PDM, PLM systems.
o Seeing the importance of regulatory pressures, industry has been investing quickly to
achieve Design for disassembly. Industry requires speedy solutions when there are
regulatory pressures as it can have severe repercussions for an organisation.
o An IT tool, specifically for knowledge re-use during development programme to allow
engineers to make electronic notes that can be consolidated upon at the end of a new
programme.

5.31. Summary

This topic has considered the industry as a whole by seeking it identify the
requirements it currently has in terms of PLM functionality. Not all questions from the survey
identified challenges and thus requirements but various issues such as industry have been
discussed and documented. The next step is to identify the benefits that PLM solutions have
offered to the participants. The achieved benefits is pursued and analysed.

Chapter 6: Benefits of PLM
Page 107
6. Benefits of PLM

This chapter builds on the previous two chapters to leverage the data from the survey
to identify something new. The previous chapter pin pointed challenges and thus requirements
of the industry. This chapter will look into chapter 4 of the questionnaire and analyse the
results to document the achieved benefits of PLM according the UK participants.

6.1. Design changes over the product lifecycle phases

Figure 33. Share of product changes in predevelopment (Averages of entries in each classification group in
%)

Figure 33 shows the breakdown on what percentage of changes takes place in
predevelopment. It is well acknowledged that earlier changes are the best for a new product
development so that there are fewer errors further down the development phases. But, to
achieve higher number of changes at an early phase, the systems or the processes need to
support this activity. High levels of PLM implementation allow visibility of the activities and
capabilities downstream. For example the implementation of a digital factory would mean
that engineers have their assembly constraints available to them at all times and then its just a
matter of process adherence to ensure that this data is well utilised and products are designed
with those assembly constraints in mind. If the results from figure 33 were put into the
context of figure 34, then it will make more sense. Figure 34, which shows the distribution of
changes over the remainder of the product lifecycle shows one of two things. First, advanced
PLM users are carrying out greater number of changes at the design stage. PLM stragglers
find more errors in their product during the testing stage than advanced users of PLM. PLM
stragglers do not have complete virtual simulation capabilities and therefore depend heavily
on physical product testing to find errors.

predevelopment design until
SOP
advanced
users
26,3 73,7
stragglers
14,4 85,6
Page 108
During the SOP stage, it is vital to have low number of changes as it can impact the
product that the first set of customers receive. Warranty claims can be high and it can also be
damaging for an OEM if there are excessive number of warranty claims. Usually the high
number of changes results in components being rushed back into the assembly line without
going through complete tests. Therefore there are still opportunities for failures.

Figure 34. Distribution of the number of product changes in the product creation (averages of entries in
each classification group in %)

6.2. Product lifecycle performance
Figure 35 shows how much value adding engineering time is available for PLM
stragglers vs the advanced PLM users. Theoretically, advanced PLM users should gain in
reducing time spent in communication and searching for and accessing information.
Depending on the definition of administration, there can be reduction here too. Its interesting
to notice that PLM stragglers spend less time on administration than advanced PLM users.
Over all, advanced PLM users have gained 4% reduction in non value-adding engineering
time per week. With the systems providing speedy communication and better information
availability, the processes need to change and adopt to this before its real value can be
realised.

PLM stragglers
advanced PLM
users
33,5
28,4
36,6
27,0
20,4
10,8
13,5
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
21,4
alterations after SOP
often result in
customer complaints
and change
requests
design detailing testing
after SOP
(first 6 months)
Page 109

Figure 35 How the daily work time is distributed in engineering (averages of entries in each classification
group in %)

6.3. Product development performance

Figure 36. Time taken from the product creation phase to the launch (time to market)
(Averages of entries in each classification group in months)

Figure 36 shows the product development performance. The message is that the longer
time spent in concept design phase, over all as a ratio, the less time it should take to bring the
car to market. PLM provides all the information and data accessibility, as mentioned earlier.
So to maximise the use of this information, longer time needs to be spent at concept phase or
in general at the planning phase. The information availability needs to be consolidated
upon. Following this, it ought to be easier to achieve targets and stick to schedule.

administration
communication
searching for and
accessing
information

PLM
stragglers
advanced
PLM users

value-adding
engineering
time

non value-
adding
engineering
time
15
17
15
18
21
12
49 53
51
47
concept
development
product
development
time to SOP
time to market
PLM
stragglers
advanced
PLM users

23
34
10
35

20
7
28
30
Page 110
So not only does PLM help in reducing changes and over all speed in which the
product is bought to market because of its various capabilities, if used with the right
processes, its advantages can be maximised.

6.4. PLMs impact on product innovation

Figure 37 Participants views on how PLM impacts innovation (Number of enteries in each classification
group in %)

There isnt much difference between the two sets of results. However, the benefits that
the two enjoy can sometimes vary. Overall, advanced PLM users feel, they are in a position to
gain by reduction in costs whilst PLM stragglers are striving for savings in terms of time.
Advanced users have already achieved reduction in time and therefore are looking for cost
savings.

For the option other, participants cited knowledge and rule-based innovative
design, availability of product information and transparency of innovations from other
customer projects.

reducing innovation
expenses
decreasing the number of
variants
increase in the reuse of parts
effective use of platform
strategies

faster introduction of innovations

PLM stragglers advanced PLM
users
0
67
33
other
developing mass customised
products
extending the products
economic life-time
100 100
67

100 100
67
100
67 67
67
67
100
100
Page 111
Overall, the innovative process is very creative and is influenced from many directions
of which PLM is just one. Therefore PLM cannot take all the credit as it depends on how it is
used.

6.5. Knowledge management using PLM

Figure 38 Supporting knowledge management by using PLM (Number of entries in each classification
group in %)

Looking at the results as a whole, PLMs knowledge management capabilities are
recognised, however the industry does not see that as the main motivation for using PLM. It is
viewed as one of the possible benefits in the long run. Knowledge management should enable
data sharing or knowledge sharing from different geographical locations. Organisations that
want to connect with their parent companies and maximise the knowledge available in the
parent company and its subsidiaries should find this option useful. The documented
knowledge from previous projects can be used as a basis for developing new products.
Knowledge reuse can also support product development in the strategy phase.

using the companys knowledge
portals
documenting specialised and process
knowledge
using management information
systems
reusing internal
know-how
managing/securing
intellectual rights
workflows for absorbing, structuring
and passing on knowledge
supporting decision
processes
PLM stragglers

50
50
100
0
advanced PLM
users

100
33
67
0
100
33

100
50

50
33
Page 112
6.6. Achieved benefits

When the industry was asked to pick five most important benefits that it has achieved
through the use of PLM, it chose one from process, data, organisation, and two options from
product sections the most. To explain further and the chosen options are listed below:
Process - Availability of information in early and late phases This has enabled the
participants to assist them in decision making situations. The availability of data that
PLM drives as a process. PLM allows data to be available because of its IT systems,
but the side effect is the process.
Data Enhanced data flow and exchange As seen through out the study, integration
with all downstream activities and the extended enterprise is something that the
industry finds a major priority.
Organisation - Cooperation and communication This option was primarily chosen by
PLM stragglers as low implementation and use of PLM meant that their
communication mechanisms with different areas of their organisation as poor.
Interestingly, advanced PLM users chose integrating locations geographically more
often than cooperation and communication as they were tend to be large
organisations with many operations dispersed geographically.
Product Optimised product quality.
Product Lower amount of product changes. Both these options were chosen because
of the visibility PLM has provided into other areas of the organisation. To be specific,
lower amount of product changes means early approval and that means components
can go through all the testing that is required as standard. This ensures a high quality
product as the number of last minute changes such as those before SOP is reduced
immensely.

Summary

This chapter has documented some of the achieved benefits and benefits that industry
expects from PLM. The following chapter will discuss and conclude on what has been learnt
in this study.
Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion
Page 113
7. Discussion and Conclusion

The study so far has aimed to cover all aspects of the research objectives. This chapter
will review what has been learnt and the methodology to conclude on the strength of the
findings.

7.1. Methodology:

The study had originally aimed for between 10 to 15 participants who would create a
good mixture of OEMs and suppliers. Because of the timing of the study being conducted
during the holiday season, there was lack of support from the participants and the sponsor.
Using the terms of lack of support may be harsh, but the lack of resources might be better.
This lack of resources affected the study in terms of the data given. This point shall be raised
again shortly. It was felt that to give the study strong validity, a minimum of 10 participants
were needed. However, rather than having a mixture of OEMs and suppliers in the seven
participants, the study was biased towards OEMs. Perhaps this can be viewed in positive
effect as there has been consistency in the results. This consistency has allowed patterns to
come through and the formation of industrial requirements and benefits of PLM. The
consistency did not come through when factual information was sought, but when the
opinions on what was important for each of the participants were sought also, they answered
very similarly to each other.

7.1.1. The collected data

As was considered during the methodology chapter, the data provided came through
representatives within the participating organisation who may have a conflict of interest.
Rather than conflict of interest, it is possible to use this study as a tool for painting a false
picture to his top management. Because of time constraints, at no stage were direct processes
or documents studied to understand the actual challenges or benefits of the study. Having said
that, it is unlikely any organisation would allow a member from another institution to delve
deeper than what their representative was willing to give.

Page 114
In terms of bias, if the person representing a participant is a contractual worker, which
was the case for one of the organisations, then there is a possibility of bias although it is hard
to speculate whether it would be positive or negative. Contractual workers were also not
allowed to have financial data accessible to them, nor did they have access to many historical
results.

Earlier in this chapter, the issue of low resources was bought up. The questionnaire is
extensive and covers a large area of PLM. There is a great deal of variety and it does require
some background work before or after participating in the interview to ensure that accurate
data is provided. Because of the low resources available to the participants, most of their
representatives were busy and did not always ensure if their data provided was accurate.
Often it was off the top of their memory or their best guesses.

In the case of number of design changes over the product lifecycle, these metrics were
not available. So data availability was an issue for some questions. These metrics were
available usually to the programme managers only so as this particular question was an
important pointer for the achieved benefits of PLM its accuracy can be questioned.

7.1.2. Scope

There are certain issues of PLM that is applicable not just to automotive but also to
other industries such as aerospace. There are bound to be differences between the overall
project times, but for example, the ratio between the time spent in concept design and time to
market does not depend on the project time. So, despite differences in figures, overall benefits
should be consistent. Or because of the nature of the industries, different challenges and
benefits could be identified.

7.1.3. Strengths and weaknesses of the study:

The major strength of this study has to be the foundation that it already had available.
Because of its complex results measurement process, range of questionnaire topics, it would
not have been feasible to begin from scratch and create all the required documentation and
processes in the space of three months. Although the results measurement process was
Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion
Page 115
questioned during chapter 3, all methodologies have their strengths and weaknesses. For it to
be available and work as efficiently as it did, the process must be credited as strength rather
than a weakness.

Access to the participants came via the university and the sponsor. So having two
methods of access helped a great deal as even with these two entities, it was only possible to
get buy in from 7 participants in total.

The weakness has to be the number of participants, and the accuracy of the data.
Seven participants is a significant number and it does not invalidate the study in any way,
however it opens it up for a greater deal of debate. Perhaps, the inexperience of the author
could have contributed to the accuracy of the data. There were two questions, which had
different intentions to the understanding of the author thus producing invalid results.

7.2. Contribution to knowledge:

The study has successfully pooled together two major pieces of information. First,
having conducted an in-depth study with one of the participants, the survey was conducted
with the remaining 6. With the analysed results, the industry requirements, where possible
were identified. Not all questions covered in the questionnaire led to identification of industry
requirements as there are many ways of achieving a goal and if the industry did not show it as
a major challenge, it was ignored. So to summarise, a collection of industry requirements for
PLM functionality, including how PLM could support Extended Enterprise collaboration
functionality was identified.

Secondly, based on the same platform the questionnaire, the achieved benefits of
PLM was pinpointed. The achieved benefits of PLM had two forms of validation. One was by
directly asking the industry to express their achieved benefits, and secondly through the
answers given for chapters two and three. A collection of achieved benefits for one sector
of the industry was not documented before.

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7.3. Conclusion

This chapter compares the results and analysis with the objectives set out in chapter 3.
All results have been achieved and below is a summary of the findings in relation to the set
objectives:
Objective 1: To perform an in-depth study to understand key issues related to PLM in an
industrial environment. Key issues found:
This objective enabled identification of problem areas within an organisation that PLM
needs to address.
Communication between departments, data sharing, cost and integration issues when more
than one PDM system exists are some of the findings achieved by this objective.

Objective 2: Investigate how PLM impacts innovation in the automotive sector between
OEMs and tier one suppliers, and their associated requirements whilst paying particular
attention to extended enterprise collaboration. Major findings:
Clear requirement for technology and processes to support Remote Design Reviews
between OEMs and suppliers.
Ensuring high levels of integration capabilities so that there is equal distribution of work
between supplier and OEM.
Need for a new supplier introduction process to improve in terms speed, cost and
energy.

Objective 3: To conduct a survey within the industry to understand the expected benefits of
PLM solutions. Benefits of PLM findings:
Availability of information in early and late phases This has enabled the participants to
assist them in decision making situations.
Enhanced data flow and exchange Integration with all downstream activities and the
extended enterprise is something that the industry finds a major priority. It is something
that PLM can support very well.
Optimised product quality & lower amount of product changes - PLMs increased
visibility across the organisation has achieved these benefits. To be specific, lower amount
of product changes means early approval and that means components can go through all
the testing that is required as standard. This ensures a high quality product as the number
of last minute changes such as those before SOP is reduced immensely.
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Page 117
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Appendix A: Benefits of PLM - Flyer
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Appendix A
Benefits of PLM - Flyer

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Appendix B: Benefits of PLM Starter kit
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Appendix B
Benefits of PLM - Starter kit
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