PLMIG

This diffuses the work of vendors and users alike, because however good the proprietary tools are there is less traction within user companies to understand and adopt them. Work is dissipated as users have to create their own solutions to technical issues or re-invent adoption methods that others have already implemented.

This situation is likely to remain unless there is a powerful and coordinated initiative to change it.  The Initiative must go well beyond "PLM awareness".  To be effective, it must create new material that acts within user companies at the executive level to produce a constructive and effective PLM mindset.  To make an impact, it must be backed up by widespread and consistent dissemination through the marketplace.

The PLMIG, as an independent and neutral industry body, proposes to lead a multi-country initiative to develop and disseminate this PLM approach in the marketplace so that PLM adoption is increased in a measurable and pre-planned way.

The target scenario for the Initiative is one in which the Executives / Board of all sizes of company, in industries where products or 'services as products' are essential to the business operation, are informed, convinced and enabled to support comprehensive PLM implementations within their companies.  This will be supported by tools and standards at the operational level so that process owners and line managers can succeed in delivering what they have been tasked to do.

The target scenario is dynamic.  As more organisations join in with the initiative, and it begins to produce new material, and it creates a news profile and success stories, and it involves user groups and trade associations and industry bodies and universities, and moves from country to country, and generates more profile as it does so, and attracts more user companies to it, and becomes a central point of reference for aggregated PLM knowledge, the Initiative will articulate and present the PLM message in an ever more powerful way.

The consultation process is happening now, and current feedback is that the Market Initiative should focus on 4 areas:-

• Themes
• Articulation
• Standards
• Market Enhancement

Themes will be headline projects to bring together many industry players to resolve specific, major issues.

"Articulation" has two elements.  One is to understand what are the "difficult questions" that we are trying to answer with PLM - to know what are the touch points that users are struggling with, and to articulate them clearly.   The second is the articulation of PLM itself.  There are much more constructive and effective ways to convey the PLM message, and the Market Initiative will leverage the PLMIG neutrality to achieve them.

The lack of agreed and accredited standards for PLM is an obvious detriment to progress. Standards need collaborative work to define them, and an accepted neutral body to maintain them.  The PLMIG can provide a neutral base to start work on standards, and the Market Initiative could build on the work of universities and working groups to begin their creation.

Market Enhancement is a fundamental part of the Initiative.  The PLM marketplace is massive, multi-national, and has a customer profile set that ranges from global corporations to SMBs.  The aim is to join together all of the types of PLM organisation so that the market works cohesively, with an impact that increases its size by a measurable amount.  It will do this via a well-planned, well-supported programme that will build on a collective vision for the PLM marketplace and on the PLMIG extended structure.

You can find out the latest status and add your input via marketinitiative@plmig.com.