Will PLM 2.0 on the cloud resolve the supply chain challenge?

March 4, 2009

According to the latest supply research done by IBM,, one of the challenges of the supply chain having to manage fragmented data. This is the main outcome of the importance of visibility as part of a successful supply chain. Data is fragmented between OEM and Suppliers as a result of decisions being based on a specific subset of data. Even if the IBM report wasn’t specifically about manufacturing and product development, I still regard product data as being very distributed. OEM designs and distributes data to the suppliers who work on their designs. Sometimes, the same design is used for manufacturing by multiple providers/suppliers…, and there are many other scenarios.

 I see one of the biggest promises of PLM 2.0  is being able to have data management platforms used behind CAD/design and product development platforms. This is a good step for rationalizing data management as opposed to the case where data is located in multiple CAD files. To be able to manage data globally, across the supply chain, collaboration among suppliers may decrease data fragmentation.

 Another piece of technology that can work together with PLM 2.0 is cloud data services. The latest development in this area can be seen in the plans of Amazon, Microsoft and other companies to build data centers – this is a big promise, in my view. Usage of cloud data services will eliminate the need for companies to establish shared IT infrastructure. For the larger companies, it will provide the required level of security. For smaller suppliers today, this is the biggest showstopper, since the most expensive infrastructure they can afford these days is email only.

 Of course, this is not simple and has a long way to go. OEMs and suppliers act as separate organizations and not always can share data between them. But these technologies, in my view, provide a solid technological foundation to provide a better supply chain solution for tomorrow.  

 I would be interested to hear about your challenges and to discuss if you are starting to evaluate these technologies in the near future. 

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

PLM 2.0: Technology or Facelift?

February 26, 2009

Since last year, I have seen many discussions on the Web about PLM 2.0. The number of posts is growing…

I searched on the PLM side, starting from the initial Dassault Systems announcements last year: Dassault Systems: PLM 2.0 Online for all based on V6 Platform. This topic was continued by multiple blogs and news articles PLM 2.0 – lifelike experience. In addition, I found a section in a Wikipedia article about PLM 2.0. Wikipedia outlines PLM 2.0 as Web-based SaaS applications focusing on collaboration, social networking and easy created business processes. At the same time, lifelike experience (i.e. handling of CAD-based models in virtual reality using game controllers like Wii) wasn’t mentioned. A few months ago, PTC came out with a SharePoint based on Windchill ProductPoint, enabling social product development. This is based on the usage of SharePoint User Interface and the ability to share CAD data in social networks. Actually, I didn’t find a consolidated view about how PLM 2.0 is defined.

On the Web side, analyzing Web 2.0, in a nutshell, I can summarize a technological short list of Web 2.0 as following:

RSS Feeds for data syndication allows the manipulation data coming from different sources (i.e. web services etc.)

Web Services for interoperability and APIs

Rich User Experience also, maybe, known as Rich Internet Applications

Folksonomies – the ability to make data classification based on a user’s definitions of tags, social indexes etc.

Mashups – technology that allows you to mix data delivered by multiple sources (i.e. web services, websites…)

Blogs – user generated content that can be easy created, shared and used for collaboration purposes.  

So, where is PLM 2.0 going? Is it new technology that will create a revolution in product development or facelift existing PLM by reusing of Web 2.0 technologies? Or maybe this is just an “Everything 2.0” marketing buzz?

Comparing the above Web 2.0 technological with the announced capabilities of PLM products has not shown me any similarities. Lifelike experience and the ability of DS V6 to run everything on top of an application server backed up with RDBMS allows me to think that RSS and Web Services can be enabled to deliver data to relevant social communities. But, at the same time, PLM content continues to be complex and not easy to Mashup. Therefore, I see that there’s a long way to go for PLM in order to solve these problems and crash the barriers among today’s PLM people and the larger communities of manufacturers, supply chain users and consumers. 

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

Collaborate online – Does it make Sense for PLM?

February 24, 2009

Lately, I’ve seen a growing number of applications introducing the idea of real-time collaboration online on the same document. This idea is called co-editing, which I find cool, and I see  a lot of large and small vendors are doing this. You can see a very interesting review of these capabilities in the following post on Mashable – 5 ways to collaborate online on documents.

 

 Now, what about PLM? I see similar capabilities in CAD systems as very promising. I didn’t have the chance to see it presented in real systems today, but I definitely see trends that will, in the end, will make it happen.

 The following technologies will allow design systems to provide online collaboration:

Cloud data management – more and more data will be easily placed on the cloud storage and retrieved without any special applications. Online applications – more and more applications are running over the internet and accessing data everywhere. Internet availability – we are living in a connected world. We’re not yet connected everywhere, but we are connected much more than in the past.

 All these capabilities together will move us towards online collaboration. Today, I can point out on the DS 3DLive application and PLM 2.0 ideas. They are definitely about online applications, and I’m sure we will see more applications innovating in this space in the future. 

dassault-systemes-3dlive-product1

 

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

My favorite PLM and PLM-related technologies for 2008

January 5, 2009

At the end of the year and at the beginning of the new year, there are a log of posts that are generated summarizing the past and predicting the future. Since I’ve already covered the future in my first post of 2009,  “PLM Dream Technologies for 2009”, now I’d like to talk about the past.

 The following is my top 5 list for the “PLM technological jungles” in 2008.

 1.    PLM 2.0 concept

Technologically, PLM 2.0, in my view, takes product lifecycle management to the next level of capabilities by adding “openness”. My main concern about Enterprise PLM today is about the disconnection of people and processes within an organization.  PLM 2.0 breathes new, fresh air into this space. Now all data is available online for all, with transparent tools. Although there are still a  lot of issues related to interoperability that need to be resolved, the technical achievements presented today in PLM 2.0 allow users to work online on the same components and assemblies.  These  (technological achievements) are very interesting and impressive.

 2.    Direct Modeling

This technology is trying to make 3D more user friendly and, as a result, widely available for people. This technological trend was presented by multiple existing, new and leading providers in the CAD/PLM space. Overall, this technology, popularizes 3D to the masses and definitely takes CAD/PLM downstream. With the development of this technology, more users in CAD/PLM eco-systems will be able to use 3D in their daily lives – manufacturing, marketing, customer support etc.

 3.    Web 2.0

Rather than being a  particular technology, Web 2.0 provides a specific set of technological capabilities that has changed the Web into a ‘Web of participation’. One of the top technological needs in PLM, in my view, is the ability to connect people. The Web 2.0 technological trend majorly impacted and influenced PLM 2.0 definitions. The success of Web 2.0 technologies and awareness (such as blogs, Wikis etc.) has impacted and will continue to impact the PLM community significantly.

 4.    Mashups

The peak of excitement around Mashups came from Google maps. This is the first and foremost example of successful and practical Mashups. There are additional vendors in the Mashup world such as Yahoo Pipes, Microsoft Popfly and others. In my view, Mashups is heavily under-invested in PLM. Moreover, there are some very serious technological and community oriented influencers that are preventing some Mashups from succeeding . I’m excited about it, but this still needs to happen.

 5.    RIA

Rich Internet Application is a very important technology. In my opinion, RIA marks the end of discussion regarding what’s the best Web or Desktop solution. RIA moves the Web from an application name to technology, allowing access over Web only. What’s more, it also provides an overall agreement about users’ needs regarding user experience and user acceptance – this is one of the top priorities of PLM

 This sums up is my “top -five”. I’d be interested in knowing if you agree with my ranking, or what other technologies to add to this list.

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

V6 Technologies for PLM 2.0

June 27, 2008

I’d like to share my view on V6 technologies Dassault Systems presented last week on our technological forum DevCon 2008. If you haven’t chance to join this conference you can explore some materials and video presentations in official DevCon Web Site (www.3ds.com/devcon) and DevCon 2008 Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20454081856).

 PLM 2.0

What make me very excited about V6 technology in the future is that this is first production system that allows making design and collaboration in 3D on top of application server running standard commercial relational database live and online. Until now people doing design in CAD for 2D or 3D were pretty locked to manage their information using files on disk or shared file storages. From now, this is not true anymore. Using CATIA V6 and ENOVIA V6 you are able to run your design, engineering and manufacturing projects without connection to particular workstation loaded with your assembly files. All design data is stored in central location powered by ENOVIA V6 server and accessible can be accessible for multiple locations and multiple application on very granular level in database. Re-use and leverage this data becomes much simpler than before when you were required to extract data from different CAD files and translating data to different formats.

Future V6 solutions will be able to access design, engineering and manufacturing data in database in order to streamline organization processes, optimizing supply chain and make product information available for consumers.

 

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

Hello World PLM Twine!

May 21, 2008

Hello!  In this blog I will share with you my thoughts about technologies and user experience around Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

Why I decided to call this blog twine? Twine is something that strongly associated in my mind with composition of things together. In the same way strings twisted together becomes stronger, various activities connected together in one single process also creates significant value. For me PLM was always about connecting different people, organization and information around product development. As a result of these connections people can innovate and create better products. With introduction of PLM 2.0 Dassault Systemes introduced next level in Product Lifecycle Management. Connecting Product, Processes, Resources and now People Dassault Systemes V6 solution brings connected online PLM solution for all.

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Posted by olegshilovitsky

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