What manufacturing company hasn't faced unnecessary rework, confusion on the shop floor and thus missed delivery dates? The cause can repeatedly be traced to unclear, ambiguous documentation often found in 2D drawings. Help is at hand, fortunately. An evolving solution for authoring product definition and design intent, sourced at the CAD models, is gaining recognition.
Read MoreAbout sixteen years ago, I joined Technicon. At that time, we came out with one of the leading CPQ products for large manufacturers in North America. My background revolved around some of the aspects that can be associated with CPQ such as CAD and mechanical engineering. By selling Intel products, I also got a good feel for the complexities and issues in generating quotes and the proposal process for manufacturers. Since then, for the last sixteen years, we have been deploying systems for very large manufacturers in North America. Companies like Eaton, Borg Warner and Phillips are Technicon customers. Today, Technicon is a leading CPQ provider in North America.
Read MoreA common need is to manage data and support processes. The data portion includes product data, their rules/options/constraints and associated documents such as 3D CAD used in the design automation aspect of CPQ. For processes, this implies mechanisms to move a quote through the various functional areas of the business such as engineering, finance, manufacturing, planning, purchasing, etc. Together, managing data and facilitating processes are the very heart of PLM.
Read MoreAn Interview with Scott Heide, CEO of Engineering Intent - PPLM: Welcome, Scott. Thank you for spending some time with us. We are happy to have you bring additional perspective to our topic of CPQ. Before we start, give us a quick backgrounder as well as what you are doing today. Scott: I started out with an interesting educational combination, both engineering and computer science degrees. After I graduated with a master’s in science from MIT in the mid-80s, I immediately joined a company that was a pioneer in engineering automation called ICAD. They developed the concept of what was then called “knowledge-based engineering,” now more often called “engineering automation,” and were able to deliver some eye-opening applications to a wide variety of high-end customers.
Read MoreNo Other Platform Provides the Needed Single-Source-of-Truth like PLM. CPQ draws on a wide variety of data and is critically process dependent. If ever there were applications that could use “single source of truth,” it is CPQ. But, for many companies, spreadsheets, file folders, email exchanges and various home grown and internally maintained applications are their “CPQ-lite.” On top of all of this, the “change train” keeps barreling along. Data is never static. Change does not stop. Time-outs don’t exist. And, undoubtedly, the “intervention cycles” will be high and unsustainable. Let’s recall the presentation from an earlier issue as a step toward making the case...
Read MoreThe drop zone concept is to export a data file from a source environment into a neutral area (file folder) that the target application retrieves and reads. The direct connect model leverages application program interface (API) modules. There is an API specific to the source and target applications. These APIs talk to each other. Then there is the enterprise service bus (EBS), referred to as the “hub and spoke” model. BizTalk from Microsoft and WebSphere from IBM were some of the solutions developed years ago that popularized the hub and spoke idea...
Read MoreWe regularly hear from organizations that are using or thinking about using a product data management (PDM) solution such as Autodesk Vault or SolidWorks Enterprise PDM (EPDM) to manage their CAD drawings and parts (items). Users want to know how these PDM applications fit into a PLM strategy. “Does PLM replace PDM?” “Should we stop the PDM evaluation process and just go to a PLM solution?” “We implemented PDM, but the company wants to implement PLM. Our CAD users don’t want to change. Can they work together?” For starters, there is a role for each solution. It is not a question of one-or-the-other. Coexistence can be a preferred strategy for certain situations.
Read MoreThe stakeholders of PLM systems expect accurate product documentation. Such is not always reality. The dire results of inaccurate product documentation can affect all levels of stakeholders’ activity: strategic, tactical and operational, and maybe all levels at once. Excessive scrap and rework may trigger excessive costs and delayed shipments. Perhaps, even loss of customers. Fortunately, in the realm of 3D CAD models and 2D drawings, Model-Based Definition (MBD) is an evolving solution for generating information that is clear, unambiguous and repeatable for all stakeholders in a single source over the lifecycle of a product.
Read MorePLM inherently touches multiple departments and areas of responsibilities. The value of part and product data, files, drawings, specs and schedules for example, extend beyond the engineering and manufacturing departments. But, the reality is various teams/groups in the organization invariably acquire technology solutions specific to their needs. Hence the silos of data and disconnected processes are perpetuated.
Read MorePLM inherently touches multiple departments and areas of responsibility. It can start at sales, but at a minimum will involve engineering, planning, production and segments of manufacturing. If your responsibilities are in engineering, then getting other departments to buy-in can be challenging. Executive sponsorship cuts across these boundaries. So, the real question is “how do I get the bosses to buy-in?” The short answer is, in part, by identifying the business values at the P&L level. PLM values can be tied to one or all of three areas on the P&L: revenues, cost of goods sold (CoGs) and overhead. Thus, doing more for less will most likely be found in CoGs and overhead.
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