Historically, the design manager picked the CAD, PDM, and more recently the PLM system. This made sense as the beginnings of PLM came out of engineering and CAD file management.
PLM methodology is a process that starts before design, and often the greatest benefits of PLM are downstream from design. Sometimes, the implementation of PLM actually creates more work for the design engineers but has huge benefits to the rest of the corporation.
Today, PLM is extending its reach well beyond engineering to manufacturing, marketing, finance and other organizations internally. It also reaches out to customers, the extended supply chain and more providing a wealth of benefits and new challenges.
With this business dynamic in mind, have you reexamined who should take ownership of PLM in your organization? Something to consider, there will be different driving forces behind PLM depending upon who has ownership. Here are some to keep in mind:
Should Design select and own the PLM system? As you've likely seen, the main focus of PLM is in CAD file management, change management and BOM management when design is at the wheel.
What about Operations? With cost reduction, inventory management and purchasing at the top of their priorities you can bet these will be the focus for Operations driven PLM as well.
What about Quality? With the Quality organization leading, the driving forces for PLM are likely to be compliance, regulations and overall quality of products.
So, who should own PLM; is it Design or Quality or Operations management, or a permutation yet to be considered?
The answer is not black or white and will vary by industry and company. So let's start the discussion. What are your company's needs and priorities? Think about this as you look at where your PLM ownership should be in the future and let me know [email protected].