Reaching the Next Level of Innovation

By Joel Lemke, CEO Enovia, Inc. Dessault Systems, Inc.

Dassault Systemes first coined and announced PLM in June of 2002, calling it a solution that would help companies retain and add to their IP. To do that, and to climb to the next level of innovation, companies needed technology to capture essential data—usually embodied in engineering activities and documents—and to make it available to those who needed it, and keep it secure.

By mid-2002, engineers who used CAD at manufacturing companies reached a consensus that the hardest part of their jobs was finding the right data. They had to search files, load pictures of models, and then hunt for the right one. That difficulty spread throughout the enterprise.

To meet these challenges and replace frustration with efficiency, PLM must completely integrate the design environment with the overall enterprise, so all authorized individuals—from design engineers to marketing and communications managers—have access to the data at the same time in a secure, collaborative environment. The program should also make sure that when any individual leaves the enterprise, their knowledge remains.

By its nature, PLM assists overall efficiency and day-to-day innovation. For example, electronic collaboration eliminates much of the time and expense of traveling to meetings. It also enables greater productivity. An engineer for an aerospace company in the U.S., for instance, might be working on the fuselage of an aircraft while his Asia-based counterpart is working on the wing. When the U.S. engineer goes home at night, the engineer in Asia can go to work to determine the interfaces that same day, avoiding downtime caused by trans-Pacific travel.

These benefits aren’t only for big companies. If you look at the aerospace and automotive industries, you can see PLM providing value for large, process-oriented OEM companies while offering different benefits to smaller second- or third-tier suppliers. Though processes might not be of greatest priority for smaller companies, the speed and the ability to respond to the OEM within a given timeframe is.

PLM is necessary for our customers to be competitive. If you were to draw a diagram of everything necessary for effective PLM, you’d see a central need for an integrated product model. Then you’d see a need for a software infrastructure that interfaces with the operating system. Next are PLM applications divided into two layers: one strictly of applications and another of common components that apply where configuration and document management belong—items typically considered PDM applications.

Different developers break up the PLM applications area in different ways. We simplify access by giving users an enterprise hub, an engineering hub, a manufacturing hub, and above those three, a portal or enterprise access component.

PLM products also need to work with these central components. The way they do is another differentiating factor among developers. We believe that our strength lies with having a single architecture in which we can create an integrated product model and store knowledge about that model. Within that environment, other kinds of applications—whether process applications or functional applications—can connect to core applications to build a huge, comprehensive world of PLM.

Joel Lemke joined ENOVIA, the PLM development arm of Dassault Systemes, in 1998 as its first CEO. His 24-year technology career includes hardware and software development experience and management at the highest levels.To comment on this article, send an e-mail.