Manufacturing journalist, Thomas R. Cutler recently profiled Product lifecycle management in the engineer-to-order (ETO) environment, in The Machinist magazine. The entire feature can be read at www.trcutlerinc.com.According to Cutler, “Product lifecycle management (PLM) is described as the process of managing the complete lifecycle of a product. It starts with its conception, covers designing and manufacturing, and includes service and ends at disposal. It serves as one of the four cornerstones of the IT structure of any corporation. Apart from managing communications and information with their customers (CRM-Customer Relationship Management), suppliers (SCM-Supply Chain Management) and the resources within the enterprise (ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning), all manufacturing engineering companies need to develop, describe, manage and communicate information about their products. PLM benefits include a reduced time-to-market, establishing benchmarks for improved product quality, reduced prototyping costs and savings through the re-use of original data. “PLM largely impacts custom, project-based, Engineer-to-Order (ETO) companies. Esin Ergens’s PhD thesis examined the formalization of life cycle information of ETO components using advanced tracking technologies. Ergen suggested that material-related information is not readily available in construction supply chains, which results in inefficiencies in material flow, including wrong deliveries and lost materials. Unavailability of material information is even more problematic for ETO components since ETO components (such as precast or pipe spools) are highly customized, having numerous component-related information items, long lead times and usually being on the critical path in construction schedules.
ETO Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software providers are designing and integrating several PLM capabilities into new releases with the objective of delivering increased effectiveness in product lifecycle management as an integrated part of the enterprise business software. As demand for new and innovative technology in the ERP industry grows, so does the need for extending the capabilities of enterprise technology solutions. Product and lifecycle management has become increasingly more popular in the manufacturing ERP industry as many of its attributes cross into both types of software.Cutler insists, “Industrial customers want to manage the lifecycle of their products from its conception as a quote, to production and shipment installation, including support. Through the use of the capabilities of engineering and product lifecycle management (EPLM), companies are more effectively and efficiently innovating and managing their products and services throughout the entire lifecycle. Complex product manufacturers require robust product data management, and extensive access to engineering information.â€
About TR Cutler, Inc.:
TR Cutler, Inc. (www.trcutlerinc.com) was founded by Thomas R. Cutler almost a decade ago. Cutler maintains extraordinary relationships with clients, journalists, editors, trendsetters, and key business leaders worldwide and has become a key resource for those writing about the manufacturing sector. Thomas R. Cutler is the most frequently published manufacturing journalist and serves as contributed contributing editor more than three hundred publications annual. The scope of publications ranges from Automation.com to Quality Digest. A sample of Cutler’s feature articles can be located on the TR Cutler, Inc. website.
TR Cutler, Inc.
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Thomas Cutler
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