How can you prepare for the future of PLM?

1 Embrace digital transformation

Digital transformation is the integration of digital technologies and data into your business processes, products, and services. It can help you improve your PLM capabilities by enhancing collaboration, innovation, automation, and analytics. For example, you can use cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and internet of things to connect your product data and workflows across different platforms, teams, and stakeholders. You can also leverage digital twin, augmented reality, and additive manufacturing to create and test virtual models of your products before building them in the real world.

2 Adopt agile and lean methodologies

Agile and lean methodologies are approaches to product development that focus on delivering value to customers in an iterative and incremental way. They can help you improve your PLM outcomes by reducing waste, increasing flexibility, and accelerating feedback. For example, you can use scrum, kanban, and design thinking to organize your product teams, tasks, and goals around customer needs and problems. You can also use minimum viable product, prototyping, and user testing to validate your product assumptions and features with real users as early and often as possible.

3 Align with circular economy principles

Circular economy is a system that aims to eliminate waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems. It can help you improve your PLM impact by extending your product lifespan, reducing your environmental footprint, and creating new value streams. For example, you can use eco-design, modular design, and life cycle assessment to minimize your product's resource consumption, emissions, and toxicity. You can also use repair, reuse, refurbish, and recycle strategies to recover your product's value and materials after its use.

4 Incorporate social responsibility and ethics

Social responsibility and ethics are the principles and standards that guide your business decisions and actions in relation to your stakeholders, society, and environment. They can help you improve your PLM reputation by enhancing your trust, loyalty, and differentiation. For example, you can use stakeholder engagement, transparency, and accountability to communicate your product's purpose, vision, and performance to your customers, employees, partners, and regulators. You can also use codes of conduct, compliance, and audits to ensure your product's quality, safety, and legality.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?