Product?? or Experience Lifecycle Management ?

The last few decades was all about technological innovations, products became smarter, faster and better. There were advances in almost all industries.

?Consider the below examples

1. ?Wearable Smart Devices - Fitbit for example, started as a wellness wearable device - tracking your steps per day. And it was just that. Today, there are multiple brands and variants of such devices. It not only tracks your steps, but also connects to your phone - shows you snippets of your messages, lets you call and so on. Once connected, you can share your statistics on fitness apps like Strava, Runtastic etc., form group goals, chat , encourage each other etc., etc.,
2. Grocery delivery - Till probably just before the pandemic, your last minute grocery shopping was usually when some unexpected guests arrive. You then quickly need a packet of milk to make coffee or some snacks to serve along with it. You call your nearby kirana store and he sends somebody with the necessities. The trend has changed now - everybody is home all the time, so the need for groceries increase and now we have multiple apps like Pickily, Blinkit etc., promising 10 min delivery for no reason!
3. Apparel - How many times have you ordered something online - like a top or a sandal and didn’t really like the fit or how it looks on you. How many time have you actually returned it?
4. Food-Dining - During the pandemic - most of our favorite restaurants were taking delivery orders. Did you really order from there? Did you like what you got?
5. Car/Bike - Vehicles were mostly sold based on their utility - mileage, seating capacity etc., But now, most of the vehicles are feature rich - Things like charging points, Bluetooth connectivity, Navigation guidance, arm rests, coffee mug holders etc.., also are under consideration while utility aspects have become hygiene factors.

Do we now notice that it's no longer just about the PRODUCT… but more about the EXPERIENCE?

With that background in mind, do manufacturing companies need to rethink their PLM strategy? Traditionally PLM systems are designed to just manage product data. Now the product design also had to be reworked keeping "experience" in mind.

From a product design perspective, the display has to be sleek but clear, batteries have to have a longer life to cater to multiple functionalities. This requires a change in the way Design BOM is managed in itself. It's no longer just about geometry and fixed parametric values. It's more!

?From a product interoperability perspective, it needs to have capability to integrate and work with some common applications (and keep updating). This necessitates a library of connectors to be developed which can be reused to aid in accelerated deployment.

?From a user experience perspective, it needs to have better performance (the consumer behavior has changed now). Designers themselves are no longer willing to wait for hours for a large BOM to load. They have seen faster rendition on their cellphones! So the complete technical architecture of the PLM solution needs to be relooked at.

?Encompassing all that, we live in a very connected world today. PLM systems also need to be truly connected - and as much real time as possible. Gone are the days when customers were happy with batch processing, now everyone expects real time data synchronization.

?For instance - A virtual twin model of a product is no longer enough if its just that. It now needs to combine 3D Modelling and Simulation with data from the real world at real time!

?Of course I work for Dassault Systems, but I cannot think of any other platform which provides a complete experience for the end customer than our very own 3DExpereince Platform.

It's fascinating to understand how the solution has matured from just a 3D Model of a Boeing 777 to a simulated model of a fully functional heart! Technological innovation at its best.

?What's my conclusion?

?I feel this is an inflection point for PLM product vendors and service providers. It's time to rethink the product development roadmap and strategy. At the same time, the way the products are sold also needs to be revamped. It's not just about a point solution to manage customer's product data. It's about the experience that we can give them - or in some cases change them!

When we first start to learn a musical instrument (say guitar for example), we just learn to play popular tunes, or just strum for the popular numbers. But once we mature as a musician, the same instrument is used to create an experience for the audience. That’s what PLM systems should do now - create a product innovation (not just development) experience for their end customers!