Consulting
CIMdata PLM Consulting: Product Innovation Through PLM
CIMdata PLM Transformation
Consulting Methodology Transforms Your Business for a Competitive Advantage
CIMdata’s expertise and experience helping engineering and manufacturing companies around the world with their PLM initiatives cannot be matched; our list of clients is extensive. Companies have sought out CIMdata’s support and guidance at every stage of their PLM implementation—from defining a PLM vision and strategy, to evaluating and selecting a solution, to implementing that solution and monitoring its progress.
CIMdata’s PLM consulting methodology for industrial enterprises, PLM Transformation, is based on more than 20 years of PLM consulting best practices. It is designed to support your organization in its PLM-related business process and technology transformation. It is comprised of a comprehensive set of customized services, and delivered through activities that address your organization’s target of achieving a competitive advantage.
The successful planning, selection, and implementation of a business solution is an ongoing, cyclical process comprised of six phases. This process applies to every organization — whatever the industry, whatever the particular requirements or application, and whatever the final result maybe. Each of the six stages is separate and unique. Each is equally important, and in order for the final outcome to be successful, each requires a set of targeted services. CIMdata is ready to provide support at each and every phase.
PLM Transformation: CIMdata’s Phase Process for Implementing Business Solution
PLM Strategy Development
The development of a consistent and well-thought-out strategy is critical. CIMdata delivers on this because of its extensive experience with industrial organizations around the world. Experience that included helping them formulate PLM strategies based on their unique business situation, strengths and weaknesses, competitive positioning, industry segment, and their future business direction and vision.
CIMdata helps with the development of an appropriate strategy, enabled through the implementation of PLM, to support both top- and bottom-line business growths. Our services range from PLM education sessions to multiple strategy sessions. CIMdata offers a number of focused PLM seminars that are designed to introduce specific PLM-related topics, such as PLM for Executives, an introduction to PLM technology, and others to ensure that the organization is made aware of what PLM is and what it can mean to the company. All of our services are tailored to the specific needs of our clients. CIMdata also provides client-specific support to meet our client’s PLM strategy development needs.
PLM Solution Definition
CIMdata’s consulting methodology includes a number of tailored activities that support the development of a detailed PLM solution definition. This definition is based upon our client’s specific PLM strategy. During this phase of a PLM project, CIMdata leverages a number of proven templates and associated approaches to gather the detail technical and process-related requirements for our client’s PLM solution. CIMdata’s methodology in this area is both deep and broad. CIMdata takes a business-centric approach to ensure that business needs are met with the most appropriate combination of PLM-enabled business processes to support the client’s product lifecycle management needs. CIMdata deploys a number of best practice oriented tools, such as PLM-focused technology and process maturity models, and a benefits appraisal model. The benefits appraisal model and its associated methodology, have been used by companies around the world to identify potential PLM cost and benefits, and to support the development of comprehensive PLM project justification material. As with all PLM Transformation phases, CIMdata also provides client-specific support to meet our client’s PLM solution definition needs.
PLM Solution Evaluation and Selection
CIMdata’s extensive understanding of the commercially-available PLM solutions dramatically reduces the time to evaluate and select the most appropriate PLM solution. CIMdata’s evaluation and selection approach helps a company focus on the business and technical issues that are most critical to achieve its PLM strategy and vision. Leveraging CIMdata’s knowledge of the available solutions and our clients’ specific requirements, we are able to provide a short-list of appropriate PLM solutions for further evaluation. This list of three to six solutions is then evaluated with the help of a number of technical and business-oriented templates and associated methodologies.
CIMdata’s comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP)/Request for Quotation (RFQ) template has been proven to be an excellent way to transform a company’s business requirements into technical requirements. Our multiple and proven benchmarking templates have helped numerous companies gain an appreciation of the solutions under consideration without going into a seemingly endless loop of analysis. Finally, CIMdata helps facilitate final selection by making sure that all strengths and weaknesses, whether technical or business-oriented, are measured and considered so that the best business solution is recommended. As with all PLM Transformation phases, CIMdata also provides client-specific support to meet our client’s PLM solution evaluation and selection needs.
PLM Implementation Planning
CIMdata’s support does not stop with the selection of a solution, but rather our experience and best practices can be leveraged throughout the implementation planning and implementation phases of our client’s PLM project. Over the years, CIMdata has provided a significant amount of strategic advice and counsel during the implementation planning phase of both large and small PLM projects. We offer best practice support in a number of areas, including implementation roll out, statement of work development, contract negotiation, implementation team structuring, “to-be” process definition, systems definition, cultural / organizational change management, and training, to name a few. Our best practices cover a number of PLM-related business processes, such as configuration management, engineering change, data modeling, and classification schema development, to name just a few. As with all PLM Transformation phases, CIMdata works with its clients to define the optimum support offering; filling in where needed and always adding value. As a result, CIMdata also provides client-specific support totally customized to our client’s PLM implementation planning needs.
PLM Implementation Support
CIMdata’s implementation support services are extensive. As an independent and unbiased PLM consulting firm, CIMdata is able to provide strategic implementation consultants as well as program managers who always place the clients’ interests first. During this phase of our clients’ PLM project, CIMdata’s strategic consulting services focus on delivering cultural / organizational change management education and communication support. Our strategic consulting resources also provide best practice support related to process implementation, portal and user interface definition, and implementation assessments. Our program managers are well versed in project management methodologies (e.g., PMI), and have been involved in multiple PLM implementations. During this phase of a client’s PLM project, CIMdata’s program managers primarily act as facilitators always making sure that the client’s best interests are in the forefront, and that the project moves forward on a sound and consistent basis. As with all PLM Transformation phases, CIMdata also provides client-specific support to meet our client’s PLM implementation support needs.
PLM Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
During this final and perhaps most critical PLM project phase, CIMdata provides a robust set of services designed to maximize our clients’ ability to get the most out of their PLM solution. Maximizing our clients’ return on investment (ROI) is at the core of these services. CIMdata leverages a set of assessment techniques and other best practice experiences to identify areas requiring improvement and recommends roadmaps to move forward. CIMdata’s extensive PLM industry experience plays a vital role during this PLM project phase. Our consultants, who have an average of more than 20 years in the PLM business, leverage their knowledge of hundreds of PLM implementations in numerous countries, companies, and industries to help our clients succeed. CIMdata takes a practical approach that ensures that our clients not only know where improvement is required, but also what course of action is recommended. This helps streamline the steps forward and quickly places the company on the most beneficial path. As with all PLM Transformation phases, CIMdata provides client-specific support to meet our client’s PLM monitoring and continuous improvement needs.