Industry Summary Articles

SDPD – the New Paradigm for Innovative Product Development

Gerald Deren, Executive Director, Americas Business Development & Consulting, Siemens Strategic Industries Americas

In today’s challenging and demanding world, companies face the monumental pressure of cost reduction, shrinking budgets, and having to do more with less. Additionally, threats of regulatory compliance, out-sourcing, take-overs, and moving more work to the supply chain have created a sense of competition or change in business strategy as a way to pick up the loss in other areas of their business. Additionally, numerous competing entrepreneurs have also sprung to life with efficient product development practices which lack the overhead of the traditional players forcing them to rethink how they need to evolve if they want to remain in the game.

This presentation addresses one such theme referred to as “Systems Driven Product Development” (SDPD) and how manufacturers are embracing this as a leading practice to attack this challenge. The discussion will highlight the trends seen, areas of investment, and solutions executed as a means to capture attention and market share.

New Age Collaboration and Design

John Mannisto, Director of Engineering, Simulation-Based Design, Whirlpool Corporation

Global companies need to use their size to their advantage. Drawing on the best of our global teams and their collective knowledge is essential, and we need to provide the tools and promote the behaviors that can make this happen. Social media is outpacing corporate collaboration, and we need to pay attention. Facebook and Twitter have taught us that if you provide fun, intuitive tools, people like to socialize. If we can leverage this behavior in the work place, collaboration will thrive. Our internal experiment, Whirlpool Commons, is discussed, including some of the more interesting sources of inspiration (hint: they grew up with cell phones in their pockets).

“Built for It”, The Caterpillar Service Information Solution

Mike Perez, Strategic Projects and Services Manager, Technical Information Solutions, Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar has built its name on providing unmatched service to its customers throughout the product lifecycle. Technical information is the foundation for building customer loyalty and enables harvesting of the aftermarket. “Built for It”, The Caterpillar Service Information Solution presentation will provide attendees with a view into the Caterpillar technical information service model, the associated challenges faced in supporting over 3 million machines and engines with an average age of almost 20 years, and provide insight into some of the unique demands of Service Lifecycle Management (SLM).

Advanced Information Technology Solutions: An Engine of Innovation

Greg Schroeder, Senior Research Engineer, Center for Automotive Research

Globalization, increasingly stringent regulations, and advanced automotive electronics are rapidly increasing the complexity of the automotive landscape. Advanced enterprise information technology (IT) solutions are an essential part of managing the increasingly complex automotive industry. These solutions are viewed as a way to intelligently leverage internal and external data sources, transform the brick-and-mortar workplace to the mobile environment, provide real-time collaboration around the world, and free the workforce from the tedious tasks that stifle innovation. This presentation will describe key automotive market trends that impact IT, opportunities for greater use of IT in the automotive industry, and the implications of advanced IT systems to the automotive industry.