SUMMARY
Recently I had the opportunity to attend PLM Road Map & PDT 2022 EMEA Conference organized by CIMData and Eurostep at the Lindholmen Conference Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. The theme for the conference was “Digital Transformation and PLM – a call for PLM Professionals to re-define and re-position the benefits and value of PLM.” The event took place on 18 & 19 October 2022.
The event was attended by more than 160 Technocrats from various industry sectors including Packaging, Automotive, Aerospace, and Industrial Automation to name a few. Vendors included Viz, Stora Enso, Volvo, Airbus, Boeing, Saab Aeronautics, Thyseenkruup, ABB, and Siemens Energy.
It was an edifying experience to listen to industry leaders on how they have implemented PLM to support their business need as well as their future plans on PLM. The sessions provided good insight into common problems being faced by organizations while using, maintaining, and most importantly upgrading their PLM applications to satisfy their modern business needs.
GOAL OF THE CONFERENCE
The objective of the conference was to seek answers to the following questions:
- How do we improve PLM implementations to better align with shifting expectations?
- What is the best use of PLM to support the design and implementation of agile, yet resilient, supply chains and in general, reduce and manage enterprise risk?
- How can PLM support the actionable enterprise, helping management teams to understand, make decisions, and manage the future?
- What is needed for the PLM community to move to an interoperable system for data reuse and openness, eliminating process gaps and business friction?
- How do we include PLM as part of strategic AI and Machine Learning investments?
- What is the role of PLM in a post-COVID-19 world, and how do we reset for it?
KEY TAKE AWAYS
I was most impressed by three sessions from this conference:
A. One the best: Accelerating Digital Transformation Journey at Stora Enso
Stora Enso is a Finnish company. They are a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden construction, and paper. Kaisa Suutari, their director of Innovation Services shared Stora Enso’s digital transformation program that started in 2016.
The key elements of their transformation were:
1. Iterative Development
2. Experimenting with new Technologies
a. Their innovative methodology was based on doing experiments first and then analyze results instead of starting with an analysis on how to solve a problem.
b. Proof of concept
c. Pilots
Stora’s journey has set a benchmark in the industry and will inspire many organizations on how to accelerate their Digital Transformation in a methodical way.
B. Another very good presentation was delivered by Josef Schiöler, Head of Core Platform Area PLM/PDM, Volvo Group on “Transformation Journey and PLM & PDM Modernization to the Digital Future”
The Volvo Group is on an exciting transformational journey, and the magnitude of change is huge. Megatrends such as electrification, automation, and connectivity are driving change. The Volvo Group has set ambitious targets in their 2030 vision to meet the convergence of these megatrends and embrace the new opportunities they bring. To support this change, the Volvo Group PLM & PDM landscape is undergoing a significant transformation to enable speed to meet future needs and changing business models, including a more connected partner-ecosystem.
C. The last presentation I was impressed with was “Heterogeneous and federated PLM – is it feasible?” by Erik Herzog, Technical Fellow, Saab Aeronautics
This is a trailblazing approach that SAAB has taken to challenge the monopoly of PLM Vendors and tackle expensive frequent upgrades of PLM applications.
I was amazed to learn that SAAB aeronautics is still using legacy CAD and PLM applications and has not upgraded in many years. They are doing research on Federated PLM using the Genesis PLM Model based on OLSC as an integration standard.
This is a research project on “Genesis a federated PLM architecture Pattern” which is funded by Swedish Vinnova.
CONCLUSION
This was the first “in-person” European PDT PLM Roadmap Conference after more than 2 years post-Covid and it gave everyone the opportunity to enjoy connecting and making new contacts in the industry.
A nod of gratitude to CIMdata and Eurostep as the event was very well managed and executed. The content was highly valuable and very informative. It was nice to meet other IT heads from various organizations and learn from their PLM experiences at their organization. I also met several PLM partners like Razorleaf to share stories and exchange advice. I look forward to the 2023 Conference!
