Product lifecycle management technology assessment: a case study in the industrial equipment industry

Abstract

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) adoption is very important for companies to sustain and stay competitive in market particularly to the organizations that involving from design to manufacturing. Many companies are struggling whether to adopt PLM because implementing PLM involves very extensive changes in intra and inter-organizational practices. PLM assessment is an important activity in the pre-implementation stage to determine the scope of implementation. However, the requirements and scope of implementation are always influenced by the users’ paradigm of “needs” instead of the company’s current PLM maturity level. This research covered the PLM assessment in using Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) focused in PLM technology components. The research was based on case study approach conducted in an Industrial Equipment company. The scope of assessment was to investigate the technology components in respect to data, process and methodology. The empirical results showed PLM technology components prioritization determined through the hierarchy analysis could provide more consistent output compared to user’s direct judgement. The authors argue that PLM assessment in technology components prioritization requires consideration of its maturity level because the outcomes provide a better guideline to define a strategic roadmap for PLM implementation.