Mid-size Manufacturers Using PLM Solutions for Double-digit Gains in Product Innovation
In a new benchmark report, titled PLM for Small to Medium-Size Manufacturers, AberdeenGroup finds that small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) are focusing their product strategies on revenue growth in combination with cost reduction to achieve profitable growth. However, most are currently missing product revenue, product launch, product cost, product development cost, and quality targets for two reasons. First, they face the same complex product innovation environment as large manufacturers – including faster product commoditization, globalization, and demand for more complex products. Second, their product development processes are frequently inadequate to cope with changing innovation and product development demands.
This study reports how SMEs are responding by implementing PLM software and the adoption challenges they face because of their size, including implementation costs, process changes, and lack of IT resources. The study describes solutions that address these needs by lowering implementation barriers. It also analyzes what top performers are doing with regard to organizational structure, processes, and performance measurement to gain double-digit revenue and cost improvements. Based on these findings, AberdeenGroup recommends actions SMEs can take to improve product innovation, product development, and engineering performance.
