The selection of a Product Data / Lifecycle Management system
The implementation of a Product Data Management system is costly; there is often an investment of several tons to more than a million euros involved. Moreover, the organization of a Product Data Management or Product Lifecycle Management system requires a lot of time from an organization, which makes it important that the system offers a future-oriented solution. Thorough and structured selection of the right solution is therefore of great importance; a wrong choice will always involve a huge divestment.
Selection model
Although there are a number of generic selection criteria, the specific criteria for selecting a Product Data Management system will be different for each company. Every company has developed its own processes in the course of time, resulting in differences in the required Product Data Management functionality. Depending on the specific situation and environment in a company, one system will have good chances to operate effectively, whereas another system may perform poorly, while in another company it may be exactly the opposite. The cause of this will usually not lie in the absence of a particular integration or system link. It will be much more about the way in which a piece of functionality is filled in or can be designed in the Data Management system.
The selection model has four distinctive selection phases:
Longlist: Several packages are available on the market. To limit the costs of the selection process, the supply of systems is reduced to a long list of up to 6 systems that are examined in more detail.
Shortlist: Several packages are available on the market. To limit the costs of the selection process, the supply of systems is reduced to a long list of six systems that are examined in more detail.
Request for Information (RFI): In order to be able to make a neutral comparison between the systems on the shortlist, a Requirements sheet can be drawn up containing the functional and non-functional requirements and wishes. The suppliers of the short-listed systems are asked to fill in the RFI. By scoring the answers for support and interest for the company, a picture is created of the systems that qualify for the Benchmark / Proof of Concept. In the context of a European tender, a Market Consultation can be conducted instead of the RFI. This is a formal preliminary phase for the tender.
Demonstrator: The suppliers / implementation partners of the short-listed systems are asked to give a demonstration that is tailored as much as possible to the situation in the company.
Benchmark / POC: In the benchmark of Proof of Concept (POC) 1 or 2 systems are tested in a real business situation. A representative part of the final data in combination with the system integration is evaluated. At the end of the POC it is determined which Data Management system is chosen.
Pilot: Often, in addition to the benchmark, a pilot is also carried out in a limited project environment. The selected Data Management system will be fully set up in the pilot so that it can be taken into production after the pilot. The final adjustments to the customization can take place in the pilot.
Selection criteria:
The selection criteria that are used during the selection phases can be categorized as follows:
Functional: This is the functionality the (end) user wants to have, such as being able to categorize objects or easily search in meta data.
Not functional: These are the technical requirements; the architecture of the system, supported application integrations, IT platforms, databases, security options and networks. Besides the possibilities to maintain and adapt the system yourself as well as the user interface.
Costs: This concerns the total costs of the system, ie the investment in hardware, software, implementation and consultancy services, customization and training.
Supplier: This is the assessment of the supplier / implementation partner. To get an impression whether they are a good partner to make the project a success.
Selection guide
The book “PDM Selection Guide, From needs to selection, a business solution.” gives a good picture of the selection trajectory of a PLM (PDM) system. In the book, based on the above selection model, the various aspects of the selection of a PLM system are discussed, but also what a PLM system can mean for a company. Although the book is dated in terms of market exploration and is now sold out, do serve to gain more knowledge in this area. A digital PDF version of this book is available here or ask for a free digital copy via the contact information.