International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management
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Implementation Process of Enterprise PLM System SeHyun Myung Samsung Electronics, R&D IT Infra Group, Technology Strategy Office, Corporate Technology Operations Digital R&D Center, 416 Maetan-3Dong, Yeongtong-Gu, Suwon-City, Gyeonggi-Do, Republic of Korea 443-742 +82-31-277-6946(Tel.), +82-31-277-7731(Fax.)
[email protected] Abstract: PLM systems have been widely used in the whole industry. But, in the process of adapting many technologies & solutions to each PLM area, issues on integration & maintenance have been continuously. Especially in the case of a company that manufactures a wide range of products, each business unit of the company needs a customized PLM system that fits for their own purposes. This is why the enterprise PLM system is hard to implement in integrated manners. Nevertheless, it is inevitable to establish a full scale PLM structured at the corporate level in order to reduce system maintenance costs and ensure efficient operations and real-time KPI analysis. This paper describes the implementation process of the enterprise PLM system including PLM scope, solution selection procedure, POC, PLM system development and deployment. Keywords : PLM, Benchmarking, POC, RFP
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Introduction
Products define a company[1]. So, manufacturing companies keep on trying to innovate the way to make products. Product Lifecycle Management (“PLM”, henceforth) is one of the innovation initiatives. It is not a bunch of IT systems but a philosophy. PLM has been used also in the electric and electronics industries, with different solutions used according to the product type. It is not easy to integrate entire engineering IT systems and build an enterprise PLM system, even in a company that produces a single product family. Moreover, making an integrated PLM system is a challenge to a company like Samsung Electronics Co. which produces a variety of products including TV, LCD, printer, PC, camcorder, mobile phone, semiconductor, washing machine and refrigerator, because each of the business units requires different PLM solutions that fit for their own purposes. This paper describes the implementation process of the enterprise PLM system, including PLM scope, solution selection procedure, POC, PLM system development and deployment.
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PLM scope
The scope of PLM needs to be defined in an early stage of the project according to the status of the company. In the early years, PLM was defined as a set of CAD, PDM and
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SeHyun Myung digital manufacturing solutions [2, 3]. But recently CAD is no longer a main actor in the PLM world, but a step of ‘plateau of productivity’[4]. Other emerging technologies are portfolio management and requirement management. PLM functionality can be defined in various ways [5, 6, 7, 8]. In this project, we introduced 12 function blocks. In the a system perspective, each of the 12 function blocks can be defined as R&D strategy management, project management, performance management, portfolio management, development engineering, manufacturing engineering, marketing & product planning, requirements management, development quality management, product information management, technical asset management and out-sourcing and collaboration. Figure 1 illustrates the PLM function blocks defined. Figure 1
PLM function blocks
2.1 Survey of tools and systems in use Prior to implementing the enterprise PLM system, we need to survey the current PLM tools and systems used in the company The company has used various types of tools for S/W configuration, S/W requirements management, S/W design, S/W development, S/W test, industrial design, Electronic CAD & CAE, Mechanical CAD & CAE, mechanical quality checks and molds. Tools are applied in the form of commercial component S/W for specific purposes, but not customized. A system has business logics, UI and Databases and can be customized from commercial S/W or an in-house system from the scratch. Usually hundreds of tools and systems are leveraged in implementing PLM in a company. .
2.2 System interface diagram It is necessary to draw up a system interface diagram for each business unit, define the same function blocks for them and group the systems, when we build up the enterprise PLM system. Figure 2 illustrates high level system interfaces. Based on the diagram, we can define common function blocks for enterprise use as well as special function blocks for special use. Common function blocks are R&D strategy management, project management,
Implementation Process of Enterprise PLM System performance management, portfolio management, marketing & product planning, product information management and technical asset management. Special function blocks customized for each business unit are development engineering, manufacturing engineering, requirements management, development quality management, and out-sourcing and collaboration Figure 2
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System interface diagram
PLM solution selection procedure
After defining the scope of the enterprise PLM system, we need to look into candidate PLM solution vendors for each function block. Figure 3 shows the PLM vendor selection procedure.
SeHyun Myung Figure 3
PLM vendor selection procedure
3.1 Benchmarking other companies Benchmarking other companies is very important, even though there may be some difference in situations. Select proper competitors and look into their PLM implementation status and history. In this stage, focus only on the scope of PLM.
3.2 Benchmarking PLM vendors and solutions There are several ways to benchmark the vendors - seminars, training and visiting reference sites. Figure 4 illustrates the PLM vendor selection criteria. PLM market research report such as Gartner report [9] can be helpful. Especially, the local operation capability of a vendor is as critical as the headquarter capability. And the availability of good support and component developers is also an important check point in selecting vendors, because a vendor may have to take part in several big projects at the same time.
Implementation Process of Enterprise PLM System Figure 4
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PLM vendor selection criteria
Proof of concept
After selecting several candidates for POC (Proof of Concept), we make RFP (Request for Proposal) required for the POC.
4.1 Request for proposal RFP provides a guide to proposal, POC scenarios and a function list to meet the PLM scope. There are two kinds of POC criteria; one is the proof of functions and another is the proof of implementation. Vendor candidates have to explain and show the evidence to meet each and every function and show how to implement the PLM system according to POC scenarios. The proposal contain proposal overview, PLM solution introduction, system requirements, POC results, implementation plan, project & solution cost and some recommendations.
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PLM system implementation and deployment
After selecting the most preferred vendor, we need to analyze the gaps between the solutions and the required systems.
5.1 Development planning In the development planning stage, we define system specifications and detailed explanations, development charter requirements, conference management, deliverables, prepare plans for development teaming, budgeting, development environment setup and WBS.
5.2 Implementation To implement a robust PLM system, ‘scope & functions’ document and ‘architecture & design’ document are required. ‘Scope & functions’ document is prepared to prescribe all functions and UI requirements based on the scope. ‘Architecture & design’ document contains the application architecture, data architecture and technical architecture related to the PLM system. In this stage all kinds of new technologies such as SOA should be considered [10].
5.3 Quality Assurance After the development stage, quality verifications is required. Tests on units, UI, security and performance will be conducted in this stage.
5.4 Deployment and change management The PLM system needs to be rolled out to all business units of the company. The training, data migration, helpdesk operation are also required.
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Conclusion
The implementation process of the enterprise PLM system including PLM scope, solution selection procedure, POC, PLM system development and deployment was described in this paper. Some lessons are learned through the whole stages. There are no solutions that target on the exact scope we desire and therefore we need to customize solutions. The commitment of high level executives is essential to this kind of big project. Voices of all prospective users are valuable enough to be reflected Finally, implementing the enterprise PLM system is like ‘city planning’, while small scale PLM system is just ‘building a house’. And, it is as difficult as “changing the tires while the car is running”.
Implementation Process of Enterprise PLM System
References 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
John Stark (2005) Product Lifecycle Management: 21st century Paradigm for Product Realisation, Springer-Verlag, p.v. Sehyun Myung, Kang Song, Janghee Lee (2002) "Integration of DFM and virtual NC manufacturing process", CIRP ISMS 2002 Proceedings, Seoul, KOREA, pp.175-180. Sehyun Myung (2002) Knowledge Based Parametric Design of Mechanical Assemblies Based on Design Unit, Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST. Marc Halpern, Andrew Hughes, Kenneth F. Brant, Carol Rozwell (2007) Hype Cycle for Product Life Cycle Management - 2007, Gartner John Stark (2005) Product Lifecycle Management: 21st century Paradigm for Product Realisation, Springer-Verlag, p.407. John Stark (2007) Global Product: Strategy, Product Lifecycle Management and the Billion Customer Question, Springer-Verlag, p.119. Antti Saaksvuori, Anselmi Immonen (2004) Product Lifecycle Management, SpringerVerlag, pp.13-16. Grieves, M. (2006) Product Lifecycle Management: Driving the Next Generation of Lean Thinking, New York, McGraw-Hill, pp.45-56. Marc Halpern, Dan Miklovic (2008) Magic Quadrant for Manufacturing Product Life Cycle Management - 4Q07, Gartner. TaeJae Lee, JongGyun Lim, JunHo Shin, SeHyun Myung, MiYoung Choi, SeungSik Baek, JuIk Kim, JaeWook Oh, DongSuk Lee, YongDuk Han (2007) An implementation methodology of SOA based PLM system, proceedings of PLM07, pp.303-310.
