Mobile PLM

Enabling Efficiency in an On-Demand World

Mobile PLM

Enabling Efficiency in an On-Demand World

In the product lifecycle management (PLM) space, organizations are beginning to view mobile PLM applications to greatly increase efficiency in their existing business processes and complement or expand their PLM solution footprint. PLM users need timely and accurate access to information throughout the entire product lifecycle, and mobile solutions are fast becoming an integral part of the PLM process. As manufacturing processes become leaner and quicker, and global collaboration becomes imperative, it is critical to be constantly and intimately able to both input and access information residing in PLM systems to avoid expensive errors and delays caused by antiquated communication processes.

To address this need, PLM solution vendors began investing in expanding their applications to mobile platforms. The desire for increased mobility has created new products, product features, and technical solutions from browser-based access to the entire PLM suite of apps with functionality addressing specific lifecycles including trend, product development, quality assurance, fit and collaboration.

CONTENTS

PLM and Mobility

Key Functions and Benefits of Mobile PLM

Challenges and Potential Pitfalls of Mobile PLM

Final Word

In this point of view, The Parker Avery Group explores the use of mobile technology in PLM solutions and processes, along with a high-level overview of the business benefits and challenges associated with PLM mobility. While many of the concepts discussed can be applied to other platforms and applications across the enterprise, our focus will specifically be on mobility in product lifecycle management solutions.

PLM and Mobility

Assuredly, most of us fondly remember a time when smartphones and tablets were just an idea in the pages of futuristic comic books or science fiction shows. Today, we carry more computing power in our pockets than the Apollo astronauts had to get to the moon. So, if I have all this power in my pocket, why not have my PLM solution in the palm of my hand? Unfortunately, even with rapid advancements in mobile technology, the enablement of a true mobile PLM solution still eludes most solution providers.

Many solution providers offer web-enabled applications which can be accessed on a smartphone or tablet, but the user experience is poor as these applications were not intended to be displayed on small-screen devices. So, to jump on the mobile bandwagon, some PLM solution providers rushed to create mobile applications only to find the development costs outweighed the demand. This is when some solution providers began to focus on creating applications for specific key functions of the PLM process around inspiration, product development, and collaboration.

Key Functions and Benefits of Mobile PLM

Inspiration, product development, and collaboration are areas where mobile PLM applications excel. By leveraging the camera, video recording, calendaring, and chat features of smartphones and tablets, an integrated mobile PLM application can provide access to real-time information, quicker response times, and better decision-making.

Access to Real-Time Information

Visual applications allow designers to capture and upload inspiration or product images while shopping overseas or attending trade shows, making these images immediately available for the development of storyboards and line plans. The more traditional process includes taking a picture, uploading the picture to a computer, logging into the PLM system and uploading the graphic file, and sometimes waiting for a batch cycle to run. Reduction in lag time is a key benefit of PLM mobility.

Sample review, another visual process where designers and tech designers determine if the sample meets the specifications, is another PLM mobility application opportunity. Designers can capture design changes with photos, markups, video, or audio during review meetings and then communicate changes instantaneously back to suppliers. In addition, samples can be monitored with a tracking ID that is scanned each time they reach their destination (shipped, received, sample review) and the sample status is immediately updated in the PLM system.

Better Communication and Quicker Response Times

With the ability to update and access data from anywhere and anytime, cross-functional teams and suppliers can communicate and collaborate more effectively based on the most up-to-date information. The appropriate teams can be notified immediately, and decisions made on the spot to accelerate the product development process. Business intelligence and dashboard access are key PLM drivers now available on tablets and smartphones.

As an example, a sourcing manager visits a supplier in Asia for cost negotiations, and the supplier offers reduced-cost options if the style is made from different materials. In this example, the sourcing manager uses their mobile device to immediately update the cost options with the new materials and/or upload pictures of the new materials to see the effect on the estimated landed cost. The product development team can view and discuss the proposed changes and agree to the modifications while the sourcing manager is still at the factory. The impact on margins, ship dates, and the assortment is visible to the entire mobile-enabled workforce and headquarters.

By increasing functionality and improving communication, mobile PLM applications help reduce costs and increase sales. When product development processes are more efficient and therefore faster, the cycle time from concept to store is reduced. Retailers can respond quickly to trends, keeping the assortment current and fresh for consumers, ultimately giving retailers a better chance of designing products consumers want to purchase. Designers can capture last-minute style updates through their mobile application and have the changes reflected immediately in the PLM system and the lookbooks presented to buyers. Decisions can be made on the most accurate data resulting in fewer product modifications and samples developed.

Increased Flexibility and Better Decision-Making

Mobile PLM solutions allow employees to work virtually anywhere. Remotely, globally, in the field, or in the office from the conference or sample room, they are no longer tied to the parameters defined by the “nine to five” job. With the added flexibility of working from home, hotels, coffee shops, airports, the factory floor, the streets of Milan, or at the fabric mill, employees can communicate, collaborate, and work with each other and with external partners more fluidly and frequently, no matter where they are located or the time of day.

Product development executives and teams spend long hours traveling back and forth across continents to research new trends, attend industry trade shows, evaluate product samples, and manage suppliers and contracts throughout each season. The need to access corporate data when and wherever they are to make informed decisions quickly is a must. Most PLM applications offer some form of workflow and alerting. By enabling these capabilities on mobile devices, a quick response to notifications and exception alerts is possible. The ability to have the person traveling react instantly instead of waiting until they are “back in the office” buys precious time. With the ability to access data in real-time, decisions are made quickly, and bottlenecks associated with the approval process are eliminated.

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Challenges and Potential Pitfalls of Mobile PLM

Because PLM solutions manage a large amount of data, scrolling and navigation across multiple tabs to view information is the norm. On a mobile device, there are simply PLM functions that are not suited because of the data-intensive nature. The goal of the mobile application should be to deliver only a minimal amount of information in real-time to complete the task at hand.

Large file sizes required
Unreliable mobile infrastructures
Too much item information
Small device screens

An additional consideration is global mobile infrastructure. Mobile media such as high-resolution photos and videos can create large files. Without sufficient bandwidth and/or a stable mobile infrastructure in your local area, the ability to communicate and collaborate might be limited.

Final Word

Though a smartphone or tablet could probably run a company’s full web-based PLM application, the practicality of using a mobile device is diminished because of the large amounts of data and small screen. Targeted mobile PLM applications will continue to evolve and can generate significant savings and benefits through improved communication, efficiency, and data accuracy which results in better and faster decision-making. However, to recognize the benefits, organizations must define business processes with a clear understanding of how any mobile application can supplement the overall product development workflow.

Contributors

Robert Kaufman
Chief Executive Officer

Rob Gentry
Senior Manager

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The Parker Avery Group is a leading retail and consumer goods consulting firm that transforms organizations and optimizes operational execution through development of competitive strategies, business process design, deep analytics expertise, change management leadership, and implementation of solutions that enable key capabilities.