Sandeep Sood and Bharat Maheshwari

This case study describes an approach towards standardizing component descriptions through a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software implementation project in a large division of a multinational firm dealing in electronic testing and measurement equipments with applications in multiple industries. The firm manufactured and marketed an expansive range of hardware, software and support product offerings (approx. 8000) in more than 90 countries. It faced a huge challenge in managing a large number of components (approx. 1.2 million) sourced from a subsequently large number of suppliers (approx. 26,000). The challenge was enhanced further due to the short product lifecycle for most of the product lines handled and market pressures for introducing multiple models for each product line.

The supply chain specialists in the firm responsible for managing the component inventory and relationships withsuppliers faced heavy pressures from their internal clients. For example, design and development teams required them to provide a quick response to their requisitions for component development. Similarly, purchase and material functions were constantly enraged by the constant increase in the number of components and complexity in the company’s component master list. The absence of comprehensive system for describing and defining a new component often led to creation of a new part number for the same or similar component which could have been easily used as a substitute.

The PLM implementation project was chartered specifically to remove the duplicity and redundancy in the new component development process and also improve the data integrity for the current components. The project included analysis of the current situation, process modification and sign-off on changes from affected functional units, implementation of the new PLM system, and stabilization of the new systems. This presentation discusses in detail some of the key issues, challenges, project outcomes, and lessons learned. The project led to company-wide standardization of component descriptions in the PLM software which provided clear, concise descriptions of any component in terms that can be understood by all key stakeholders (customer, contract manufacturers, OEMs, suppliers & design partners) of the supply chain. The software system also provided a searchable database for the parts. This removed duplicity and avoided several other indirect costs associated with component development.