The planned Nordic and German workshops will launch this process, foregoing the usual "watch the presentations" format in favour of 2 days of group working with other PLM professionals. The series will run towards the USA, where European input may challenge some of the regular views on PLM. In turn, American ideas may rebound and add value to the rest of the world.

PLM has been plagued by vagueness and a general impression that it is somehow insoluble. It is time for PLM players to step up to the plate and slog a few home runs.

The definition is straightforward - "a collection of technologies and processes to define how products are to be manufactured." But, the scope of applications involved can vary because companies will interpret the scope - narrow or broad - to match their unique requirements.

In some large, complex companies, such as automotive, taking a broad scope of MPM applications is valid and justified. It could include plant design layout, simulations, ergonomics, computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) and more. Software providers such as Dassault with its DELMIA suite and Siemens with Technomatix present this broader scope as "digital manufacturing."

Regardless of a company's MPM application scope, a core software-supported process is required.

The Core of MPM
The core of MPM is the process to unify the creation and management of the engineering bill-of-material (eBOM) and manufacturing bill-of-material (mBOM). This process is essential to realize PLM as the "single source of the truth" and to maintain product configuration integrity over the entire product lifecycle.

A key point: The capabilities of MPM functionality in PLM allow PLM software to assume the mBOM functions now in ERP. It recognizes that the mBOM must be synchronized with the eBOM for traceability of changes in order to maintain configuration integrity. Furthermore, in some multi-plant environments, multiple versions of the mBOM may be necessary to accommodate differences for individual plant methods in each plant's version of the mBOM.

The "desired" MPM technology is to link eBOM/mBOM data in a bi-directional manner. Tight linking of this data provides detailed information to personnel who interact with the PLM/ERP systems. When an update is in process, the MPM system immediately alerts responsible personnel for possible action in the event the pending update affects any other linked data.

As Gartner has recognized, however, this "desirable" technology is sophisticated and powerful; yet, it is not widely used in all software packages. As a result, when evaluating MPM software be alert to the differences in terminology and capabilities. Gartner calls linking "BOM synchronization." In PTC's MPMLink, the technology is "associative." SAP calls it "Guided Structure Synchronization."

The reality is that not all companies can justify the "desired" PLM and MPM technology, referenced above. For those companies, some alternatives are available.

In addition to the vendors mentioned above, other vendor offerings may be feasible to consider. Aras and Omnify, both PLM-only vendors, offer mBOM functionality without all of the "desired" technology. Other vendors offer some mBOM functionality in their PLM modules provided with their ERP system: IFS and Infor are two of them. The approach to help users keep the eBOM and mBOM in synchronization would rely on alerts, flags and change processes.

Value of MPM
MPM has been recognized by many as a key module in PLM systems that facilitates CPD. It should help to negate the "over the wall with the prints" mentality; no more serial processing, thus cutting non-value added time throughout the engineering to manufacturing continuum.

Ultimately, the true value of using MPM is if it contributes to reducing "Times-to-" Market, Volume and Profitability. Time-to-Market is in PLM's sphere of influence; Time-to-Volume and Profitability are the domain of ERP (in some companies, MES). These Time metrics are clearly at the strategic level; nevertheless, identifying day-to-day metrics should help to make a business case for moving forward with MPM, for instance, to reduce scrap/rework and increase quality. And, after all, true value has to be the prime criteria for deciding on MPM.

What's Next
The next column in this series will be published in the March 28th issue.