When ideation, portfolio management, formula management, packaging

and artwork management are executed in a PLM environment,

better decisions result from a single source of all product data,

available globally to everyone touching the new product development process.

Incremental innovation, just like breakthrough innovation, needs to be managed in a strategic fashion. The risk is that the organization attempts to execute too many line extensions, including many that do no more than cannibalize existing product. The management of a brand or product portfolio is a crucial task, and takes on even more importance in a volatile, uncertain economy.

PLM (product lifecycle management) software is the platform for managing innovation and for making better strategic choices. End-to-end management of the new product development process, from idea through delivery to the shelf, is a process where time is often wasted and value is often lost. A process managed by a PLM platform increases the chances that the most promising ideas are carried through the product development process, and executed on budget and on time.

A product has many different information elements associated with it — approved legal claims, artwork files, CAD drawings, regulatory statements and symbols, the ingredient listing, test results, market research results, raw material purchasing quotes, and quality control plans, to name a few. Having these elements managed in relationship with one another takes what is usually a stack of different data from different sources and turns it into a meaningful set of data about that product. The relational browser of Siemens PLM shown here is a visual representation of all the various elements, created by various cross functional team members associated with a new product.

When ideation, portfolio management, specifications management, packaging and artwork management are executed in a PLM environment, better decisions result from a single source of all product data, available globally to everyone touching the new product development process.

More importantly, with Siemens PLM software, the relationship of various product data, in its many different forms, created by many cross-functional areas of the organization, is accurately captured, accessible globally, and is the single source of all things related to the product. This accuracy and accessibility increases speed to market and is essential for successful incremental innovation. n