Where Does PLM Fit in the Extending LMS Formula

Using three-dimensional (3D) models in the learning arena seems like a no-brainer to me. Whether it’s a technician who needs to replace a part hidden deep within a complicated piece of equipment, or a soldier who needs to detonate a land mine (see Canadian Armed Forces Use 3D for Training Under Fire), intuitive 3D instructions can be highly valuable in saving time—or even lives. In manufacturing, 3D computer-aided design (CAD) has long been used. The existing 3D CAD assets have the potential to be used for learning purposes, but sophisticated CAD systems are usually expensive thus not available for a wide range of audiences. Actually, for most learning purposes, a learner only needs a very small fraction of what today’s 3D CAD systems offer. Based on 3D models, 3D learning content needs to be generated and communicated conveniently and inexpensively, and I see 3DVIA as a good candidate for this task.

Certainly, this is not the only thing that PLM has to do with learning. Even though PLM and LMS as information systems don’t interact with each other often, PLM as a management methodology may bring many benefits to learning management.

Similar to the way that a product has a life cycle, learning content also has a life cycle. Although many organizations are now managing the evolution of content (e.g., learning content version control), there are other elements that organizations need to consider from a life cycle perspective. For example, ideation and conception may happen prior to creating new learning content; content creation may require collaboration amongst different parties; and content performance may be measured and monitored. The bottom line: the life cycle of learning content needs to be managed.

Now, let’s move a little further. If we treat training as a service (either as internal—you provide it to your employees, or external—you sell it to your customers), this intangible “product” has a life cycle as well. Learning content is a critical part of training services, but the latter also includes when, where, and how the content should be delivered.

Whether you are a learning manager or an LMS vendor, I hope you can find inspiration from the PLM methodology (follow this link to read my personal interpretations of PLM). I welcome your opinions and experiences in adopting the life cycle perspective in your learning manThere are two reasons which led me to write this blog. Firstly, I recently had briefings with vendors such as Learn.com and Xyleme that made me realize that the learning management system (LMS) industry is building up more and more connections with other technologies and enterprise applications. Secondly, a recent article (see Trends in LMS by Don McIntosh) explains how LMS is evolving with Web 2.0, talent management, mobile learning, software as a service (SaaS), and open-source software. Having worked mainly in the product development area in manufacturing, one question popped into my mind—does LMS have anything to do with product lifecycle management (PLM)?agement practices.

CRM for Manufacturing vs. Regular CRM

A couple of weeks ago, I published a blog post called Customer Relationship Manufacturing. In this blog post, I described the symbiosis between the sales and production departments within a manufacturing company, mentioned some customer relationship management (CRM) vendors that seem to have adapted their products for the manufacturing industry, and I also promised I would get back to you with more information on these products.

Why do Manufacturing Companies Need a Different Kind of CRM?

Manufacturing companies have evolved differently than other types of companies during the last decade and face specific challenges. In other words, manufacturing companies are switching from product-centric to consumer-centric strategies. Not so long ago, a company’s approach would be to make products and then try to sell them to customers. Nowadays, the approach is different: they first try to understand what the customer really needs and then design and create products accordingly. Traditionally, manufacturing business processes do not include the customer in all stages; but this is about to change.

Also, there needs to be an ongoing flow of communication between sales, production, and customers. Usually, enterprise resource planning (ERP) or CRM systems provide reliable collaboration in one direction only: either sales with production (in an ERP product) or sales with customers (in CRM solutions). Both ways, the information from the customer does not get to the shop floor or it gets there garbled. To address this, business software vendors adopted two strategies:
• Integrate ERP and CRM into a single product or suite that will provide all functionality needed by both production and sales. Vendors like Netsuite, Aplicor, and Lawson offer this kind of suite. Other vendors, like Microsoft, Oracle, Sage, Infor, etc. offer separate ERP and CRM products, which can easily be integrated with each other.
• Enhance an existing CRM product and improve the functionalities that will benefit manufacturing companies. CRM for manufacturing does not exist as a stand-alone product, but it is a regular CRM system modified to address manufacturing needs.

Manufacturing companies will select the most appropriate option depending on the size of the company, the number of customers, and the number of business software users.

What Are the CRM Functionalities Specific to Manufacturing?

CRM vendors addressing manufacturing companies’ needs did not create specific functionalities for this industry, but enhanced existing ones. Here are some of them, which can be found in most CRM systems, and are very important for manufacturing companies:
• Customer service allows manufacturing companies to create, assign, escalate, and resolve issues, also called cases or tickets. Valuable information is provided by customers during this process, which can then be used to improve the quality of products and services.
• A customer portal can be a very efficient tool to get feedback from customers about their consumption and usage habits. This information can be gathered into a single data source and then used to determine changes in customer behavior.
• Reporting and analytics will provide both sales and production departments with the information needed to determine the real needs of customers and trends in their demands. Analyzing historical sales will not only allow sales to create customized campaigns, but will also influence future production volume.
• A solutions knowledge base will help customer service representatives solve problems more easily, but will also allow the production department to understand what problems and challenges customers are facing when using the products.
• Project management integration links tasks and processes from both departments, making them collaborate and work more efficiently.

As mentioned in my previous blog on CRM for manufacturing, sales and production need each other to improve the way they work. Sales can learn more about products from production—that is, the more they know about the product, with its advantages and disadvantages, the easier it will be to sell it. Sales will help production learn what the real needs of the customer are and what to expect when buying a product.

What are CRM for Manufacturing Vendors Offering?

Microsoft describes the need for CRM for manufacturers on their Web page, which is dedicated to the manufacturing industry. It’s interesting to note that one of the “Microsoft manufacturing partners” found on that page is Seibel, an Oracle company. The Microsoft Dynamics Web page describes functionalities specific to manufacturing by industry: automotive, chemical, food, high tech, etc.

Empower CRM from iEnterprises is also adapted to manufacturing, with more than 10 years in the field. The functionalities mentioned above are all present, plus the option to use mobile devices, which can be useful for sales people on the road or for field service. The testimonials from manufacturing companies might give you a better idea how Empower CRM for manufacturing works.

Pivotal CRM from CDC Software claims to be a “complete CRM for Manufacturing.” They support this statement by providing a list of functionalities specific to manufacturing, including Pivotal Handheld for manufacturing, a BlackBerry-resident application that allows collaboration between departments and integration between ERP and CRM. This 12-page brochure will also provide valuable information on how Pivotal CRM can help manufacturers.

Besides offering a complete view over a manufacturer’s customers and the functionalities already mentioned (customer service, mobile access, etc), Infor CRM for Manufacturing offers “complete front- and back-office integration.” Interactive selling improves collaboration by sharing product and pricing information and allows users to create multidimensional prices and discounts.

How Can TEC Help you Select a CRM for Manufacturing Product?

Using our decision support engine ebestmatch™ in the CRM Evaluation Center, you can compare CRM products from customer service, analytics, or any other functionality that is important to a manufacturing company.

Among the certified CRM vendors in our database (which include certifications in progress), here are the top five rated for customer service and analytics/reporting:

The Steel Manufacturing Industry: What Use Is an ERP System, Anyway?

An ERP system is typically considered to be a company’s IT data backbone application, and helps integrate business activities across multiple departments and sites (or across the entire enterprise). ERP modules range from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, and product distribution, to order tracking, and provides business application modules for finance, accounting, and human resources as well. Tier-one vendors such as SAP and Oracle provide full suites of ERP business applications.

ERP applications have evolved with new technological innovations such as client/server architecture and service oriented architecture (SOA), which provide more flexibility to configure a system for your particular requirements. With the help of SOA, for example, it’s easier to “break” an ERP application into small modular components which use industry-specific processes to communicate, interact, and operate. SOA has helped ERP vendors move away from the “one size fits all” methodology—as we all know, no two organizations have the same requirements.

In the steel manufacturing industry, the ERP application typically sits on the top levels of the business IT/manufacturing framework. See the diagram below for the different application layers within a steel manufacturing company; this diagram is very similar to a diagram contained in a document produced by IBM Global Business Services (see page 9), which I have modified slightly for the purposes of this blog post.Integration of ERP with other business processes is key for the success of steel manufacturing organizations.

Here’s an example of a typical process flow in a steel manufacturing plant:

A customer order is entered in the ERP module, which communicates with the supply chain management (SCM) module to figure out which orders can be met by on-hand inventory or by creating a production plan. This information is fed back and forth between levels 4 and 5 on one hand, and levels 3, 2, and 1 on the other, so that a promise date can be sent back on customer orders.

The supply chain application provides a rough-cut planning from the demand planning module, which results in the creation of a production plan. Once the production plan is in hand, the work orders are created and marked against available stock on hand.

As the work orders are created, they are communicated to the MES application for load balancing and to make sure each production line is optimized according to the order sequencing. It’s crucial to convert the planned order from the SCM application right before the production starts, as that will feed into the ERP system, which will transfer all the requirements to the MES layer. The MES layer will define what quantities of orders will be converted into pieces of slabs, coils, etc.

The steel manufacturing framework described above helps organizations identify gaps among their different departments. Information must flow from level 1 to level 5 in for successful business operations. To find the “best ERP fit” in the steel industry, it is very important to understand the multiple layers of operations in steel manufacturing, as well as to understand which system needs to communicate with which layer, and at which point of the process.

ERP solutions satisfy a broad range of requirements, from financials to the supply chain, but when it comes to manufacturing execution, most ERP solutions have gaps in fulfilling the requirements. Areas such as financials, human resources (HR), customer relationship management (CRM), forecasting, planning, order management, inventory management, asset management, distribution, and transportation can be facilitated with an ERP system. However, detailed operations of scheduling, quality, production tracking, constraints planning, capacity planning, multi-dimension, grades, etc., can only be performed efficiently by industry-specific manufacturing execution system (MES)/advanced planning and scheduling (APS) applications.

The steel industry is so competitive in nature that it’s hard to imagine a steel manufacturer doing without an ERP application to manage day-to-day processes, ensure efficiency within the production plant, and provide real-time reporting visibility into the organization’s overall performance.

As there are many ERP software vendors for the steel manufacturing industry, it’s very difficult to say which one is the “best” ERP vendor. The most effective way of knowing which ERP software will fit your needs is to compare your business requirements against the functionality of the ERP software.

However, finding the best-suited ERP application for your organization can be an overwhelming process. So now the question is this: How to find the right ERP application for your particular needs? Unhelpfully enough, every vendor solution has its own strengths and weaknesses. It’s best to evaluate a solution based on how capable it is of providing features and functions that match your business needs and internal processes out of the box. Customization of any enterprise software is always expensive, usually risky, and probably not the best path to implementation success.