This series of posts turned the corner from giving guidance on how to approach, justify, and define your path to PLM - and started the conversation on how to choose a vendor. The prior posts suggested that you need to know your business and know the vendor landscape. One area where these two items collide is how well your industry is supported by the software.

How Can You Tell if a Vendor Serves Your Industry Well?

First, educate yourself on the special needs of your industry. You know your industry, but do you know the specific needs of PLM in your industry? Surprisingly often, companies don't. Talk to people in your industry that are running PLM, or look for some case studies that might help. I will suggest that research firms might be a good source of information as well. Another approach is to look for a specialty (niche) vendor that serves your industry. They will understand the specific needs that come from the intersection of the solution you are looking for (PLM) and your industry.

Second, look for companies like you that are running their software. You can learn a lot from other industries, but make sure they have supported a customer like you before. Hint - if there is a higher concentration of companies in your industry using their software, they will likely spend more of their time and money building enhancements that will be tailored to your needs.

Third, see how intimate they are with your industry peers. Do they have a special interest group for the industry? Are industry leaders using the solution? Don't just take the logos on the presentation or the website at face value, ask to talk to some of them. Make sure they are using the software in the way you plan to. For example, if a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company is using a PLM solution for packaging (based on a bill of material) but you plan to use it to manage development of your recipes and formulas - that company is not a good reference for the problems you are trying to address.

Fourth, examine the company they keep. Do they attend industry-oriented conferences, participate in industry-focused standards initiatives.

Fifth, look at their people. Do they have people that come from your industry? For smaller, specialty companies they should probably be on the board and on the management team. For larger suite providers, look for someone in product strategy or development (not just sales) that has roots in your industry.

We'll talk about some specific industries in following posts.

I look forward to your comments. Feel free to share your experience in selecting a vendor, your suggestions might save someone a lot of headaches...