PLM has transitioned in most industries from the "nice to have" to the "should have" list, and is now well on it's way to the "must have" list. But are their companies that are not planning to use PLM?

Taking a Pass on PLM?
The short answer is that of course there are people that don't plan to use PLM. Of all companies, not just the top performers where it is more prevalent, only 32% of recent survey respondents indicate that they have PLM (defined for the purposes of the benchmark to be product data management extended by business process) implemented. Another 38% said they plan to implement PLM within the next 24 months. That leaves 30% that either said they had "no plans" or that it was "not applicable" to their business. To make it clearer, 28% said they had no plans for PLM (very few believe it isn't applicable).

So the majority of companies plan to use PLM. But of those that aren't, are they just technology laggards? Are there any manufacturing sectors that are not planning to adopt? For that matter, what about service companies? I have seen a lot of recent interest in PLM by service companies such as banks ... but that is a whole different conversation. The questions this raises in my mind are:

• Does Size Matter in PLM?
• Does Industry Matter?
• Does Geography Matter?

I'll share some data from a recent report with you in an upcoming post. In the meantime, what do you think? What other questions do you have?