Picking a PLM Vendor: Identifying a Solution that Fits your Industry

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…