PLMIG Survey Reveals Growing Shortfall in PLM User Group Activity

Oxford, England : The Product Lifecycle Management Interest Group (PLMIG) announced that in a recent survey of PLM-related user groups, 39% had become defunct and fewer than 10% of the remainder had any activities planned. This suggests that only around 6% of potential user cooperation is actually taking place.

Reasons for this included the workload placed on unpaid officers such as the secretary and treasurer; a lack of interest or relevance in the agenda; and the difficulty of addressing PLM issues inside a four-hour or half-day window.

This represents a major lost opportunity for PLM implementors, because the more significant and intractable problems in PLM can be resolved only by effective exchange of ideas and methods between experienced users.

PLM implementors need a user interaction platform that works. The PLMIG has developed a 2-day format designed for that purpose and will run User Forum events in Europe and the USA:-

* Reading, UK, 13-14 November
* Cleveland, OH, 18-19 November

Delegates can present an overview of their own PLM environment as input to the discussions, and the groups will aim to generate the common material they need. The PLMIG will manage the debate and publish the output documentation to delegates by mid-December.

About the PLM Interest Group
The PLM Interest Group is a global Group which brings together its members to work proactively to solve their PLM problems. It has previously run workshops that have produced the PLM Benchmarking Handbook; the PLM-SCM Guidebook and the PLM Maturity Reference Manual.

The PLMIG has no geographical restrictions on membership or activities. The scope of the PLMIG is the consideration and advancement of Product Lifecycle Management and its related disciplines. Membership of the PLM Interest Group is open to : manufacturers ; developers of PLM and related technologies, vendors and distributors ; system integrators ; consultants ; research institutes ; industry associations ; standardisation bodies ; government agencies ; academia.