The Recap

As long as PL marketers push to expand brand equity and overall profitability by growing their portfolio of PL products, product introductions, sourcing, and product quality will remain critical business processes. To be successful, designers, suppliers, manufacturers, and PL marketers need access to up-to-date and accurate product information. PLM technology delivers the accurate information and secure access that all parties require.

Important considerations include: Was the solution designed to optimize the business requirements of PL marketers, or was it designed for other industries with little in common with PL business processes? Does the solution typically implement in a few months and return value to the organization quickly, or are average implementation times in the range of 9-12 months or more? How readily can the solution be integrated to data within the organization, so that existing investments in data and technology can be leveraged? With the right answers to these questions, and the right focus on key business processes, PL marketers can be assured of improved profitability of their PL brands.

About the Author:

Ray Hein is Executive Vice President of market strategy and business development at Centric Software, Inc. His career has led to deep expertise in the area of product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions and how PLM best delivers value to customers in many businesses including PL marketers.