Product Lifecycle Management: Driving the Next Generation of Lean Thinking: Driving the Next Generation of Lean Thinking

I think that Dr. Grieves book presents a compelling next step in how companies AND their outsourced suppliers can collaborate over the entire lifetime of the customer relationship to insure that customers continue to get satisfaction from their products. Think about it this way: If you are buying a car that you are going to own for 5 years, don't you want to make sure that 4 years in to that ownership experience, the company that makes the fuel injection system has told the dealer about its new, updated software system for improving mileage . . . so you can get the benefit from it? Without a unified approach to sharing information across functions and across time, there is no way the car company, the outsourced supplier and the dealer could make that happen. That is the essential breakthrough of PLM thinking, and Dr. Grieves does a great job of explaining it. There is a lot of value here for companies in any industry that is characterized by a global, interconnected supply chain and a rapidly changing product lifecycle. Marshall Toplansky CEO Core Strategies, Inc. Irvine, CA

Grieves book on PLM is a fundamental primer on a subject basic to anyone involved devloping, marketing, buying and using a product. In other words, if your in business you should read this book. Importantly, his overview is comprehensive and provides a complete framework for understanding the scope and complexity of the practice in the modern manufacturing environment. The message is clear, you can't buy Product Lifecycle Management, you have to do Product Life Cycle Management. Whether your just beginning to look at PLM or are re-configuring your current capabilities, I would recomend everyone involved give this book a thorough read. I know my team will.