Next manufacturing innovation is about data and networks
Manufacturing is undergoing a transformation from traditional business with large factories to distributed networks of makers and service providers. Moreover, innovation is moving from large factories and shops to outfits like Local Motors and FirstBuild by GE. Read more about it in my Beyond PLM blog, here.
Distributed architecture combined with memory-centric storage end up with new types of data management paradigms and architecture. Distributed data, storage and real-time data sharing, collaboration, and network are at the center of this paradigm shift. What does it mean for manufacturing? Distributed teams, data, and networks are the new reality for manufacturing environments and initiatives.
At openBOM we’ve given much thought to providing a new product data management infrastructure and tool in support of this paradigm shift. Current PDM/PLM is database centric. Even when servers are deployed in the cloud, the approach is still “company centric.” Unlike a database centric approach, openBoM is network centric. Everything in openBoM — Bill of Materials, catalogs, and data models are shareable and distributed. You can connect and work with teams distributed worldwide in real time. What’s more, connection data together is the biggest value proposition which makes openBoM unlike any other tool in the market today.
My attention was recently caught by an IDC community article about the Inforum 2017 event by Jeff Hojlo. Read more, here. The following passage is interesting and significant:
Our research shows analytics to be a top area of focus for product design and development teams, due to the increased connectedness of products and subsequent mass of data that is being created. In short, analytics applied to product and customer data can provide decision support and be a catalyst for product design and innovation.
Analytics and supply chain planning are a natural complement to product design and innovation, and manufacturers are beginning to move in this direction. As the market evolves, I’ll continue to follow these developments throughout the year and beyond.
Let’s connect two dots together. You need data for analytics. By having access to data in a Bill of Materials, you can glean from catalogs and their connections intelligence which can be translated into manufacturing business advantage. For example, what part to buy, what contractor to work with, what supplier to use, where are the risks, what delays are likely, where are there unexpected cost, etc.. All these questions can be addressed by gathering data in a global Bill of Material and catalog data network.
Conclusion. Data is the new oil. The new manufacturing paradigm will rely on the ability of a new class of engineering and manufacturing software to translate data into business advantage. openBOM is the first real-time collaboration network data management system for engineers, manufacturing, and supply chain. Check out what we can do today and talk to us about what we plan for the future.
Best, Oleg
PS. Let’s get to know each other better. If you live in the Greater Boston area, I invite you for a coffee together (coffee is on me). If not nearby, let’s have a virtual coffee session — I will figure out how to send you a real coffee.
