IT Enabled Enterprise Transformation: Perspectives Using Product Data Management

Implementing a new information technology (IT) system often requires an enterprise to adopt many changes in order to exploit the full set of capabilities generated by the new system. However, the new IT system itself can often act as a barrier to change rather than as an enabler. The challenge in making sure that the new IT system serves as an enabler, rather than a barrier, to change requires the concurrent performance of three sets of activities with the aim of exploiting the synergies among them: redesign processes, develop and implement the system through a mix of internal talent and external suppliers, and involve the user community. Product Data Management (PDM) technology represents a substantial portion of the rather sizeable investment by industry in IT systems over the last decade. The selection, development, and deployment of PDM solutions were studied in the context of the aerospace industry, wherein data management (DM) is critical due to high product complexity and long system life cycles. A study of current PDM-related implementation experiences in nine different aerospace company sites highlights the difficulty in reaching PDM technology's full potential to deliver customer value. The timing of system implementation, the creation and composition of the team, and a willingness to overcome organizational inertia are the three most important factors in developing a solution that meets an organization’s needs. All three factors and the interactions across them are highlighted in the two case studies focusing on two companies designated as Aero Company and Space Company, respectively.