Confessions of a 3x Propel Implementor | Propulsion 2025

In this practical, experience-rich session, Karthik Jaikumar shares firsthand lessons from implementing Propel at three different companies: MSA Safety, Veritas Technologies, and now VAST Data. Speaking as a quality and process improvement expert, Karthik walks through what made each implementation succeed—and the pitfalls others should avoid.

From a five-week migration sprint to insights on supplier collaboration, data prep, and integration strategies, this session equips manufacturers and product teams with real-world guidance for launching Propel effectively. VAST’s high-growth, AI-driven business model underscores the importance of a flexible, integrated, and scalable PLM platform—making this a must-watch for product leaders navigating complexity and change.

KEY INSIGHTS

“With Propel we have the flexibility to create unique processes that can build upon out-of-the-box functionality. We can create new objects and automation without the pressure of cost overruns like we experienced with Arena. Propel’s solution is easily customized without added expense, giving our finance and executive teams peace of mind with Propel spending.“

“We implemented Propel in record time. We only had five weeks to fully switch over from Arena to Propel and it was a great learning experience—particularly for those who had never been part of a PLM implementation before. Interest in the solution has spread from the manufacturing quality team to other areas of the business who have expressed interest in learning how Propel can make their lives easier as well.”

“What used to take us 50 days to implement a change order in other solutions, we’ve brought down to less than 30 days. That's a huge increase in the level of efficiency that we are seeing with our contract manufacturers as a result of moving our PLM solution over to Propel."

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