Leading companies understand that in today's market the customer is king. But, when it comes to making the customer a focus while building, selling, and servicing products, traditional product lifecycle management (PLM) leaves a lot to be desired.
Why? PLM has had its proverbial hands full solving problems in the back office (engineering, quality, and manufacturing) that it never made its way to the front office.
PLM’s strength is optimizing the “inside-out” processes that mean little to buyers. Instead, buyers care about the full product experience, which traditional PLM struggles to impact. Some typical customers for different types of product companies include:
Consumer Goods/Consumer Electronics:
- Individual consumer
- Distributor/Reseller
- Retailer
Industrial Machinery/High-Tech
- Distributor/Reseller
- A business as represented by a corporate buyer (such as Purchasing, IT, or Engineering)
Contract Manufacturer
- Supplier
- OEM as represented by production, operations, or engineering personnel
Medical Device
- Clinician
- Health care provider
- Distributor/reseller/Durable Medical Equipment provider
Just to name a few.
Each of these customers has their own wants and needs. Each with their own buying criteria.
When it comes to targeting for each of these customer types, how do you think PLM stands up? Tom dives into all these questions in his blog post Who (Traditional) PLM Left High & Dry, Part 2 in his ongoing series Where (Traditional) PLM Dropped the Ball.
