Users Learning from Users: Actionable Insights from Propulsion 2024

As he concluded the opening keynote for Propulsion 2024, Propel Software’s inaugural in-person conference, CEO Ross Meyercord encouraged Propel customers in attendance to connect with one another:

“I often find the greatest innovation from the most unlikely sources. You might find it from companies that are in a different industry, a different size, a different phase, or a different geography. That diversity of thinking can provide that innovative idea to help uncork value for you."

With nearly half of the conference attendees composed of Propel users, the gathering was rich with just such opportunities. Meyercord predicted what ultimately became the most valuable aspect of the event — gaining perspectives from other Propel users and solution experts.

Customers had direct access to an array of potent transformation stories from those who harnessed the solution to achieve stunning innovation and growth.

While the presentations themselves provided a deep well of insights, opportunities for learning were strewn throughout the three-day agenda: from small group discussions on specific Propel processes, to a dedicated User Group session designed to deliver product feedback, to the simplest moments of peer connections on coffee breaks.  

Every minute could be mined for a new idea to better your business.

From Vision to Value: Customer Presentations Featuring Step-By-Step ROI

Day 1 of Propulsion 2024 was packed with presentations, panels, and detailed discussions with industry leaders. Among these, three Propel customers presented their success stories, showcasing solution use cases with practical and immediate relevance to users in the audience.

Breg: ROI with a Big Bang

Breg’s incredible transformation story, presented by product development leads Erika Blair and Serena Oaks, detailed how they implemented Propel's PLM and QMS systems in one “Big Bang” replacement of 20+ disparate systems. They demonstrated how this impressive undertaking not only accelerated time-to-market but also greatly improved internal efficiencies and employee satisfaction. The results spoke for themselves when Breg saw positive ROI in the first year. Their comprehensive presentation included these key factors in this success:

• 20-40% faster speed to market.
• 500% more projects in process with flat staffing.
• 33% less time to onboard new product engineers.

Breg’s story proved that an ambitious "Big Bang" approach can provide a major payoff, highlighting the profound business impacts of strategic system overhaul, from enhanced decision-making capabilities to better quality management.

The results spoke for themselves when Breg saw positive ROI in the first year.

‍BekaertDeslee: A Culture of Constant Evolution

Dmitriy Geler, VP of Quality, NPI Engineering and Transformation at BekaertDeslee, offered insights and strategies for creating a culture of transformation and continuous growth, including how to “look at frictions as opportunities.” He illustrated how BekaertDeslee, a 130-year-old leader in mattress textiles, has embraced digital transformation to drastically cut product development cycles—from 24 months to just three months. By leveraging Propel's cloud-native solutions, BekaertDeslee has enhanced its agility, facilitating rapid innovation and fostering a culture of cross-functional collaboration. As a result, Geler explained, “We're able to continue to generate revenue with double-digit year-over-year growth.” 

“We're able to continue to generate revenue with double-digit year-over-year growth.”

AMS Technologies: Engineering a Digital-First Future

Tomasz Stefańczyk, Head of Engineering for AMS Technologies’ shared the company’s journey from a component distributor to a provider of engineered solutions, emphasizing the strategic value of solutions that are fully integrated across the entire company. A long-time Propel customer, AMS saw immediate results when their PLM implementation increased engineering productivity by 500%. This transition streamlined operations, significantly reduced errors, and enhanced compliance by integrating product data and processes from Propel with other core solutions, including CRM and ERP. Tomasz further explained how their plans to integrate Propel’s Product Information Management (PIM) solution and future AI capabilities promise further gains, setting a new standard in managing and utilizing extensive data ecosystems.

AMS saw immediate results when their PLM implementation increased engineering productivity by 500%.

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Expert Roundtables: Diving Deeper in Small Group Sessions

While the presentations and panels seeded ideas in the minds of Propel users, the expert roundtables cultivated these ideas into actionable strategies.

The intimate small group discussions were designed to be pivotal learning hubs, funneling decades of combined professional experience from across diverse perspectives—into actionable insights. 

Topics ranged from design for supply chain, product commercialization, supplier collaboration, risk assessment, audit readiness, and how to migrate from Oracle Agile PLM. 

Each of these conversations allowed attendees to engage deeply with user and product experts to understand specific aspects of Propel’s platform, enhancing their ability to implement best practices.

Participants left with practical, tailored strategies that could be directly applied to their operations, driving business success through enhanced mastery of Propel’s extensive capabilities.

Stephanie Chrisman, of Ascensia Diabetes Care, said, “The roundtables were a great way to tie the content together. Where we had the opportunity on a focused basis to speak to other users, to hear what they're doing, and to get more detail. That was a really, really good opportunity.”

Propel User Group (PUG): User-Driven Innovation 

The final event of the conference was the Propel User Group (PUG) session, open to any customers in attendance. The PUG offered an invaluable platform for sharing feedback directly with Propel's product teams, influencing future developments, and learning from the collective experience of the user community.

While the session was crucial for the Propel team to ensure the platform evolves in alignment with user expectations and emerging trends, the PUG also reinforced user confidence in Propel's ability to adapt and anticipate future needs. 

After participating in the PUG, Blair shared her impression of the experience:

“The last few days were such a high-value use of time. I appreciated the education from industry experts and the PUG and walked away feeling freshly inspired to continue evolving our configurations. The discussions certainly shifted my perspective in terms of the value of our product data in a farther-future sense, and I am feeling evermore confident in our choice of Propel as a future-proof partner.”

Champions of Change: Award-Winning Innovators

In addition to sharing their successes, Propel customers were also celebrated at Propulsion 2024. In recognition of their outstanding achievements and ingenuity, Breg and Savant Systems were named the Product Innovators of the Year.

• Breg showcased significant improvements in user efficiency and information accessibility, with their case study reporting that 91% of users found information more readily available, and 61% spent more time on value-added activities.
• Savant Systems leveraged Propel to optimize sales programs for top-tier customers, achieving a 35% revenue increase in two years without significant additional resources.

Each received a comprehensive study from Nucleus Research summarizing their program results and ROI.

Propel also presented its first annual Business Value Accelerators awards, for individual contributors who have driven digital transformation within their organizations. Notable awardees included Frank Charron from Haivision, Gregory Yow from Zoetis, and Diana Sehawneh from MaryRuth’s, each celebrated for their pivotal roles in accelerating business value through innovative uses of the Propel platform.

The Indispensable Value of In-Person

Propulsion 2024 vividly demonstrated that in-person connection has the power to drive tangible value for businesses. Said Blair:

“The last few days were such a high-value use of time. I am feeling evermore confident in our choice of Propel as a future-proof partner."

The success stories shared by Propel customers provided not only inspiration but also practical blueprints for leveraging Propel to its fullest potential. 

Together, the connections made, insights shared, and direct feedback obtained irrefutably enhanced the understanding and utilization of the solution, fueling significant growth and innovation for both the attendees and Propel.

All of this to say—one thing is clear: you had to be there.

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