Enhancing the Business Environment Efficiency Through Data Sharing in Product Lifecycle Management

Abstract

In the constantly changing environment in which companies operate, it is
important to be able to optimize various activities throughout the product
lifecycle. This places great demands on companies and their value chain, where
information exchanges are central to activities. There are risks and rewards,
such as the risk of losing intellectual property and unlocking new business
cases, that comes from sharing product data between stakeholders.

The project objective is to identify how data sharing in Product Lifecycle
Management can enhance the business environment efficiency of a company.

Qualitative data has been gathered to conduct this case study through 14
interviews at Tetra Pak. One additional interview was performed with an
employee of another multinational company, with the aim of validating the
transferability of the findings. An abductive approach was used to analyze the
findings, which resulted in an interpretation of digital debt and Hill’s model.

Sharing product data with suppliers and customers in one’s business
environment is proposed to be considered as an enabler. As a result, business
cases are brought to the surface, which in turn can advance the company if
executed properly. In this way, the company can maintain a cutting-edge
position ahead of competitors in a business environment that is constantly
changing.

At the same time, it is important to keep a fine balance between exposing
product data and protecting it. It is therefore crucial to implement changes
gradually in a standardized manner that also integrates well with other
activities. This way, the risk of changes going amiss is minimized.

Popular Abstract

In the constantly changing environment in which companies operate, it is important to be
able to optimize various activities throughout the product lifecycle. This places great demands on companies and their value chain, where information exchanges are central to activities. Even though Supply Chain Collaboration is not rare, and the benefits are real, the
number of failures is imminent.

Background
One of the most treasured assets for a company is their product know-how in form of
data. However, since the majority of product data is stored electronically and global competition is increasing, it is important to carefully consider the exposure of product data. Otherwise, there is a risk that
the operating company will lose its intellectual property. Despite these concerns, sharing
product data can be crucial. Collaboration
and information exchange can lead to powerful synergy effects, driving innovation and
progress.

The study
The purpose of this study is to identify
how data sharing in Product Lifecycle
Management can enhance the
business environment efficiency of a
company. The foundation of the empirics is
qualitative data that was collected through
fourteen interviews conducted with employees at the case company Tetra Pak. Additionally, one externally held interview was conducted with the purpose of testing the transferability of the findings. The empirics were
then analysed with an abductive approach
with the aim of exploring the findings. This
was achieved by applying the concept of digital debt, along with Hill’s model, which outlines how a company can strengthen its market position through manufacturing.
Concept of Product Lifecycle Management
The goal of Product Lifecycle Management
(PLM) is to oversee a company’s products
throughout the whole lifecycle. This spans
from activities such as conceptualization all
the way to disposal. By doing so efficiently,
it is possible to optimize the value of the
product portfolio and minimize expenses related to the products. When trying to extract
value from product data, it is important to
have a robust PLM architecture. This involves seamlessly integrating data from diverse sources, ensuring smooth information
flow, and enhancing the compatibility between different systems.

Results
The benefit of sharing product data throughout the business ecosystem, is that new opportunities arise to the surface. To reach this, it is
important that the organization harmonizes
the practice of CAD-tools with how they define product data. It is also important that employees have a systemic understanding of
their work, as many activities depend on mutual information exchange. Partnerships with
long-term customers and suppliers are also of
great value when seeking synergy-effects
when sharing product data.
Once you have this product data at your disposal, you can create value from it. For instance, it is possible to accelerate the concurrent engineering capability of the organization. The after-sales support is also favoured
by a harmonized spread of product data, since
it enables the organization to have even better
control over the installed base of said products.
In summary, it can thus be concluded that
business cases from increased product data
sharing have the power to promote a company’s Operations Strategy. Consequently,
they can support corporate objectives such as
profitability, which in turn enables them to
win orders over competitors in the market.
Simultaneously, it is of urgency to spread the
product data in a safe manner with the aim of
minimizing the potential risk of losing intellectual property. Companies can for example,
achieve this by using encryption and secure platforms, which help to ensure this security.

• author: Stenram, Otto
• supervisor: Bertil Nilsson
• organization: Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences; Production Management
• course: MIOM05 20241
• year: 2024
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Product Lifecycle Management, Business environment, Data sharing, Value chain, Intellectual property, Collaboration, Bill of Materials
• other publication id: 24/5280
• language: English
• id: 9159728
• date added to LUP: 2024-06-24 09:45:02
• date last changed: 2024-06-24 09:45:02