|
Datamation’s PLM Selection Service
Taking the risk out
of short-listing PLM solution providers
Overview
Using a combination of structured and
tailored questionnaires, telephone interviews and site visits, this
innovative service provides an extremely cost effective way for
companies to short-list solutions that will meet their specific data
management requirements.
For many organisations, the task of
short-listing the PLM solution providers that can fulfil their
requirements is a time-consuming and resource intensive activity. Even
after completing the process, there can be a considerable risk that
key questions were omitted and the chosen solutions will not deliver
the required functionality or desired benefits. At best, this requires
a new short-list to be drawn-up, at worst it may lead to the
deployment of an inappropriate solution.
The PLM Selection Service draws on the
vast experiences of Datamation’s personnel who have both the
understanding of how PLM can deliver benefit to an organisation and an
in-depth knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of most of the
commercial offerings available from the leading PLM solution
providers.
Why use the selection service?
Acquiring a PLM solution is a major
investment that can impact every part of an organisation. As such all
decisions related to it must be right first time. Datamation has
designed this service to help all organisations, and in particular
SMEs, shortlist the most suitable solutions in the quickest and most
cost-effective way. A particular feature of this service is that the
proposed solution may not necessarily come from only one vendor, even
though the client may choose to have one prime contractor. We believe
that in many cases the requirements are so diverse that no one PLM
solution provider can address all needs. Being independent and not
tied to any particular solution provider, we at Datamation are able to
recommend the most optimum solution, be it a single or multi-vendor
solution.
Benefits and Deliverables
Unlike other selection services, the
Datamation service is not simply a checklist of requirements, but
consists of a sequence of events including structured and tailored
questionnaires, interviews over the telephone with key personnel, and
where appropriate visits to the client site. Importantly, this
approach allows the interfaces and interactions with other system
processes such as CAx, Document and Content Management, ERP and CRM to
be fully investigated. Following the analysis, a short-list of
solutions will be proposed that will meet the client’s specific
business and organisational requirements.
The assignment concludes with a
comprehensive report and a presentation that reviews the rationale for
the specific selections, plus:
-
Detailed information about the
short-listed vendors and their expertise and capabilities.
-
A check-list of specific relevant points
to discuss with the potential solution providers during
presentations and demonstrations.
-
Three-months access to EngineeringOnline,
the Datamation Information Portal service that contains an extensive
collection of best practice and educational material to help steer
an organisation around the many PLM deployment pitfalls.
Armed with this knowledge the client can
assess the short-listed solutions confident in the knowledge that each
of them will meet their requirements.
How does it work?
Datamation’s PLM Selection Service is
carried out in a number of stages designed to minimise the effort you
put into it, vis:
-
Completing the Pre-engagement
Questionnaire: The purpose of this generic questionnaire is to help
us have a good idea on your company’s background and priorities.
-
Engagement: Once we receive your
completed Pre-engagement Questionnaire, we and to suggest the
optimum way to conduct the selection process. We will also quote a
fixed cost for the project. If accepted by you, the project proceeds
as below.
-
Initial Interview: This (and subsequent
interviews) will be conducted either through a tele-conference or a
site visit as agreed in the engagement agreement. The purpose of it
is to form a full picture of company background, requirements and
priorities through seeking more detail and clarification to the
information supplied in the Pre-engagement Questionnaire.
-
Preparation of Specific Questionnaire:
Based on the information we compile from the Pre-engagement
Questionnaire and Initial Interview, we prepare a second
questionnaire that is designed to drill down into your specific
business environment. The purpose of this questionnaire is for us to
have an in-depth understanding of the problem(s) that you wish to
solve and for you to identify the appropriate members of your staff
who need to be involved in the Interview stage, see below.
-
Second Interview: This follows along the
lines of the Initial Interview to add detail and clarity to the
information you supply in the Specific Questionnaire.
-
Report: Based on the information we
would have gained in the previous stages we will prepare a report
that will outline our recommendations, as described in the Benefits
and Deliverables Section above..
-
Presentation of Recommendations: Again,
this can be a telephone or face-to-face meeting in which we present
and discuss our recommendations with you.
Fees
The basic service is available for £1950
plus VAT where all interviews are conducted through tele-conferences.
Where site visit is deemed more appropriate, visit time is charged at
our standard daily rate of £750 plus VAT and expenses.
Contact
Dr Kais Al-Timimi, tel:
+44 1223 572 579, email:
kais@datamation.co.uk
|
