Framework for cloud product lifecycle management system: a case study of an automotive industry

Abstract

PurposeProduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems have gained wide popularity for their role in manufacturing organizations for creating, managing and distributing product data. These systems are one of various enterprise systems which are required for smooth functioning and meeting the scaling up requirements organization. However, with introduction of cloud technology and other industry 4.0 initiatives, there has been focus on moving the on-premises IT application to the cloud. Such a move needs to be carried out by identifying and evaluating various challenges. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.Design/methodology/approachThe challenges identified through literature review have also been confirmed to be present via interview, system observation and documentation review through case study-based validation in an automotive component manufacturing industry.FindingsThe article identifies needs and challenges of cloud PLM systems and presents a generic framework for developing an approach for cloud PLM journey for an organization. The article also provides an approach for resolving the different challenges to realizing the designed system.Originality/valueThe simplified generic framework has been presented for use by industry professionals and researchers for designing cloud PLM systems that would fulfill expectations of different levels of stakeholders.