Role of Product Data Management (PDM) in Lean Product Development

This paper discusses the role of PDM in achieving lean product development by overcoming the above limitations. Initial PDM softwares focused on management of engineering data like drawings, specifications and B.O.M. It was not possible to share the information across the enterprise, thus preventing early product realization and concurrent engineering. Internet Technology has given new dimension to product development by breaking distances and information barriers. New Web enabled PDMs allow collaboration of all people involved in product development process from product inception irrespective of the geographical location and heterogeneity of computing environments. They facilitated providing the right kind of information at right time, thus reducing product lead-time and cost. The paper also presents implementation of Windchill, a web enabled PDM at Lucas-TVS and the benefits to the organization