The technological advancements, emergence of new companies coupled with organizations across the globe focusing more on acquisitions and development created a competitive enterprises sector, wherein regulated product development assumes critical importance. Helping companies manage the product requirements are Project Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools, which, over the years have matured to become mission-critical systems and the key business strategy for effectively driving the entire product development process. The PLMs when implemented ensure cooperation and supervision of the entire product information thereby accelerating the process of bringing successful products into the market at a faster rate and reduced cost. In spite of the immense potential of PLMs, these tools are not devoid of shortcomings. Possible human errors, obsolete safety systems, lack of training and chances of instruments failing are still prevalent. PROLIM Corporation, a Farmington Hills, Michigan based firm headed by Prabhu Patil, President and CEO, aims to tackle these concerns with their stand-out, cloud-enabled PLM solutions that are the result of a different approach towards product development. The team at PROLIM has been part of several successfully introduced PLM solutions, and has plans to solve the unsolved solutions in the sector.

PROLIM has proven expertise in PLM Solutions, Cloud Infrastructure, IT Consulting and Engineering services, through which the company tries to introduce greater efficiency into varied industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Hi-tech, Pharmaceuticals and Industry machinery. It is the unique approach towards PLM that helps the 2005 founded firm to maintain an edge over its competitors. PROLIM has received Inc 500 award as Fastest Growing Private Company in America and also 'Future 50 Companies to Watch for' from Edward Lowe Foundation.
The firm has assisted several global teams to devise and engineer diverse product development programs in the US, Japanese and European automotive and aerospace programs.

Staying Ahead of the Competition

During the process of PLM development, market surveys and discussions on the trends assume significance. There are attempts to understand customer's demands and future trends. With this understanding, the next step turns out to be development and release of these innovative products into market, at a much higher rate and significantly lower costs. High-level and vast research goes into the process in addition to collaborations with industry suppliers. The process is followed by several steps including defining of products, requirements, engineering drawings and different documents. Also, top-level analytics become a significant part of the entire process. With cost-reduction being another aim of PLMs, it is ensured that the cost of products, starting from nuts and bolts to advanced subsystems to systems remain well-within the target. In case of a deviation from the set limits, components or subsystems are redefined, reduced, changed or replaced. Towards the end of the process, information or data is provided, which, in turn is subjected to analysis, digital manufacturing and other processes prior to being deployed and delivered. In short, at PROLIM, each and every minor aspects involved in the process is taken care of and defined, before they are deployed into production. Says Patil "With PROLIM, it is starting from birth of the product till its graveyard. We call it cradle to graveyard, which involves managing every functions and aspects of the product to reduce the cost which is our objective and goal". Banking upon this unique process, superior process workflows, and core modeling, the firm is able to deploy the solutions within a time-frame of 48 to 56 hours to cloud, as opposed to months or even years, which is a possibility with traditional methods of deployment. The well-defined cloud-enabled PLM solutions, spare their customers from making huge investments, spending huge amounts on overall maintenance and waiting for months.

A Success Story

A leading global automotive supplier with operations in Americas, Europe and Asia, was facing issues with their existing PLM solutions. The PLM systems employed were legacy systems, isolated environments and also expensive that a company-wide deployment seemed impossible. The disconnected data was another concern, as it was segregated in multiple environments/systems with no integration with downstream applications like ERP etc. In addition, reforms were urgent concerning the lack of collaboration and centralization, multiple sites used to perform the same function utilizing different business processes.

The objectives for PROLIM, which were successfully accomplished, included extending defining and developing PLM roadmap, extending PLM to enterprise users, reducing license cost, enhancing productivity, improving operating efficiencies and ensuring effective communication and collaboration across Americas, Europe and Asia.

The key benefits from the process were centralized product data information and automated business process thereby achieving business innovation and releasing products faster to market.

Driving Success through Knowledge Creation and Resources

At PROLIM, there are continuous efforts to create knowledge in sync with the fast-paced world, and finding the right solutions and resources. The search is for exceptional resources with the right talent and capabilities. Often, it becomes challenging to find the best workforce within a limited-time.

PROLIM has tie-ups with leading educational institutions like Lawrence Technological University, University of Michigan, and others, which often helps in fulfilling urgent requirement for exceptional resources.

PROLIM has been assisting several global teams to plan and engineer diverse product development programs. The company currently is a zero-debt venture, employing teams in USA, Japan, Europe and India and growing at rapid pace to win "Inc 500 Fastest Growing Private Company in America".

By the year 2020, the firm plans to accelerate its thought leadership to assist customers make pioneering products by leveraging their IT and PLM solutions with a vision to put 'Life' into a product's lifecycle, also taking the company to the top place in the PLM arena.