Acronyms are meant to simplify things. However every day there seems to be new ones popping up. Nowhere is this truer than in software, especially in manufacturing software.
Whether you are new to manufacturing, sales (or both), or you are simply having trouble keeping up with all the different types of software solutions available, we’ve created this series of posts to help get familiar with the lingo.
Let’s us know what you think (mateo.bornico@tacton.com)
CAD (Computer-Aided Design)
Focus area: Product
What it is?
CAD is a software that helps in the creation, modification or optimization of industrial designs. CAD software is used to render 2D and/or 3D visuals of the product, complete with detailed technical information such as materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances.
Its role in the Sales Process:
In the sale of complex products, manufacturers need to customize the product to fit the needs of the customers. The configuration of the product can often impact the design of the product requiring a visual rendering of the configurated product. The design needs to include detailed measurements and list of components so that the CAD design can easily be translated into the product fact sheet.
PLM (Product Lifecycle Management)
Focus Area: Product
What it is?
Looking at a product’s life. From beginning to its end.
Product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from inception, through engineering design and manufacture, to service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM should not be seen as a single software product but a collection of software tools and working methods integrated to address either single stages of the entire product lifecycle. Some software providers cover the whole PLM range while other niche application.
Its role in the Sales Process:
While the configuration and selling of a product is part of its lifecycle, PLM software typically is not concerned about the sales process. Some PLM stages, however, contains extremely useful information that can benefit the sales process, such as the maintenance cost, after-sales services, and product life expectancy. This information can certainly impact the sales negotiations and it is important that the various sales tools integrate with the information on the PLM (or ERP, stay tuned to find out what this last one means).
For our next issue, we will define CRM and CPQ.
