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Having recently attended the Siemens PLM Analyst Event, I came away with some clear impressions of the direction and strategies that both the PLM group and its parent business unit within Siemens, Digital Factory (formally Industrial Automation), is moving toward. To that end, Siemens brought in Horst Kayser, Chief Strategy Officer, to present the overall direction for Siemens in the global industrial market for product, process, and production.
The basic message and theme presented by Kayser for Siemens is Digitalization and the digital change that is taking place across all industry and business. This strategy for Siemens is also tied to Industrie 4.0, a technology and manufacturing roadmap for the factory of the future, a strategy that Siemens had a prominent hand in developing. Industrie 4.0 and IIoT share many common goals, and basically represent an architecture, and, in the parlance of IIoT, an ecosystem to support the smart connected factory. (*see note)
For Siemens PLM the message is Digitalization across the entire design/build PLM lifecycle. It is also about the Digital Twin, the virtual models and environment that represent a digital thread of design and information that starts with product concept and ties the lifecycle together in a continuum of product design, test and simulation, manufacturing planning and factory floor operations, to product service in the field. The digital thread is essential to manufacturing operations and automated production systems, and the Siemens Digital Factory business unit is basing much of its strategy, products (hardware and software), and services on this concept. Additionally, the overall Digitalization message and strategy represents the final and full integration of Siemens PLM with Siemens Digital Factory. This means that all product design, manufacturing process planning, digital manufacturing, factory floor operations, and production automation are totally integrated within the Digital Factory business unit.
Siemens sees several significant factors both driving and resulting from Digitalization:
Chuck Grindstaff, President and CEO of Siemens PLM, presented a look at what he referred to as the digital industrial revolution. He pointed out that all industries are entering an era of smart products produced in smart connected factories, and this will drive new business models. An example he gave was the emergence of the driverless car which was only the first link in a total travel experience that involved cars, trains, planes in a completely connected transportation infrastructure. Grindstaff pointed out that with the rise of smart products the development cycle is getting significantly shorter (by about 25 percent) and the profit margin window is getting smaller. Companies need to introduce more products in a shorter time to meet the expectations of both consumers and industry. This is what is driving new business models and why Siemens' message is about the Digitalization of industry.
A very interesting example of completely new business models was Local Motors, a startup manufacturer of an electric car. They are leveraging technologies like 3D printing, systems-driven product development, and advanced robotics to print a composite body electric car, and completely assembly it, driving off the production line in eight hours. Moreover, the vehicle is designed using collaborative crowd-sourced engineering and produced in a modular mobile micro factory that can be placed in medium sized warehouse. Grindstaff pointed out that smarter products are accelerating across all industries from driverless cars, pilotless airplanes, personalized body implants, to self-optimizing energy generation. Grindstaff’s message was that Digitalization was the strategy to realize smart innovation where Digitalization weaves a digital thread through the entire value creation chain.
Steve Bashada, EVP and director of Siemens PLM’s latest business unit for Cloud, Big Data & Analytics, Mobility, and IIoT, provided a very insightful look at where Siemens PLM is going with these technologies and market disruptors. Bashada made it clear that Siemens PLM is making a very concerted move toward SaaS and IaaS, where IaaS are Cloud ready solutions, and SaaS is software as a service in various deployment models. Bashada’s message was “Cloud thinking first”, where SaaS models and Cloud deployment enable new business processes with easier online user experiences through repeated automated deployment with operations and maintenance of environments and applications. Siemens PLM appears to be responding to the reality that many manufacturing enterprises do not have the IT infrastructure to currently support SaaS and Cloud deployment.
The area of Big Data & Analytics is particularly interesting for Siemens PLM since the acquisition of Camstar MOM and the Omneo Analytics platform that came with it. Siemens PLM is offering Omneo analytics as a service only with a focus on product design, manufacturing processes, shop floor operations and quality, and field service and maintenance. Data can be sourced from SCM, ERP, IIoT, CRM, products in the field, and multiple other areas. Additionally, there is clearly a focus on closed loop PLM where the as-built data is analyzed to determine compliance with as-designed, and process improvement and optimization across the product and production lifecycle.
* Note: In my view, Industrie 4.0 represents a paradigm shift from centralized to de-centralized smart manufacturing. Advanced embedded technologies that enable the cyber-physical production systems enable intelligent machine-to-machine, machine to human, and machine to production system communications. This creates an IIoT that enables a fundamental shift from conventional industrial production to connected, intelligent manufacturing through smart factories, products, and services. This also creates an environment where the boundaries between the virtual and physical worlds blur (the digital twin) as factory simulation software validates and commissions real machines and production systems communicating and functioning autonomously. In the factory of the future, Industrie 4.0 will operate as an IIoT to redraw new value chains across factories, plants, and supply chains. Siemens’ Digitalization strategy appears to be in line with this.
The basic message and theme presented by Kayser for Siemens is Digitalization and the digital change that is taking place across all industry and business. This strategy for Siemens is also tied to Industrie 4.0, a technology and manufacturing roadmap for the factory of the future, a strategy that Siemens had a prominent hand in developing. Industrie 4.0 and IIoT share many common goals, and basically represent an architecture, and, in the parlance of IIoT, an ecosystem to support the smart connected factory. (*see note)
For Siemens PLM the message is Digitalization across the entire design/build PLM lifecycle. It is also about the Digital Twin, the virtual models and environment that represent a digital thread of design and information that starts with product concept and ties the lifecycle together in a continuum of product design, test and simulation, manufacturing planning and factory floor operations, to product service in the field. The digital thread is essential to manufacturing operations and automated production systems, and the Siemens Digital Factory business unit is basing much of its strategy, products (hardware and software), and services on this concept. Additionally, the overall Digitalization message and strategy represents the final and full integration of Siemens PLM with Siemens Digital Factory. This means that all product design, manufacturing process planning, digital manufacturing, factory floor operations, and production automation are totally integrated within the Digital Factory business unit.
Siemens sees several significant factors both driving and resulting from Digitalization:
- Self-optimizing machine and remote maintenance
- Data-driven (analytics) predictive/prescriptive maintenance
- De-centralized and fluctuating power generation
- Mass customization/make to order for products
- Interactive collaborative virtual product design
Chuck Grindstaff, President and CEO of Siemens PLM, presented a look at what he referred to as the digital industrial revolution. He pointed out that all industries are entering an era of smart products produced in smart connected factories, and this will drive new business models. An example he gave was the emergence of the driverless car which was only the first link in a total travel experience that involved cars, trains, planes in a completely connected transportation infrastructure. Grindstaff pointed out that with the rise of smart products the development cycle is getting significantly shorter (by about 25 percent) and the profit margin window is getting smaller. Companies need to introduce more products in a shorter time to meet the expectations of both consumers and industry. This is what is driving new business models and why Siemens' message is about the Digitalization of industry.
A very interesting example of completely new business models was Local Motors, a startup manufacturer of an electric car. They are leveraging technologies like 3D printing, systems-driven product development, and advanced robotics to print a composite body electric car, and completely assembly it, driving off the production line in eight hours. Moreover, the vehicle is designed using collaborative crowd-sourced engineering and produced in a modular mobile micro factory that can be placed in medium sized warehouse. Grindstaff pointed out that smarter products are accelerating across all industries from driverless cars, pilotless airplanes, personalized body implants, to self-optimizing energy generation. Grindstaff’s message was that Digitalization was the strategy to realize smart innovation where Digitalization weaves a digital thread through the entire value creation chain.
Steve Bashada, EVP and director of Siemens PLM’s latest business unit for Cloud, Big Data & Analytics, Mobility, and IIoT, provided a very insightful look at where Siemens PLM is going with these technologies and market disruptors. Bashada made it clear that Siemens PLM is making a very concerted move toward SaaS and IaaS, where IaaS are Cloud ready solutions, and SaaS is software as a service in various deployment models. Bashada’s message was “Cloud thinking first”, where SaaS models and Cloud deployment enable new business processes with easier online user experiences through repeated automated deployment with operations and maintenance of environments and applications. Siemens PLM appears to be responding to the reality that many manufacturing enterprises do not have the IT infrastructure to currently support SaaS and Cloud deployment.
The area of Big Data & Analytics is particularly interesting for Siemens PLM since the acquisition of Camstar MOM and the Omneo Analytics platform that came with it. Siemens PLM is offering Omneo analytics as a service only with a focus on product design, manufacturing processes, shop floor operations and quality, and field service and maintenance. Data can be sourced from SCM, ERP, IIoT, CRM, products in the field, and multiple other areas. Additionally, there is clearly a focus on closed loop PLM where the as-built data is analyzed to determine compliance with as-designed, and process improvement and optimization across the product and production lifecycle.
* Note: In my view, Industrie 4.0 represents a paradigm shift from centralized to de-centralized smart manufacturing. Advanced embedded technologies that enable the cyber-physical production systems enable intelligent machine-to-machine, machine to human, and machine to production system communications. This creates an IIoT that enables a fundamental shift from conventional industrial production to connected, intelligent manufacturing through smart factories, products, and services. This also creates an environment where the boundaries between the virtual and physical worlds blur (the digital twin) as factory simulation software validates and commissions real machines and production systems communicating and functioning autonomously. In the factory of the future, Industrie 4.0 will operate as an IIoT to redraw new value chains across factories, plants, and supply chains. Siemens’ Digitalization strategy appears to be in line with this.