Configuration lifecycle management

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Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) is the management of all product configuration definitions and configurations across all involved business processes applied throughout the lifecycle of a product. [1]

Contents

The development of the concept of CLM has been prompted by the proliferation of configuration capabilities in different enterprise systems and a subsequent need to establish a master system of records for product definition logic and configurations, especially for manufacturing companies that rely on business processes related to assemble-to-order or mass customization. [2] CLM differs from other business disciplines as it focuses on cross functional use of information of configurable products. [1] This entails that users of CLM include both back-office engineers, financial controllers among others, and marketing, sales and customers. [3]

Background

Systems and technologies for defining and maintaining configuration definitions developed and matured during the 1990s and 2000s [4] and are today established in three different main areas:

These definitions operate with different domains for configurations expressed in bill of materials adapted for different business purposes, typically E-BOMs in the PLM world, M-BOMs in the ERP world, [7] pricing and sales-BOMs in CRM/CPQ and S-BOMs and procedures in SRM. [8]

The Concept of Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) was introduced in 2012 by Joy Batchelor and Henrik Reif Andersen following TATA Motors’ acquisition of the automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) [2] and JLR's subsequent search for a future platform to handle configuration of vehicles throughout the enterprise.

Following an evaluation and decision to deploy a new Enterprise Resource Planning system and a Product Lifecycle Management system, both of which have rule authoring and configuration capabilities each developed for different purposes, JLR saw an opportunity to introduce a new rule authoring and configuration management system to avoid unnecessary duplication of configuration activities and subsequent errors due to misaligned configuration rules. [1]

Figure 1: Signed CLM Declaration Signed CLM-Declatation.png
Figure 1: Signed CLM Declaration

The CLM Summit hosted by the company Configit for Automotive and Industrial Machinery in 2015 identified a general need to change the current disconnected way of defining product configuration logic and issued the so-called 2015 CLM Declaration [9] which is a non-scientific paper reflecting a common agreement of the summit participants on CLM.

In 2023, Gartner released a report titled, "Top Strategic Technology Trends in Asset-Intensive Manufacturing for 2023," in which it mentions that by 2026, configuration life cycle management will transform 40% of manufacturers, reducing the amount of customer-specific engineering required to deliver products.

[10]

Challenges addressed by CLM

According to the CLM Declaration, CLM should address the following complex configuration challenges:

Integration with relating business disciplines and systems

Figure 1. A CLM system is the master system of record for configuration logic thus integrating traditional enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM and PLM. CLM System Chart.png
Figure 1. A CLM system is the master system of record for configuration logic thus integrating traditional enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM and PLM.

Without a CLM approach integrating configuration capabilities available in different enterprise systems is problematic due to the differences in configuration paradigms used to solve different types of specific configuration problems. [11] When applying a CLM approach to this challenge a configuration management system that is agnostic to the format of rules from different systems interprets the outcome of these rules and translates, enriches and exports these rules to other systems in the organization. [2]

In the automotive industry a practice has developed over the last 30 years in which aspects of vehicles are modelled using an abstract notion of a feature. A feature is an abstraction used to represent an aspect of a product. It is identified by a feature code and an associated feature description. Features can be commercial features capturing an aspect of relevance to a customer, for instance, the color of the vehicle, whether it is a diesel or petrol engine and whether it has a manual or automatic gearbox. Features can also be technical features of relevance to manufacturing but less so for a customer. Examples are, the frequency to be used for keyless entry, the variant of the exhaust system needed for a particular configuration of the vehicle and the emission standard to be fulfilled by the vehicle.

Figure 2. Configuration lifecycle managed through models composed of features that are an abstraction from the physical data layers. CLM Models.png
Figure 2. Configuration lifecycle managed through models composed of features that are an abstraction from the physical data layers.

In CLM features are used as an abstraction layer between the CLM-system and subscribing systems. A feature string is a valid (as determined by the definitions in the CLM system) complete or partial selection of features that define a product. The feature string acts as a product's DNA that is shared by all subscribing systems and processes. [2]

Any CLM solution needs a powerful configuration engine to support creation and validation of feature strings. Historically, there are three generations of configuration engines:

  1. The first generation of engines were launched back in the late 1970s based on results in Artificial Intelligence going back to the 1960s. These engines are rule-based truth-maintenance systems. They were pioneered in the Digital Equipment Corporation's system R1 (internally known as XCON) which was a production-rule-based system to support the sales configuration of VAX micro-computers. First generation configuration engines are still in use as in for instance SAP's Variant Configuration module in SAP ERP. [12]
  2. The second generation of engines flourished in the 1990s. They are constraint solvers using constraint propagation and search techniques developed in the Artificial Intelligence domain. They are the dominant technology still in use commercially. An overview can be found in Knowledge-Based Configuration – From Research to Business Cases. [4]
  3. The third generation of engines have arrived after 2000. They use a compiled approach in which the full solution space is represented in a compact format. They were pioneered by Array Technology (a spin-off from Beologic) and Configit.

Phases in the Configuration Lifecycle

Figure 3. A passenger car example of a CLM platform where market and engineering configuration definitions guides the customer to generate a valid and complete Feature String which then drives subsequent processes. Passenger Car CLM Example.png
Figure 3. A passenger car example of a CLM platform where market and engineering configuration definitions guides the customer to generate a valid and complete Feature String which then drives subsequent processes.
Figure 4. Example of different business processes depending on configuration lifecycle management 7 Process CLM.png
Figure 4. Example of different business processes depending on configuration lifecycle management

Behind the seemingly simple process of configuring and ordering a configurable product, such as a car, lie several business processes of which configuration is an essential part:

Develop

When developing a new product that is designed to be customized, allowable variants and options must be defined.

Price

Pricing of customizable products must account for market acceptability and costs based on calculations of all the possible configurations

Market

Market demands and local regulation are expressed as rules enabling enterprises to meet demands in a global market

Sell

Customizing to the specific wants and needs of the individual customer resulting in a valid order to be fed into downstream systems

Sources

Parts and assemblies from sub-suppliers are sourced to fit in the sequence of the assembly line.

Build

The configuration determines how the product is built. Invalid configurations can cause the production line to stop and erroneous products, placing a huge importance on eliminating errors before this phase.

Maintain/Service/Operate

The phase of the lifecycle known in e.g. Automotive as aftermarket. In CLM the configuration of the product is updated, elements and components are replaced in a way that ensures that these activities are compliant with the configuration. [2]

Dispose

Once the product has reached end of life and is to be disposed, depending on the materials used in the product, disposal requirements may apply. These requirements are usually reflected by laws (e.g. REACH). In order to enable disposal of the product in conformance to these disposal requirements, the composition of the product must be documented, available and up to date - i.e. the complete configuration lifecycle information must be available.

Mass Customization

CLM - many variants, high volume CLM Many Variants High Volume.png
CLM - many variants, high volume

When moving towards mass customization, [13] almost every business process from development, manufacturing through to the delivery of configurable products needs to be adapted to ensure both accuracy and efficiency. The creation of configuration capabilities in today's market means that configuration data is increasingly likely to be distributed across multiple applications throughout an enterprise system. [14] CLM software supplies the needed functionality for a lifecycle approach to product configuration. [2]

Further development - The CLM Summit

The Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) Summit, organized by Configit, is a forum established to further develop CLM as a discipline. [15] The first Inaugural CLM Summit was held in September 2015 at Lake Lanier, Georgia with participants from various industrial and educational organizations. The direct outcome of this summit was the CLM declaration, co-authored and signed by participants of the summit. [9] The date for the 2024 CLM Summit is May 15-16.

Now in its 9th year, the 2024 CLM Summit is a virtual event and will focus on on how orchestrating product data across the enterprise streamlines and simplifies configuration processes and fosters visibility throughout the entire value stream. .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enterprise resource planning</span> Corporate task of optimizing the existing resources in a company

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real time and mediated by software and technology. ERP is usually referred to as a category of business management software—typically a suite of integrated applications—that an organization can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities. ERP systems can be local-based or cloud-based. Cloud-based applications have grown in recent years due to the increased efficiencies arising from information being readily available from any location with Internet access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Product lifecycle</span> Duration of processing of products from inception, to engineering, design & manufacture

In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through the engineering, design and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM integrates people, data, processes, and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprises.

Product data management (PDM) is the name of a business function within product lifecycle management (PLM) that denotes the management and publication of product data. In software engineering, this is known as version control. The goals of product data management include ensuring all stakeholders share a common understanding, that confusion during the execution of the processes is minimized, and that the highest standards of quality controls are maintained. PDM should not be confused with product information management (PIM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill of materials</span> List used in manufacturing

A bill of materials or product structure is a list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, parts, and the quantities of each needed to manufacture an end product. A BOM may be used for communication between manufacturing partners or confined to a single manufacturing plant. A bill of materials is often tied to a production order whose issuance may generate reservations for components in the bill of materials that are in stock and requisitions for components that are not in stock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer-aided technologies</span> Index of articles associated with the same name

Computer-aided technologies (CAx) is the use of computer technology to aid in the design, analysis, and manufacture of products.

CLM may refer to:

SAP NetWeaver is a software stack for many of SAP SE's applications. The SAP NetWeaver Application Server, sometimes referred to as WebAS, is the runtime environment for the SAP applications and all of the mySAP Business Suite runs on SAP WebAS: supplier relationship management (SRM), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), transportation management system (TMS).

Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is computer software used to satisfy the needs of an organization rather than its individual users. Enterprise software is an integral part of a computer-based information system, handling a number of business operations, for example to enhance business and management reporting tasks, or support production operations and back office functions. Enterprise systems must process information at a relatively high speed.

SAP Business Suite is a bundle of business applications that provide integration of information and processes, collaboration, industry-specific functionality and scalability. SAP Business Suite is based on SAP's technology platform called NetWeaver.

Process manufacturing is a branch of manufacturing that is associated with formulas and manufacturing recipes, and can be contrasted with discrete manufacturing, which is concerned with discrete units, bills of materials and the assembly of components. Process manufacturing is also referred to as a 'process industry' which is defined as an industry, such as the chemical or petrochemical industry, that is concerned with the processing of bulk resources into other products.

Digital Prototyping gives conceptual design, engineering, manufacturing, and sales and marketing departments the ability to virtually explore a complete product before it's built. Industrial designers, manufacturers, and engineers use Digital Prototyping to design, iterate, optimize, validate, and visualize their products digitally throughout the product development process. Innovative digital prototypes can be created via CAutoD through intelligent and near-optimal iterations, meeting multiple design objectives, identifying multiple figures of merit, and reducing development gearing and time-to-market. Marketers also use Digital Prototyping to create photorealistic renderings and animations of products prior to manufacturing. Companies often adopt Digital Prototyping with the goal of improving communication between product development stakeholders, getting products to market faster, and facilitating product innovation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ProductCenter</span>

ProductCenter is a commercial software product, that is an integrated suite of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software for managing product data. The software was engineered for the Microsoft Windows and UNIX operating systems. Along with core applications, it includes localized and web-based services. ProductCenter is suited for managing various types of CAx data, but it can be used for many forms of data management and product management.

Order to cash normally refers to one of the top-level business processes for receiving and processing customer orders and revenue recognition. Order to cash is an essential function in finance; the entire cycle of events happens after a customer places an order until the customer pays for the order; that is, the order is converted to cash.

Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are computerized systems used in manufacturing to track and document the transformation of raw materials to finished goods. MES provides information that helps manufacturing decision-makers understand how current conditions on the plant floor can be optimized to improve production output. MES works as real-time monitoring system to enable the control of multiple elements of the production process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WorkPLAN</span>

WorkPLAN is a range of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software products developed by Sescoi for custom manufacturers or departments who work project-based and need specialized ERP software for project management.

Knowledge-based configuration, also referred to as product configuration or product customization, is an activity of customising a product to meet the needs of a particular customer. The product in question may consist of mechanical parts, services, and software. Knowledge-based configuration is a major application area for artificial intelligence (AI), and it is based on modelling of the configurations in a manner that allows the utilisation of AI techniques for searching for a valid configuration to meet the needs of a particular customer.

PTC Windchill is a family of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software products that is offered by PTC. In 2004, as part of their expansion in the area of collaboration tools, they arranged having "a hosted version of Windchill to small- and medium-sized customers." As of 2011, products from its marketer, PTC, were being used by over 1.1 million users worldwide.

1С:Enterprise is a development platform designed by 1C Company for the creation of customizable business automation software.

Configure, price, quote (CPQ) software helps sellers quote complex and configurable products. An example could be a maker of heavy trucks. If the customer chooses a certain chassis, the choice of engines may be limited, because certain engines might not fit a certain chassis. Given a certain choice of engine, the choice of trailer may be limited, and so on. If the product is highly configurable, the user may face combinatorial explosion, which means the rapid growth of the complexity of a problem. Thus a configuration engine is employed to alleviate this problem.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Configit. "Configit". Configit. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Batchelor, Joy; Andersen, Henrik Reif (June 17, 2012). "Bridging the Product Configuration Gap Between PLM and ERP – An Automotive Case Study". Bridging the Product Configuration Gap Between PLM and ERP – an Automotive Case Study, University of Manchester, U.K.
  3. ↑ Stjepandić, J.; Wognum, N.; Verhagen, J. C. (2015). Concurrent Engineering in the 21st Century Foundations, Developments and Challenges. p. 411.
  4. 1 2 Felfernig, Alexander; Holz, Lothar; Bagley, Claire; Tiihonen, Juha (2014). "A Short History of Configuration Technologies". Knowledge-Based Configuration – from Research to Business Cases.
  5. 1 2 Immonen, A.; Saaksvuori, A. (2002). Product Lifecycle Management. pp. 116–117.
  6. ↑ Sengar, P. (2013). "MarketScope for Configure, Price and Quote Application Suites". Gartner.
  7. ↑ Ogewell, V. "Great ERP, worse PLM – What SAP PLM needs to sharpen its competitive edge". Engineering.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Ackerman, Phillip (2005). "PLM-integrated Configuration for Machine and Plant Construction". Configuration – Papers from the Configuration Workshop at IJCAI'05.
  9. 1 2 3 "CLM Declaration" (PDF). Configit. Retrieved Oct 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Summary Translation: Top Strategic Technology Trends in Asset-Intensive Manufacturing for 2023". Gartner. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  11. ↑ Timmermans, P. (May 1999). "The Business Challenge of Configuration" (PDF). AAAI Technical Report. WS-99-05.
  12. ↑ Blumöhr, Uwe; Münch, Manfred; Ukalovic, Marin (2011). Variant Configuration with SAP. ISBN   978-1592294008.
  13. ↑ Pine, B. Joseph (1999). Mass Customization: The New Frontier on Business Competition.
  14. ↑ Evens, Freek; Verhulst, Karel (1997). Architecture for product families.
  15. ↑ "CLM Summit". CLM Summit Website. CLM Summit. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
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