You ever read something and immediately think, “Yep… been there”? That’s exactly what happened when I saw Brion Carroll II’s post PLM IMPLEMENTATION: DAY 178 on LinkedIn.
It was a hilarious, painfully accurate snapshot of what a product lifecycle management (PLM) project feels like deep in the trenches. Day 178. The business team has no idea what’s going on. Requirements are… somewhere near the coffee machine (probably on a sticky note). The scope’s been rewritten more times than anyone can count. And people are walking around like they’ve landed on another planet called “What Even Is PLM?”
Then Brion walks in—not with capes or buzzwords—but with something better: clarity, context, and connection. He listens. He brings people together. He reminds everyone why they’re doing this in the first place.
It was funny. But it was also real. Because if you’ve been around PLM long enough, you’ve seen this movie before. Maybe too many times. So… why does this happen? Why do so many PLM solution implementations turn into a mess?
Let’s talk about it…
The Old-School PLM Mindset
For years, product lifecycle management (PLM) was kind of the engineering department’s domain. PLM technology focused on a single source of truth around engineering data (CAD files) document management and engineering change management. It was built to manage CAD files, engineering changes, part revisions—you know, the “control everything tightly” playbook. And it made sense—for a while.
But here’s the thing: the rest of the company was barely invited to the party. Product Quality? Procurement? Other business systems? Management of an entire lifecycle? Broad Product Development process? Out of the loop. Manufacturing? Often working off an old version. Sales? Let’s just say they weren’t logging into the PLM system.
What we ended up with were powerful systems… that were basically silos and isolated software solutions. Business strategy, PLM processes and PLM tools were isolated into an engineering silo. Tools that worked great for engineers, but didn’t connect to the rest of the business. CAD data stored in files. Lack of data integrity. PLM solution providers are focusing on traditional engineering change management and revision control.
That Doesn’t Work Anymore
Today, building a product isn’t just about engineers. It’s a team sport requires a development cycle to meet customer expectations, connected directly to supply chain management functions, data sharing, connecting to multiple CAD systems, focus on supplier collaboration and entire product lifecycle. Such software (when invented) will be the best PLM investments a company will do.
You’ve got suppliers, contractors, partners, customers, apps, and platforms all in the mix. Data’s flying around from every direction. Things move fast. And the old PLM model? It just can’t keep up. Contract manufacturers, supply chain collaboration, seamless product development, keeping up to date data.
We don’t need more control. Disconnected systems in product development won’t work. We need to streamline product development. We need project managers to connect to each other, we need design systems and design phase to be more integrated with other stages. We need modern PLM software. We need it connected with other systems and service lifecycle management. We need product data to stay in the middle. We need more connection.
We don’t need more “check-in/check-out” rigidity. We need PLM that’s flexible, integrated, and built around how teams actually work.
So how do we stop repeating the same PLM drama over and over?
3 Rules of PLM Club
Let me introduce you to my 3 Rules of PLM Club.
Rule #1: If the data’s a mess, everything else is just PowerPoint.
You can build the most beautiful workflows, give inspiring training, and have all the right intentions—but if the data isn’t there (or worse, if it’s wrong), nothing else matters.
Bad data breaks trust. And without trust? People stop using the system.
If your BOMs are inconsistent, your vendor info’s missing, and your revisions are floating around in spreadsheets… your PLM project is already on shaky ground.
So before you fix the process, fix the data.
Rule #2: If your systems aren’t connected, your people won’t be either.
We all know what happens when systems don’t talk to each other.
Engineering thinks something’s been approved, but manufacturing never saw it. Procurement orders the wrong version. Sales has no idea what’s been released.
And everyone ends up in a meeting pointing fingers.
PLM shouldn’t be a walled garden—it should be the thing that ties your business together. It needs to play nice with your CAD, ERP, CRM, MES, and whatever else you’re using. Because if the systems are connected, the people can be too.
Rule #3: No knowledge graph? Then it’s just a document mess with better Wi-Fi.
This one’s close to my heart.
You can’t model a modern product lifecycle using just folders and files. Products are complex. They have relationships—between parts, between suppliers, between requirements and changes.
That’s where a knowledge graph comes in. It lets you map those connections. Not just store data, but understand how everything fits together.
Without it? You’re just moving your document chaos to the cloud and hoping for the best.
What is my conclusion and why it all comes back to data?
At the end of the day, PLM isn’t just a tech project. It’s about building a foundation your business can grow on.
And that foundation? It’s data. Always has been.
If the data is solid—structured, connected, trusted—then the sky’s the limit. You can automate more. Collaborate better. Move faster. Build smarter.
But if the data’s broken? Doesn’t matter how fancy your workflows are. It’s just lipstick on a legacy process.
Brion’s post was a perfect reminder: PLM isn’t fixed with more checklists. It’s fixed by listening, connecting, and building real confidence in the data.
So yes—PLM is culture. It’s process. It’s people. But at its core?
It’s data. And when you get that right, everything else starts to fall into place.
Huge thanks to Brion Carroll II for telling the story so many of us have lived through. You made us laugh, nod our heads, and remember why this work is so worth doing.
And hey—if you’re ready to reboot your PLM approach, start with the rules.
And maybe hang a sticky note on the coffee machine that says:
“It all starts with the data.”
Just my thoughts…
Best, Oleg
Disclaimer: I’m the co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM, a digital-thread platform providing cloud-native collaborative services including PDM, PLM, and ERP capabilities. With extensive experience in federated CAD-PDM and PLM architecture, I’m advocates for agile, open product models and cloud technologies in manufacturing. My opinion can be unintentionally biased
