It’s a long holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s have some fun. Thanks to Brion Carrol (II) for sharing his “Corporate Jargon Translated” — the post made me laugh and also got me thinking about PLM jargon.
After many years in the PLM business, I’ve found that aligning terminology can be just as essential for a team as deciding which database to use or how to deploy application services.
If you’ve ever joined a PLM meeting as an outsider, you might feel like you’ve been dropped into an alien planet. The conversation flows in a language made of acronyms, buzzwords, and futuristic promises. Words like Digital Thread, Digital Twin, Seamless Integration, EBOM, MBOM, SBOM, and Platform Vision get tossed around so quickly you start wondering if you need a translator or a decoder ring.
And then comes the grand question: what is PLM? Ask five experts and you’ll get six answers — plus one PowerPoint. Is it software? A business strategy? A management philosophy? A vision? The answer, naturally, is “Yes.” PLM is all of these things at once, and that’s before the consultants arrive :).
Let’s have some fun unraveling this universe of jargon.
Acronym Soup: PLM Essentials
PLM runs on acronyms the way cars run on fuel. And just when you think you’ve learned the basics, someone invents a new one. It’s like alphabet soup, except the noodles are shaped like three-letter codes.
Take the BOM family (Bill of Materials). Once upon a time, there was just one. Then, like rabbits, they multiplied. Usually happens when a group of people claims they need to present information in a slightly different way and structure (for a good reason, btw).
- EBOM (Engineering BOM): Created by engineers, carefully detailed, and then debated
- DBOM (Design BOM): Because engineers decided EBOM is not aligned with CAD
- MBOM (Manufacturing BOM): Rewritten by manufacturing to make it “real,”
- PBOM (Planning BOM): A placeholder for procurement “not to forget to order screws”
- SBOM (Service BOM): Made by service teams know which part needed for maintenance
- BOP (Bill of Process): Proof you can flip the acronym upside down.
It’s impressive, really. Every time you think there can’t possibly be another flavor of BOM name, a new one appears. Somewhere right now, someone is drafting the NextBOM™ name.
The Buzzword Hall of Fame
Beyond acronyms, PLM has its all-star lineup of buzzwords. They sound impressive, futuristic, and transformative — until you translate them into plain English.
- Single Source of Truth: A magical place where all data is consistent. Reality check: usually a shared folder named “Final Plan”
- Digital Thread: The magical thing that connects every piece of product information. In a real life can be list of URLs with links to all specs, documents, requirements, etc.
- Digital Twin: A virtual replica of your product. Can be anything that helps you to understand how product works in real life.
- Seamless Integration: The promise that systems will talk to each other perfectly without export/import and copy/paste.
- Platform Vision: The promise of the future when everything is aligned perfectly, complete with diagrams of fancy objects and the assurance that “data silos will disappear.” Timeline: perpetually five years away.
- PLM (Product Lifecycle Management): Software, process, strategy, philosophy, mindset, lifestyle. Basically everything because everything in this life is kind of product (even if it is a process)
- The “+ Management” Strategy: The easiest way to invent new solutions. Pick any business activity, add “Management,” and voilà — a PLM module. Requirement Management, Compliance Management, Innovation Management… next up, Coffee Break Management.
- Business Strategy (The Icing on the Cake): The universal topping. Sprinkle it on any conversation, and suddenly it sounds trustful. Translation: “We need to figure how to make money”
I have a special place in PLM jargon for consultants’ lingo. Their secret recipe? Take an ordinary word, add -ation, and instantly you’ve created a powerful concept.
- Pricing → Software Monetization (charge more, monthly)
- Ideas → Innovation Productization (turn brainstorms into things you can sell)
- Sharing → Lifecycle Democratization (we finally let other departments see the files)
- Complexity → Process Rationalization (cut three steps, add two meetings)
- Data → Information Harmonization ( rename columns in Excel until they match)
- Mistakes → Knowledge Capitalization (documenting failures so we can remember them)
- Benefits → Value Manifestation (we need to find a reason to use it)
- Approval → Workflow Orchestration (herding cats, but with a flowchart)
From PLM to Plain English
Let’s pause and translate. What does PLM jargon actually mean in everyday terms?
- Digital Thread → “We’re trying to connect all our files so we know who request what”
- Single Source of Truth → “One place where the right information lives, instead of ten spreadsheets.”
- Digital Twin → “A model that behaves like the real thing, so we can test it without making physical experiments”.
- Seamless Integration → “Making two systems exchange data without constant copy-paste.”
- Platform Vision → “A roadmap that promises things will be aligned somehow someday.”
- Business Strategy → “The reason the executives are excited.”
Translated into plain English, PLM is not mysterious at all. It’s just the effort to make product information accessible, consistent, and useful — so teams can actually get work done.
PLM Jargon in Real Life
If we translated PLM jargon into everyday life, it might look something like this:
- At a coffee shop: “I’d like a latte, and please align the frothing process with our digital manufacturing instructions.”
- At home: “Kids, stop arguing — we need a PLM ownership model for TV remote control.”
- At work: “Dessert for the company party? Don’t worry. We already built a digital twin of a cake.”
- In the kitchen: “Tonight’s dinner EBOM says we’re making lasagna, but the MBOM planning shows we only have enough ingredients for salad — welcome to the Salad Manufacturing BOM.”
- Inviting guests: “Before cooking, let’s run a compliance check for dietary restrictions. Gluten-free, nut-free, and vegetarian all impact our dinner MBOM.”
Once you start hearing PLM jargon in everyday contexts, it’s hard to stop. Suddenly, your dinner table looks like a product lifecycle project.
Let’s Get Serious for a Minute
Simplification is a serious trend we see everywhere. Jokes aside, here’s the real purpose of PLM. It’s not about acronyms or shiny buzzwords. It’s about helping engineering and manufacturing organizations work more efficiently.
To do that, PLM has to manage information about three essential things:
- Products — what’s being designed, built, and delivered.
- Processes — how teams define, plan, and coordinate work.
- Deliveries — the output, whether hardware, software, or service.
Engineers need this information to design. Manufacturing needs it to plan. Procurement needs it to purchase and manage supply chains. When all of these fit together, you get something rare and powerful — a PLM system that actually delivers value. And no acronyms required.
Conclusion: Laughing at Ourselves
PLM jargon is everywhere — acronyms, buzzwords, strategies, visions. It’s easy to get lost in it. But behind the jargon, the mission is simple: help people design, build, and deliver better products by organizing information.
So next time you hear someone explain their seamless digital thread platform vision with EBOM, MBOM, PBOM, BOP, and a cherry of a business strategy on top, don’t panic. Just smile and say:
Got it. In plain English: you want everyone to work from the same page. Cool — I’ll try that with my dinner planning this weekend: recipe as the engineering definition, grocery list as procurement, cooking steps as the manufacturing plan, kids’ requests as the unpredictable last minute customer requirements and supply chain issues, and dietary restrictions from guests as the compliance and regulation check.
Just my thoughts… I hope you liked it.
For all my US friends and colleagues – have a nice long Labor Day weekend!
Best, Oleg
Disclaimer: I’m the co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM, a digital-thread platform providing cloud-native collaborative and integration services between engineering tools 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.
