Lost in PLM Translation

There is a simple truth about language that is often overlooked: translation is never neutral. As one recent reflection put it: Learning a language is not just words—it is books, movies, songs and foods we would not otherwise notice or...

Ten Years On: What the ‘PLM vs Excel’ Debate Still Gets Wrong

Ten years ago, I wrote about the tension between Excel and PLM, framing it as a choice between tools and a process-adoption challenge. A decade later, the debate persists—but it still misses the point. This is not about whether Excel s...

AI in PLM: From Vault RAG to Cross-Platform AI Orchestration

What is 2026 likely to change? Short answer: By end-2026, AI in PLM will matter less for how well it searches a vault and more for how effectively it coordinates decisions across systems. The shift underway is from AI inside PLM to AI ab...

AI Needs Data Foundations; It Is Also Redefining Them

AI depends on data foundations to be trusted. But unlike previous technologies, AI is actively reshaping what those foundations are and how they must be governed. Leaders who treat data foundations as a static prerequisite risk building ...

Why Product Innovation Strategy Lives or Dies in Procurement Decisions

Procurement has always been integral to product innovation. The failure has never been one of awareness, but of discipline. When organisations treat sourcing decisions, cost structures, supplier exposure, intellectual property, and susta...

When Stopping a PLM Initiative Is the Right Decision

Stopping a PLM transformation initiative is often viewed as a failure. However, in reality, it is one of the most difficult—and sometimes most responsible—leadership decisions an organization can face. In fact, PLM transformations ar...