Title: Innovation and transformation using product lifecycle management enabled by NetWeaver

Authors: Thomas Gulledge, Georg Simon

Addresses: Enterprise Integration, Inc., 5971 Kingstowne Village Parkway, Suite 110, Alexandria, VA 22315, USA; IDS Scheer AG, Heinrichstrasse 169a, Duesseldorf, 40239, Germany. ' Enterprise Integration, Inc., 5971 Kingstowne Village Parkway, Suite 110, Alexandria, VA 22315, USA; IDS Scheer AG, Heinrichstrasse 169a, Duesseldorf, 40239, Germany

Abstract: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a critical value chain in the US Army|s logistics strategy, known as the Single Army Logistics Enterprise (SALE). To enable SALE business processes, the US Army selected the SAP Enterprise Suite. To that end, the SALE vision must be aligned with US Army business processes in order to provide the planning and control mechanisms for successfully deploying such a system. We demonstrate how critical PLM components were designed for organisational innovation and business transformation using SAP NetWeaver technologies. Our main contribution is demonstrating the importance of designing integrated versus best-of-breed solutions when implementing complex solutions.

Keywords: organisational innovation; business transformation; product lifecycle management; PLM; master data management; MDM; technical data management; TDM; SAP NetWeaver; army logistics; US Army; USA; United States.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2009.021678

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2009 Vol.6 No.1, pp.15 - 32

Published online: 30 Nov 2008 *

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