OPTIMISE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE TIME THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF PRODUCT DATA MANAGEMENT

This thesis studies the use and impacts of product traceability and data sharing required for New Product Development and hence optimise the time to market in business enterprises. Prior research in the field of traceability is scarce and fragmented. This study first draws together and explores the existing body of knowledge to identify the state of current understanding and the gaps that remain in it. Moreover, this study identifies the position of traceability as a discipline with respect to related subjects including product data management. Furthermore, it analyses the ability of these subjects to help to understand the problems in the field of traceability. Based on the gaps identified in the existing body of knowledge, the following research questions are raised:  How is traceability of data and data sharing used in business enterprises?  What are the impacts and benefits of using traceability data and sharing data?  What factors enable a business enterprise to fully realise the positive impacts of traceability and sharing of data? The research questions are answered using the case-study methodology. These of traceability and sharing of data is studied in a glass container manufacturing organisation where the critical success factor of the business lies in the ability to timely market and develop New product as per customer requirement . Shorter product life-cycles, growing product complexity and the need for a large number of product variants have made Product Data Management (PDM) increasingly important for many manufacturing companies. This thesis provides a survey of the most important concepts of PDM technology and illustrates the concepts by describing the design and implementation of an advanced document management system. Problem Definition Lack of data sharing between Marketing, Design and Prototype manufacturing in a transparent, seamless manner lead to confusion, traceability and quality issues. Many a time huge time is wasted in tracing the approved drawing and implementing Also the different feed-back on the new product developed by the customers, design department and manufacturing departments are not captured properly leading to inability to implement similar changes in future for similar products. Product data management is focused on capturing and maintaining information on products and/or services through its development and useful life. Typical information managed in the PDM module include  Part number  Part description  Supplier/vendor  Vendor part number and description  Unit of measure  Cost/price  Schematic or CAD drawing  Material data sheets