Virtual+Digital (V+D)

virtual+digital (v+d) is a technical and business strategy blog which focuses on digital transformation and enterprise solutions, including (albeit not limited to) data management strategies across the PLM+ERP+MES+CRM stack — a.k.a the 'four cornerstones of manufacturing'. Our purpose is to inform and debate about the complex choices that leaders and technologists face — in digitalisation, business transformation, IT modernisation, MDM strategy, enterprise data integration, operations, governance, organisational change management and other technical and business domains — and the impact of their decisions. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) applications are often referred as a 'single system of record' for product data across the product creation lifecycle. Product and process information flows from PLM to downstream systems, namely Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). As products mature throughout their respective lifecycle, the need for close-loop integration increases. Simply put, the combined digital ecosystem PLM+ERP+MES and its related process portfolio provide creation, strategy alignment and operational backbone of the enterprise, for project teams and supplier base to collaborate. Regulatory compliance and data traceability requires effective integration levels, upstream and downstream across the three platforms and their respective purpose. This includes the need of customer requirement ('voice of the customer') integration, typically handled by Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. v+d is published by Xlifecycle Limited.