Vantage Point: Sustainable New Product Innovation with PLM

 

Environmental sustainability is an increasingly important issue for consumers. It drives consumer goods manufacturers to embrace measurable business objectives for creating and producing more environmentally friendly products. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study draws a correlation between sustainability practices and corporate performance. When comparing companies that report through a sustainability index against those that do not, "â¦the facts show that sustainable companies outperform non-sustainable companies on a number of key financial measures."¹

A product lifecycle management (PLM) technology platform helps transform the process of innovation to help turn more ideas into successful and sustainable products. The definition, design and measurement of progress towards sustainability objectives within the PLM environment facilitates transformation into the kind of business that delights consumers and out-performs non-sustainable competitors. PLM capabilities are available to support sustainability initiatives at each step of the innovation lifecycle, including:

Sustainable portfolios and requirements. Brand and portfolio owners must incorporate criteria into their portfolio analysis that will enable them to select the best basket of product initiatives, that balance sustainability objectives with cost savings and brand alignment objectives. Companies that recognize sustainability as a holistic initiative from idea-to-shelf, realize product requirements must be rationalized and optimized to meet cost, quality and now sustainability metrics. PLM helps to ensure sustainability objectives are considered at the front end of the process, where early decisions strongly influence the ultimate outcome of the initiatives.

Managing sustainability claims. Products that involve green claims on the packaging or in advertising require up-to-date certificates, proper testing and other documentation to support the claim. Otherwise there is risk of backlash over unsubstantiated "green-washing." PLM tracks and creates the record of compliance for claims.

Environmentally friendly formulas. Formulators may be called upon to reformulate products to use more environmentally-friendly ingredients. Full visibility into the latest regulations and requirements, including food safety requirements and chemical restrictions, can be controlled and applied by the PLM platform.

Green packaging. Package designers need full visibility into green requirements for new projects, as well as the ability to rapidly iterate and prove out light-weighted and reconfigured designs. Most people recognize that virtual prototyping and validation saves a great deal of time and money, but it is also an effective green strategy because it prevents repeated physical prototypes and their eventual trip to the landfill.

Source local. Supply chain managers may be asked to source locally to achieve a better carbon footprint while adhering to approved specifications and supply standards. PLM's ability to track supplier capabilities with up-to-date certifications helps to support timely re-optimization of the supply base for increased local sourcing.

Factory simulation. PLM's ability to quickly generate what-if scenarios helps optimize factory layout, while taking into consideration human operations and ergonomic safety as well as asset optimization for optimal energy consumption.

Idea-to-shelf innovation with PLM technology helps incorporate sustainability early in the design phase, validate designs to requirements during development, and measure overall progress against corporate sustainability objectives through each generation of the product.