Australian challenges in the eyes of a PLM provider

As we cross the mid-year milestone for 2009, the economy is still as volatile as it had been since the beginning of this year. Despite recent news reporting that the economy has somewhat showed signs of early recovery, the worst seems not over yet as the world continues to be pulverized by the destructive pelting of the global financial storm. Quite predictably, Australia hasn't been spared from its ramifications. In fact, key business sectors in Australia, such as mining, construction and infrastructure, defense, manufacturing and machinery, automotive and medical devices, have all been affected one way or another. The current landscape Being a key sector in Australia, mining contributes significantly to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, when mining experienced a drop in demand from its key markets, such as China and Japan, it triggered off a domino effect that has since impacted supporting industries, as well as construction, infrastructure and machinery, which are invariably heavy CAD users. The manufacturing and machinery sector, which has traditionally been the core focus for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), has been undergoing shrinkage in recent years due to the increase in the cost of labor, commodity prices and energy fees. In fact, the economic downturn has further applied pressure on the industry that has since resulted in a decline in demand for consumer products and machinery in general. For the automotive industry, Australia's three remaining car manufacturers that are still in operation, Holden (GM), Ford and Toyota, have also been under severe pressure predominantly due to declining sales of their manufactured vehicular types. The industry as a whole, has suffered not only due to declining local production, but also as a consequence of global decline in demand for automotive parts and solutions produced in Australia. Being a traditional user of PLM software, this decline has inevitably affected the PLM industry to a certain extent. A recent news report on The Australian (June 1, 2009) stated that the Australian Industry Group-PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index had risen by 7.4 points in May from April to 37.5, thereby propelling a rise in the weak manufacturing sector to a seven-month high. The development, should it persist, may prove to be a silver lining for the sector. On the construction and infrastructure front, the Australian government has been investing heavily in infrastructure projects, for instance schools and general infrastructure projects, including roads, ports and desalination plants. Though not traditionally PLM users, this does present a great opportunity, especially when there is a great amount of design and project management involved during such projects. Meanwhile, other sectors including medical devices and defense, have however, not been overly affected by the economic downturn. In fact, the defense sector has seen steady investments and continues to be funded by the need to maintain Australian defense capability. The recent release of the Australia Defense White Paper in May 2009 has further reinforced the nation's commitment to maintain steady defense spending in the years to come. That said, many may question the true value behind a PLM solution, especially at a time like this when budgets worldwide have been slashed.

The worst seems not over yet as the world continues to be pulverized by the destructive pelting of the global financial storm.

The persistent need for PLM solutions The fact of the matter remains that PLM offers a unique value proposition for enterprises during both good and rough times, has somewhat answered that doubt already. Through its ability to enable innovation and speed to market, PLM provides enterprises with a competitiOff White X Max 90