Sustaining organizational support for a PLM solution: getting buy-in is just the first step

At our 2022 User Conference, we heard from long-time PLM for food & beverage champion, implementer and system owner Gordon Conkling. As the former (now retired) Lead Business Process Specialist at Welch's, Gordon was responsible for ensuring a successful PLM launch. In this series he shares key takeaways in driving adoption. 

Post 1: PLM Goes Better with Buy-In
Post 2: PLM Adoption: Making the case for change

Modern Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software is rapidly becoming the nexus of business transformation for food and beverage manufacturers—offering innovative ways to manage processes and information throughout a product lifecycle and across global supply chains.

But as teams tasked with launching a new or improved PLM know well, building broad organizational support for change isn’t easy. And once company-wide engagement is achieved, there’s still work to do.

“What can be even harder than building your case for change, is sustaining support for change,” explains a former product manager with decades of global food and beverage experience. “What I see at times with such projects is that there’s a loss of engagement. People start to understand the realities and realize that change takes some work. There’s also fear, as the new reality sinks in. Fear of the unknown. Fear that there might be a steep learning curve.”

The good news is that if you craft a viable plan for sustaining engagement for your new PLM, your efforts will pay dividends for years to come.

Four ways to sustain support for your new PLM

• CONDUCT REGULAR UPDATES: Schedule time with all internal stakeholders to conduct periodic briefings about PLM updates, and other news related to the new solution.
• COLLABORATE WITH HR: Implement a change management strategy with the support of your Human Resources department. Enlisting the support of HR team members, who are adept at engaging with employees and communicating important, company-wide news, can benefit everyone.
• LUNCH & LEARN: Some companies find success with ‘lunch and learn’ sessions where management participates, and PLM users can ask questions. Such meetings can be highly effective at building and sustaining support for a new PLM solution—and they needn’t be boring.

• RUN PILOTS: Arrange classroom pilots and user acceptance testing to explore the benefits and attributes of the new PLM. And be sure to reach out to people who are struggling with the ongoing changes. Ask for their input and welcome their questions as you conduct your pilot programs.

A PLM solution that motivates stakeholders from launch to implementation

There’s a lot for stakeholders across your company to like about Trace One Devex PLM for Food & Beverage—the PLM solution specifically designed to help manufacturers thrive in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace.

Sustaining change is easier with Trace One Devex PLM

Modular and configurable Trace One Devex PLM offers linear and intuitive tools that reduce the time needed to confirm data accuracy, improve quality and reliability, ensure compliance on critical legislative requirements, accelerate product launches, and stay current on required template changes for compliance documentation—all in a stable, SSOT environment.

As the Director of Project Management at a food company noted in a 2022 Trace One-commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting, “The biggest factor in reducing time-to-market has been our implementation of Trace One Devex PLM workflows. That’s allowed us to streamline and better organize the work and get tasks done faster.”

Trace One Devex PLM

Implementing a PLM solution such as Trace One Devex PLM can lead to a host of benefits and positive changes. But it’s important to build and sustain internal support to get the best results for your money.

Interested in finding out how Trace One Devex PLM can help your company? Schedule a demo today.