Client
Leading Food Manufacturer
Industry
Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Engagement Type
PLM Readiness, Maturity Assessment & Technology Selection Preparation
The Challenge
Innovation, compliance, supplier collaboration, packaging development, and product commercialization all depend on the effective management of product data and workflows.
The organization relied on an aging Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) ecosystem that had evolved over many years through acquisitions, integrations, and process changes.
While the platform continued to support day-to-day operations, several challenges were limiting the organization’s ability to scale and innovate:
- Aging technology infrastructure
- Increasing complexity across the innovation ecosystem
- Limited integration between critical business systems
- Manual processes and duplicate data entry
- Lack of workflow automation
- Poor visibility into product changes and lifecycle impacts
- Difficulty leveraging emerging technologies such as AI and automation
Additionally, the organization faced an upcoming technology transition that required preparation for a formal software evaluation and procurement process.
Before selecting a new solution, leadership needed to understand current-state capabilities, organizational readiness, user needs, and future-state requirements.
The Frame & Flight Approach
Frame & Flight partnered with the organization to conduct a comprehensive PLM Evolution and Strategic Investment Analysis.
The engagement focused on aligning business strategy, evaluating organizational maturity, identifying capability gaps, and preparing the organization for a future PLM investment.
Current-State Assessment
Frame & Flight engaged stakeholders across the product development ecosystem to understand how technology, data, and processes supported innovation activities.
The assessment included functions such as:
- Product Development
- Packaging
- Quality & Regulatory
- Supplier Quality
- Graphics & Artwork
- Co-Manufacturing
- Technology
- Commercialization
The team documented:
- Current workflows
- Technology utilization
- Pain points and inefficiencies
- User experience challenges
- Integration gaps
- Data management issues
This created a detailed understanding of the organization’s innovation ecosystem and areas requiring improvement.
Innovation Ecosystem Mapping
Frame & Flight mapped the broader innovation technology landscape, documenting interactions across PLM, formulation, supplier management, packaging, project management, quality, and ERP platforms.
The analysis identified:
- Redundant capabilities
- Integration opportunities
- Data ownership challenges
- Workflow bottlenecks
- Future consolidation opportunities
The resulting ecosystem map provided leadership with a technology-agnostic view of how product information moved across the enterprise.
Organizational Readiness Assessment
Recognizing that successful technology implementations require more than software selection, Frame & Flight conducted a readiness assessment focused on the organization’s ability to successfully adopt and scale a future PLM platform.
The assessment evaluated:
- Governance
- Process maturity
- Data quality
- Change readiness
- Stakeholder alignment
- Technology preparedness
The findings helped identify risks and dependencies that could impact future implementation efforts.
PLM Maturity Benchmarking
Frame & Flight developed a maturity assessment framework spanning seven critical dimensions:
- Strategy & Governance
- Process Management
- Data Management
- Collaboration & Communication
- Product Development Lifecycle
- Innovation & Ideation
- Technical Infrastructure
- User Experience
Each area was benchmarked against industry-leading practices and evaluated across Lagging, Emerging, and Future-Looking maturity levels.
The analysis provided leadership with a clear understanding of current capabilities and a roadmap for improvement.
Requirements Development & Procurement Preparation
Assessment findings were translated into actionable requirements and procurement assets.
Deliverables included:
- Consolidated requirements database
- Capability prioritization
- Business needs analysis
- Readiness assessment
- Maturity assessment
- Vendor evaluation criteria
- RFP framework
The result was a structured foundation for future software evaluation and vendor selection activities.
The Results
The organization established a strategic foundation for PLM modernization and future technology investment.
Key outcomes included:
- Enterprise-wide PLM assessment completed
- Innovation ecosystem documented and analyzed
- Organizational readiness evaluated
- Maturity benchmark established across seven dimensions
- Technology gaps and improvement opportunities identified
- Future-state capability model developed
- Requirements framework created
- RFP preparation completed
Most importantly, leadership gained a data-driven understanding of where the organization stood today and what capabilities would be required to support future innovation objectives.
Business Impact
Many PLM initiatives begin with software demonstrations and vendor comparisons.
This engagement focused on ensuring the organization was prepared to make the right investment decision before entering the procurement process.
By evaluating readiness, maturity, business needs, and technology gaps upfront, the organization reduced implementation risk and improved confidence in future investment decisions.
The result was a business-led modernization strategy designed to support innovation, compliance, scalability, and long-term digital transformation.
Key Takeaway
Successful PLM transformations begin with organizational readiness, not software selection.
Organizations that understand their maturity, align stakeholders, define requirements, and establish a future-state vision are significantly more likely to achieve successful outcomes.
Frame & Flight helped a leading food manufacturer assess its innovation ecosystem, benchmark maturity, prepare for technology modernization, and build the strategic foundation required for long-term PLM success.