Razorleaf And OpenBOM Are Developing PLM Service Partnership Of The Future

PLM business is a complex discipline and often relies on resellers to grow and scale. The PLM industry has many examples of successful partnership channels in the past.

The partners’ support network in the past from the committed VAR made a difference between success and fiasco when it came to the sales of complex CAD and PLM products, training, and services. 

However, in the past, resellers focus and added value were built in the limitations of the distribution channel. Geographical location was one of them. Resellers and service providers in the past were found in many places where we do not have direct coverage. Besides this, they develop and provide important services, integration solutions, education, and often also engineering expertise.

But, things are changing and modern technologies and distribution models such as SaaS are making a difference. Software is available online and, in fact, doesn’t require VARs to deliver the installation CD and help to run setup commands. The new software, even if it needs to be installed, is done almost automatically and online technical support is capable of solving almost all problems via remote connections. 

We sat together with Jonathan Scott, Chief Architect of Razorleaf, and talked about the changes in software distribution, user experience, and service model. The conversation was about how OpenBOM is changing the way PLM software is distributed and implemented and what can be the role of future service companies in the world of SaaS PLM. 

The idea of how to transform PLM services and find a new model, which does fit SaaS was on the table and we’ve been excited to work with Razorleaf and Jonathan Scott on the development of this model. We wanted to combine Jonathan’s vision on how modern technology can deliver a new type of service. 

Here is what OpenBOM brings to the table.

• Customizable and flexible foundation for the product. PLM custom data models, the flexibility of process and integrations with other products finance, ERP, legacy data. 
• A foundation for service revenue allowing to introduce service providers to the communication and experience of the customer using SaaS PLM products. Technology and experiences are the keys here. 
• Strong emphasis on consulting and education revenue stream. The technologies don’t replace the need to educate customers or help them with knowledge transfer. 

For the last year, Razorleaf has delivered online training and customization services to OpenBOM customers. Razorleaf / OpenBOM services model has something for every OpenBOM subscription level from the single user through more sophisticated implementations of the OpenBOM enterprise edition with custom integrations and additional features. 

See What People Are Saying…

“In partnership with OpenBOM, Razorleaf has continued to develop a SaaS version of our technical services product line which comes alongside the OpenBOM customer to support them with implementation, customization, and PLM process improvement,” says Jonathan Scott. “We have found OpenBOM customers to be eager to engage our new SaaS services model finding exceptional value in both the lower total cost of remote online services and our PLM and process domain expertise. Moving PLM to the cloud hasn’t changed the fact that customers want help from experienced people – it has just changed how customers get that help.”

Here is a story of Stone Aerospace- OpenBOM and Razorleaf customer. Stone Aerospace has been using OpenBOM for almost three years and asked Razorleaf to make a seamless connection between SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard and OpenBOM to streamline processes and communication. 

Read Razorleaf Case Study  – Stone Aerospace Improves Productivity by Automating Processes. Stone Aerospace is a distributed think tank specializing in AI-controlled, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), robotic ice penetrators (cryobots), and computer-controlled closed-cycle life support systems and deliver their products to some of the world’s most remote places in the name of science, exploration, and national security.

The key challenge was to automate a manual process to extract data from SOLIDWORKS to OpenBOM and also migrate legacy data into OpenBOM. 

Here Alberto Lopez, Stone Aerospace Chief Operating Officer at Stone Aerospace speaks about the work done by Razorleaf – “Our consultant, Jonathan, presented the project with a scope, timeline, and budget. Any time there was a deviation, he communicated that so we could accept or reject further development. It was nice not to have to monitor Razorleaf all the time, and I look forward to working on future projects”

Conclusion 

We are very excited by the opportunity new technologies such as SaaS bring to the service and consulting model of PLM. In the past, consulting was tightly connected with heavy traveling, large teams of developers, and extended time on-site with the customer. These things are changing and nowadays modern PLM service consulting combined with online SaaS products can deliver a new level of product and services to customers. 

Learn more about Razorleaf.

Learn more about OpenBOM.