Evolving knowledge based product lifecycle management from a digital ecosystem to support automated manufacturing

This paper presents an approach at improving Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) in large scale multinational manufacturing companies using Ford Motor Company as a case study. The solution builds a software layer around an existing PLM infrastructure that uses Semantic Web Services (SWSs) to enable a new generation of PLM. This new PLM is then integrated into a digital ecosystem for factory automation using Ford Powertrain as a case study. The work illustrates how a Digital Business Ecosystem (DBE) can spur innovation and evolution in applications around this new type of PLM