Gahl BerkoozGahl Berkooz
Technical Leader
Ford Motor Company

Gahl Berkooz, Ph.D., is Ford Motor Company's technical leader for systems engineering and product creation information complexity reduction. In this role he drives best practices in process, methods, information, and tools in systems engineering for product development, as well as defining and quantifying the impact of product information complexity on business performance. Dr. Berkooz is developing Ford's roadmap for driving down product information complexity in support of global commonality and reduced development cycle times. Dr. Berkooz joined Ford Motor Company after serving as chief analyst for PLM at D. H. Brown Associates. Prior to that, Dr. Berkooz served as CEO of technology companies in PLM. Dr. Berkooz received his Doctorate from Cornell University in applied mathematics in 1991.

Abstract

Making PLM Matter: Information and Business Practices driving Commonality and Platform Technologies

Commonality and platform technologies have direct and demonstrable impacts on business metrics such as part costs, tooling costs, and time to market. How companies manage product information and the business practices around this information can make a marked difference in the degree of commonality achieved and the reuse of platform technologies. However, corporate organizational structures and culture such as those found in large U.S. corporations present a challenge to leverage information to reap these benefits. With the right approach, IT organizations can persevere and use technology to catalyze a competitive advantage. Off-the-shelf PLM and other tools can be used to support this endeavor provided IT understands the tradeoffs around them and where they need to be augmented.