Jaeger LeCoultre puts PLM power into Swiss watches

The company is now using Pro/Engineer, Mathcad and ProductView to develop its entire portfolio, harnessing everything from modelling to simulation, engineering calculations, documentation and inter-departmental collaboration functionality. The company also says it plans to implement PTC’s Arbortext content publishing system to manage its technical documentation. Jaeger-LeCoultre makes the point that it does not have design outsourcing as an option because of its all Swiss guarantee – so must rely on superior quality and processes. Also, whereas the watches and clocks have historically had multi-year R&D and finalisation processes, faster time to market has become a key imperative. Hence the PLM technology. The company says it decided that the goal for implementing a PLM solution set would be to develop increasingly sophisticated and complex products more simply and quickly – and thus to widen its product catalogue. In fact, it ultimately went for PLM because it would allow the firm to simultaneously chop out time in the design process while still encouraging the innovation and quality that distinguish its Reverso, Gyrotourbillon and Atmos products.