Digital PLM &
Digital Thread
Enabling companies to adopt a Resilient Digital Operating Model across the product value chain to deliver smarter, secure, and sustainable products faster, better & cost-effective.
Today’s enterprises face a stark reality: over 75% of new products or capital projects fail to launch on time, and two-thirds of those that do fall short of expectations. Fragmented systems, manual processes, and siloed data across R&D and engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, quality & regulatory, and service functions are hindering innovation and agility. Rising product complexity, regulatory pressure, and sustainability mandates are only intensifying the challenges.
Our Solution: A Resilient
Digital Operating Model
Hitachi Digital Services delivers a next-generation Digital PLM and Digital Thread solution that transforms how organizations innovate, engineer, manufacture, and service products. At the core is Hitachi’s Digital PLM Transformation Playbook—a proven framework that accelerates value realization through strategy, technology, and execution.
The solution enables:
- Closed-loop collaboration across the product lifecycle
- Seamless integration of mechanical, electrical, and software development
- Real-time data flow across PLM, ERP, MES, and service systems
- AI/GenAI-powered insights for smarter, faster decisions
The solution spans the full product lifecycle —
from ideation to end-of-life — enabling:
- Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Model-Based Definition (MBD) and Model-Based Enterprise (MBE)
- Integrated and Multi-disciplinary Product Development (Mechanical, Electrical/Electronics and Software/Firmware)
- End-to-End Integrated BOM Management
- Closed-Loop Change, Quality and Regulatory Controls
- Manufacturing Process Management and Service Lifecycle Management
- Digital Twins for products, assets, and operations
These capabilities are mapped across planning, design, development, manufacturing, and service stages, ensuring end-to-end traceability and optimization.
Hitachi has made strategic investments in AI and GenAI, identifying over 60 high-impact use cases and developing 10+ production-ready solutions.
These span:
- Generative BOM assistance
- Predictive quality and maintenance
- AI-powered service desk and knowledge management
- Real-time supply chain visibility and optimization
Our AI/GenAI framework includes governance, data strategy, and a walk-run-fly deployment model to ensure scalable, secure, and value-driven adoption.
Powered by the Hitachi Digital Services Digital PLM Transformation Playbook, our solution delivers measurable outcomes:
- 20–55% cycle time reduction
- 20–45% quality improvement
- 15–40% cost reduction
Key value drivers include:
- Integrated product development across mechanical, electrical, and software domains
- End-to-end BOM and change control
- Sustainable and connected product operations
- Closed-loop quality, regulatory, and compliance management
Our transformation journey is structured around four pillars:
- Assess & Define – Current state, capability needs, platform evaluation
- Decide & Strategize – Architecture, roadmap, ROI, governance
- Prepare – Process design, data migration, integration planning
- Implement – Solution build, testing, training, and go-live
Execution is guided by five tenets: compliance, process streamlining, data harmonization, IT standardization, and governance.
AI-driven Digital PLM & Thread: Unlock business growth
Discover how Hitachi Digital Services is transforming industries with AI-powered Digital PLM and Digital Thread solutions. Eliminate data silos, enhance collaboration, and enable AI-driven decision-making. Read the blog to learn more.
ISG Whitepaper | The Future of Digital PLM
The future of product lifecycle management isn’t just digital – it’s intelligent. Discover how AI is rewriting the rules.
CIMdata Commentary | AI-powered Digital PLM and Digital Thread
Transform product and operational innovation with Hitachi’s AI-powered Digital PLM and Thread for smarter, sustainable outcomes—accelerating business value, strengthening resilience, and maximizing lifecycle performance
Customer Stories
These transformations demonstrate the power of Hitachi’s
integrated, AI-driven approach to PLM and Digital Thread.
Creating a unified, collaborative, and automated platform for product lifecycle management
Digital PLM transformation for a global automotive and industrial leader
Transforming product development and lifecycle operations through a unified, closed-loop digital platform
Digital PLM transformation for a global conglomerate in medical imaging
With over 25 years of PLM leadership, Hitachi Digital Services brings unmatched expertise, industry-specific insight, and end-to-end accountability. Our solutions are trusted by global leaders in automotive, aerospace, medical devices, high-tech, chemicals & pharmaceuticals, energy & utilities, and more.
We don’t just implement technology—we enable transformation.
Whether you’re modernizing legacy systems or building a future-ready digital thread, Hitachi Digital Services is your trusted transformation partner.
Meet Our Experts
I am the VP and Global Head of Industry 4.0 and IoT at Hitachi Vantara, a global leader in digital solutions and services. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, I lead the global practice and P&L for delivering innovative products and solutions that enable customer success in IT-OT transformation across various industry segments and markets, such as manufacturing, consumer, energy, and utilities.
My core competencies include incubating and scaling new age technologies such as AI, IoT, robotics, process automation, MES/MoM, PLM, autonomous mobility, EV, deep learning, additive manufacturing, and transform to net zero. Alongside my technical expertise, I have a deep understanding of the industry domains and customer insights that help me develop and execute effective strategies and business models. Moreover, I am a certified ESG specialist and a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, with a strong commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. My mission is to empower my team, partners, and customers to achieve their goals and aspirations, while making a positive impact on the world.
Sankar Natarajan is the Senior Director and Global Head of Digital PLM, Smart Manufacturing & Ops, and Industrial Metaverse practices at Hitachi Digital Services. He leads the global strategy, solutions, go-to-market initiatives, and delivery of integrated digital transformations across products, factories, operations, and sustainability. Under his leadership, teams drive large-scale innovation across the Hitachi Group of Companies and a rapidly expanding global client base.