Industry 4.0 & 5.0 · PLM · IIoT · Vendor-Agnostic
Guiding Manufacturers into Industry 5.0 through PLM and IIoT
Minimize TCO · Maximize ROV · Simplify PLM
Independent consulting by Uthayan Elangovan — Author of three published books on PLM, IIoT, and Industry 5.0 (CRC Press & Momentum Press), and recipient of the 2020 Taylor & Francis Award for Outstanding Professional Book. His work is built on a structured industrial transformation framework that connects published methodology with real-world implementation experience across manufacturing. Backed by 20+ years of hands-on delivery, this approach bridges strategy, systems, and execution. Operating as Business-As-a-Service.
Not sure where you stand? Start with a quick diagnostic to identify gaps, risks, and opportunities.
Start with clarity using a structured transformation framework that connects strategy, systems, and execution.
Independent & vendor-agnostic — the right fit for your business, not ours
3×
Published author
+ Book reviewer
+ Book reviewer
4
Industry awards
2020 · 22 · 23 · 23
2020 · 22 · 23 · 23
2
Certified platform
partners
partners
20+
Years PLM & IIoT
in practice
in practice
Start here
Where are you today?
Start with your current situation. We’ll guide you to the right next step.
Certified Partner
OpenBOM PLM·
Katana ERP·
OpenBOM PLM·
Katana ERP·
OpenBOM PLM·
Katana ERP·
OpenBOM PLM·
Katana ERP·
What we do
Four practice areas.
One clear mandate.
One clear mandate.
Independent, vendor-agnostic advisory operating as Business As Service — flexible, on-demand expertise without the overhead of a traditional firm. Remote-first, with on-site availability across India and internationally.
01
PLM Strategy
PLM vision, strategy and roadmap development. Process assessment, gap analysis, requirements definition, solution evaluation, data governance planning, and digital thread initiative support.
Pre-Assessment
Gap Analysis
Roadmap
Requirements
Digital Thread
02
PLM Enablement
Guided PLM adoption from planning through to go-live. Vendor and stakeholder alignment, implementation oversight, onboarding, rollout, training, and Return on Value tracking.
Onboarding
Rollout
Training
ROV Tracking
Support
03
IIoT Advisory
Assessment of manufacturing and operational processes, identification of high-value sensor and connectivity opportunities, IIoT use case definition, architecture planning, and phased Industry 5.0 adoption roadmapping.
Use Cases
Architecture
Smart Mfg
Predictive
Phased Roadmap
04
Industry Capability Development
Bridging industrial practice and workforce readiness through practical PLM, IIoT, and Industry 5.0 enablement. Supporting manufacturers, institutions, and engineering teams through workshops, applied learning programs, implementation-oriented sessions, and industry-aligned capability development.
Skill Gap
Guest Lectures
Practical Labs
Mentoring
Curriculum
Clients
Academic
Why it matters
What is this costing you?
- 20–30% engineering time lost searching or recreating data
- Duplicate or inconsistent BOMs across systems
- Delays in product release due to poor data flow
- ERP and design teams working in silos
- Lack of visibility for decision-making
These are not system problems — they are business value leaks.
Quantify Your Data Cost →Our approach
The E3 Framework
A structured, repeatable methodology for PLM and IIoT adoption — from readiness assessment to sustained operational excellence.
01
Phase 1 · Empower
Strategy & Alignment
Establish the foundation — goals, readiness, governance and ROV measurement before a single tool is selected.
Goal setting & strategy planning
Readiness & resource assessment
Risk assessment & governance
ROV & ROI baseline
02
Phase 2 · Enhance
Design & Execution
Define the future state — blueprints, proof of concept, process redesign and stakeholder-aligned change management.
As-Is & To-Be process mapping
Blueprint & proof of concept
Change management & roadmap
Stakeholder alignment
03
Phase 3 · Excel
Adoption & Growth
Deploy, train and sustain — go-live, user adoption, ongoing support and continuous improvement loops.
Deployment & training
Acceptance testing & go-live
Ongoing support & monitoring
Continuous improvement
About
Uthayan Elangovan
Founder & CEO, Neel SMARTEC · PLM Strategy & Implementation Advisor
As the author of Industry 5.0: The Future of the Industrial Economy (CRC Press, 2021) and recipient of the 2020 Taylor & Francis Award for Outstanding Professional Book for his work on PLM with IIoT, Uthayan brings together published, field-tested frameworks with hands-on implementation expertise.
With 20+ years of practitioner experience across Windchill, ThingWorx, OpenBOM, and Katana ERP — working with organisations including Flex, Wipro, Syntel, PTC, Sonakoyo, and PreC Solutions — he has delivered transformation across automotive, electrical, medical, industrial, and electronics sectors.
Through Neel SMARTEC, he has delivered Windchill and ThingWorx programs for Flowserve Corporation and conducted a Windchill PLM maturity assessment for Carrier Corporation. He has also been invited as a Guest Speaker by Vestas (PLM Operations team, Chennai) on the future of PLM with AI and digitalization.
He founded Neel SMARTEC in August 2018 as a Business As Service practice — delivering flexible, outcome-driven consulting to help manufacturers accelerate Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 adoption through PLM and IIoT.
Vendor-agnostic by principle. As a fully independent consultant, recommendations are based purely on what fits your business, budget, and goals — never on partner incentives or vendor commissions.
PLM
Certified OpenBOM Implementation PartnerAuthorised to implement and onboard OpenBOM PLM across industries and geographies
ERP
Certified Katana ERP PartnerImplementation, configuration, and training for Katana manufacturing ERP
AUTH
Authorised PartnerCassiniPLM · StockTrim · CloudStudio IIoT
EXP
Practitioner expertise — Windchill & ThingWorx20+ years hands-on experience across PTC Windchill PLM and ThingWorx IIoT platforms — informing vendor-agnostic advisory
T&F
2020 Taylor & Francis Award WinnerOutstanding Professional Book — PLM: A Digital Journey Using IIoT
PUB
3× Published Author · Book ReviewerIndustry 5.0 · PLM with IIoT · Smart Automation — reviewed 6 proposals for CRC Press & Palgrave Macmillan
LEAN
Lean Green Belt · PTC Best Presentation AwardFlex Global Business Excellence 2016 · PTC World Conference 2007
Advisor & Mentor
John Stark
PLM thought leader · Author of 18 books including the most frequently cited publication on PLM · Advisor to 100+ companies worldwide
Recognition
Awards & Accolades
Recognised globally for excellence in management consulting, business leadership, and academic publishing.
2022 · Wealth & Finance International
Management Consulting Awards 2022
Recognised for outstanding contribution and excellence in management consulting services.
Wealth & Finance International
Verify award
2023 · APAC Insider
Most Effective Business Consulting Services CEO — Tamil Nadu
Awarded as the most effective Business Consulting Services CEO in Tamil Nadu for 2023.
APAC Insider
Verify award
2023 · CEO Monthly
Best Product Lifecycle Management CEO 2023
Recognised as the Best PLM CEO of 2023 — global recognition of leadership excellence in PLM.
CEO Monthly
Verify award
2020 · Taylor & Francis Group
Outstanding Professional Book Award
PLM: A Digital Journey Using IIoT — recognised by Book Authority as one of the Best Industrial Management Books of All Times.
Taylor & Francis · CRC Press
Verify award
Publications
Thought leadership in print
Published by Taylor & Francis (CRC Press) and Momentum Press — the world’s leading technical publishers. Recognised by Book Authority as among the Best Industrial Management and Manufacturing Automation books.
🏆 2020 Taylor & Francis Award for Outstanding Professional Book
Client feedback
Trusted by manufacturers and academics alike
“
Neelsmartec provided us with a structured roadmap for PLM implementation. This has given us clarity on how to optimise our processes, enhance collaboration, and improve compliance. We now have a clear direction for our digital transformation journey — this will be instrumental in scaling our operations efficiently.
Ganesh N
COO, SMS Solutions
PLM Strategy & Roadmap
“
We wanted to take full advantage of the OpenBOM SaaS model and accelerated implementation. We selected Neel SMARTEC — it was absolutely the best choice for us. They came ready to go, trained and onboarded our entire team with a fast, high quality, targeted implementation plan.
Raghunandan Jagdish
CEO, Nandan GSE
OpenBOM PLM Implementation
“
Excellent workshop! Extremely well done and very beneficial. Details explained outstandingly. Uthayan’s industrial IoT experience was exactly what our team needed to understand real-world digital transformation.
George Suresh
Managing Director, Vasanth Products
IIoT Workshop
“
Thanks Uthayan for spending your valuable time to share your industrial IoT transformation experience with our Operations Management students — extremely useful for developing future career direction.
Dr. Swee Kuik PhD
Lecturer, School of Business & Law · CQUniversity Australia
IIoT Academic Workshop
“
His depth of knowledge in PLM and IIoT allows him to speak to audiences from many different fields, always showing them how these skills work for their career. His ability to explain the real business applications of Industrial IoT in easy to understand terms is notable. The feedback from all attendees was extremely positive. I strongly recommend Uthayan to any educational institution or organisation that needs an expert in PLM and IIoT.
Karthikeyan Natarajan
Guest Lecture Organiser
PLM & IIoT Guest Lecture
Guided approach
Start here
01
Understand your current state
02
Take a focused diagnostic
03
Get a maturity snapshot
04
Define your roadmap
Let’s understand where you are today
No obligation. Typically responds within 24 hours. Or reach out directly via the contact details below.
1
Send your enquiry
Fill the form with your situation — the more context, the better the response.
2
Get a focused reply
Uthayan personally reviews every enquiry and responds within 24 hours.
3
No-obligation first call
A 30-minute discovery call — honest advice, no sales pitch.
Currently accepting new consulting enquiries
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