On the final day of MD&M West 2026, Rene Zoelfl, global industry advisor, medtech at PTC, explores how companies are integrating design, production, quality, and service data to enable real-time insights and continuous improvement. He highlights how digital product definitions, connected factory operations, and closed-loop service feedback reduce rework, increase throughput, strengthen compliance documentation, and improve product performance in the field. He also defines how a unified digital thread helps teams deliver higher-quality products, drive operational agility, and unlock new opportunities for service and revenue growth.
Manufacturers — especially in highly regulated industries like medical devices — are under increasing pressure to accelerate innovation, improve product quality, and maintain equipment uptime, all while navigating supply chain volatility, workforce shortages, and evolving compliance requirements. To stay competitive, leading organizations are moving from disconnected engineering, manufacturing, and service environments to an intelligent, connected product lifecycle that unifies data across the value chain.
Key takeaways include how to break down silos between engineering, manufacturing, quality, and service; practical steps for implementing an intelligent product lifecycle in regulated manufacturing; real-world medtech and manufacturing examples of efficiency and quality improvements; how closed-loop service and field performance data accelerates design improvements, and where AI and analytics amplify impact across the product lifecycle.
