Product Lifecycle Management

What Is Product Lifecycle Management?

Product Lifecycle Management, also known as PLM, is a strategic, end-to-end process employed to manage a product’s complete lifecycle. It is used from concept to design, production, sourcing, through to service, disposal, or retirement, or commonly referred to as “cradle to grave”. PLM encompasses the administration of the product’s data, people, processes, and systems.

How Can It Help Manufacturers?

PLM is an essential tool for today’s manufacturers, serving as the digital backbone that connects engineering, production, and the supply chain.

Here are four key areas where PLM helps manufacturers drive efficiency, quality, and profitability:

1. Provides a Single Source of Truth for Product Data

• Eliminates Errors: PLM centralizes product data – including CAD files, specifications, Bill of Materials (BOMs), and testing reports—in one managed system. The entire product lifecycle management team can access the most current, precise product data.
• Tracks/Manages Design Iterations: Automatically tracks and manages each design revision, preventing costly mistakes such as manufacturing a product based on an outdated design.

2. Accelerates Time-to-Market (TTM)

• Streamlines Workflows: PLM automates repetitive tasks and standardizes the flow of information between departments. This removes bottlenecks and significantly reduces the time from concept to launch.
• Repurposes Designs: Allows engineers to easily find, adapt, and reuse existing components and designs. There is no longer a need to “reinvent the wheel”, accelerating the development of new product variants.

3. Improves Product Quality and Reduces Costs

• Detects Early Issues: Potential manufacturing issues or design flaws can be identified and corrected early in the design phase, where remediation is less expensive.
• Reduces Rework and Scrap: Accurate data and controlled change management minimize errors on the production line, leading to less waste, rework, and fewer costly warranty claims.
• Optimizes Manufacturing BOM (MBOM): PLM helps bridge the gap between the Engineering BOM (EBOM) and the Manufacturing BOM (MBOM), ensuring production planning and resource allocation are accurate.

4. Enhances Collaboration and Supply Chain Management

• Cross-Functional Teamwork: PLM breaks down the organizational silos between engineering, manufacturing, quality, and procurement teams by providing a common platform for communication and data sharing.
• Supplier Integration: It allows manufacturers to securely share design specifications, requirements, and compliance documentation with suppliers and contract manufacturers, improving quoting accuracy and lead times.

5. Ensures Regulatory Compliance

• Traceability: PLM provides full traceability of components, materials, and processes, which is essential for regulated industries (e.g., aerospace, medical devices) to prove compliance during audits.
• Documentation Management: It automatically manages all compliance-related documentation (certifications, material declarations, environmental reports) in a structured way.

Product Lifecycle Management Stages

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) oversees a product through five distinct stages to maximize value, improve efficiency, and centralize data into a secure single source of truth.

The stages are:

1. Conceive (Ideation & Development): Focuses on market research, defining requirements, and initial business planning. Activities include creating specifications and building prototypes.
2. Design (Engineering & Validation): Involves detailed design, engineering, and rigorous testing. Key activities are CAD work, simulation, validation, and managing all engineering changes.
3. Realize (Manufacture & Launch): Focuses on production, quality control, and execution. Activities include manufacturing, assembly, QA, and initial sales distribution.
4. Service (Use & Support): Centers on maintaining and supporting the product in the market through customer service, maintenance, gathering feedback, and implementing upgrades.
5. Dispose (Retirement & End-of-Life): Manages the responsible phase-out, decommissioning, and recycling of the product while ensuring disposal compliance.

PLM enables streamlined collaboration and reduced time-to-market across all phases.

Benefits of Product Lifecycle Management

• Maximize Value: To optimize the product’s performance, quality, and profitability over its entire lifespan.
• Improve Efficiency: To streamline collaboration, reduce time-to-market, and minimize errors and waste.
• Centralize Data: To provide a single, secure source of truth for all product-related data (like designs, specifications, and bills of materials) across the organization and its extended supply chain.