Product lifecycle management (PLM) involves the task of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from the beginning, through engineering design and manufacturing, to service and disposal of manufactured products.
Product lifecycle management can be looked at as a place to store information that affects a product and a means of communication with marketing, manufacturing, engineering and service. The product lifecycle system is where all product information from marketing and design intercept.
Benefits include:
- Faster time-to-market
- Fewer errors
- Higher productivity
- Greater design efficiency
- Better product quality
- Decreased cost of new product introduction
- Better reporting and analytics
Efficient product lifecycle management has many benefits, including swiftly getting the product to market, establishing a higher quality product on the market, increasing product safety, creating more sales opportunities and decreasing errors and waste. Special computer software is available to assist with product life cycle management through functions such as document management, design integration and process management.
Incorporating product lifecycle management in your organization will provide a systematic approach to managing a product’s lifecycle from inception to disposal. It will help serve as a product’s backbone by incorporating human skills, data and business processes.