Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Process

A Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Process is a business process that manages a product lifecycle (from product inception, through engineering design and product manufacture, to service and disposal, and product retirement).

• Context:
  • It can manage Product Development through engineering processes and design workflows.
  • It can integrate Product Data through data management systems and information backbones.
  • It can coordinate Cross Functional Teams through collaboration platforms and process automation.
  • It can track Product Changes through version control and change management.
  • It can optimize Manufacturing Processes through production planning and resource allocation.
  • It can maintain Product Quality through quality control and compliance management.
  • ...
  • It can often analyze Product Performance through analytics tools and reporting systems.
  • It can often support Supply Chain Management through supplier integration and inventory tracking.
  • It can often enable Product Innovation through knowledge management and idea capture.
  • It can often facilitate Product Maintenance through service management and support tracking.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Simple PLM Process to being a Complex PLM Process, depending on its product complexity.
  • It can range from being a Department Level PLM to being an Enterprise Level PLM, depending on its organizational scope.
  • It can range from being a Manual PLM Process to being an Automated PLM Process, depending on its system automation.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • PLM Implementation Types, such as:
    • Engineering PLMs for product design management.
    • Manufacturing PLMs for production process management.
    • Service PLMs for product maintenance management.
    • Enterprise PLMs for complete lifecycle management.
  • PLM System Types, such as:
    • CAD PLM Systems for design data management.
    • ERP PLM Systems for resource planning integration.
    • Cloud PLM Systems for distributed access management.
    • Industry PLM Systems for sector specific management.
  • PLM Process Types, such as:
    • Document Management Processes for technical documentation.
    • Bill of Materials Processes for component management.
    • Change Management Processes for revision control.
    • Configuration Management Processes for variant management.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which manages customer interactions rather than product lifecycle.
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which focuses on resource management over product lifecycle.
  • Supply Chain Management (SCM), which emphasizes supply chain over product development.
  • Project Management Process, which handles temporary initiatives rather than continuous lifecycle.
• See: Business Process Management, Product Analytics, Product Data Management, Engineering Process Management, Manufacturing Process Management.

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References

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_lifecycle Retrieved:2015-7-6.
  • In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from inception, through engineering design and manufacture, to service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprise.

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