This article is about the term that refers to managing product design and production details. For the marketing term, see Product life cycle management (marketing).
A generic lifecycle of products
In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a [1] product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal. PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for [2] companies and their extended enterprise. PLM systems help organizations in coping with the increasing complexity and engineering challenges of [3] developing new products for the global competitive markets. Product lifecycle management (PLM) should be distinguished from 'Product life cycle management (marketing)' (PLCM). PLM describes the engineering aspect of a product, from managing descriptions and properties of a product through its development and useful life; whereas, PLCM refers to the commercial management of life of a product in the business market with respect to costs and sales measures. Product lifecycle management can be considered one of the four cornerstones of a manufacturing [4] corporation's information technology structure. All companies need to manage communications and information with their customers (CRM-customer relationship management), their suppliers and fulfillment (SCM-supply chain management), their resources within the enterprise (ERP-enterprise resource planning) and their product planning and development (PLM). One form of PLM is called people-centric PLM. While traditional PLM tools have been deployed only on release or during the release phase, people-centric PLM targets the design phase. As of 2009, ICT development (EU-funded PROMISE project 2004–2008) has allowed PLM to extend beyond traditional PLM and integrate sensor data and real time 'lifecycle event data' into PLM, as well as allowing this information to be made available to different players in the total lifecycle of an individual product (closing the information loop). This has resulted in the extension of PLM into closed-loop lifecycle management (CL2M).
Benefits Documented benefits of product lifecycle management include:
[5][6]
Reduced time to market
Improved product quality
Reduced prototyping costs
More accurate and timely request for quote generation
Ability to quickly identify potential sales opportunities and revenue contributions
Savings through the re-use of original data
A framework for product optimization
Reduced waste
Savings through the complete integration of engineering workflows
Documentation that can assist in proving compliance for RoHS or Title 21 CFR Part 11
Ability to provide contract manufacturers with access to a centralized product record
[edit]Areas
of PLM
Within PLM there are five primary areas; 1. Systems engineering (SE) 2. Product and portfolio m² (PPM) 3. Product design (CAx) 4. Manufacturing process management (MPM) 5. Product Data Management (PDM) Note: While application software is not required for PLM processes, the business complexity and rate of change requires organizations execute as rapidly as possible. Systems engineering is focused on meeting all requirements, primary meeting customer needs, and coordinating the systems design process by involving all relevant disciplines. Product and portfolio management is focused on managing resource allocation, tracking progress vs. plan for projects in the new product development projects that are in process (or in a holding status). Portfolio management is a tool that assists management in tracking progress on new products and making trade-off decisions when allocating scarce resources.Product design is the process of creating a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. Manufacturing process management is a collection of technologies and methods used to define how products are to be manufactured. Product data management is focused on capturing and maintaining information on products and/or services through their development and useful life. [edit]Introduction
to development process
The core of PLM (product lifecycle management) is in the creation and central management of all product data and the technology used to access this information and knowledge. PLM as a discipline emerged from tools such as CAD, CAM and PDM, but can be viewed as the integration of these tools with [7] methods, people and the processes through all stages of a product’s life. It is not just about software [8] technology but is also a business strategy.
For simplicity the stages described are shown in a traditional sequential engineering workflow. The exact order of event and tasks will vary according to the product and industry in question but the main [9] processes are:
Conceive
Specification
Concept design
Design
Detailed design
Validation and analysis (simulation)
Tool design
Realize
Plan manufacturing
Manufacture
Build/Assemble
Test (quality check)
Service
Sell and deliver
Use
Maintain and support
Dispose
The major key point events are:
Order
Idea
Kickoff
Design freeze
Launch
The reality is however more complex, people and departments cannot perform their tasks in isolation and one activity cannot simply finish and the next activity start. Design is an iterative process, often designs need to be modified due to manufacturing constraints or conflicting requirements. Where a customer order fits into the time line depends on the industry type and whether the products are for example, built to order, engineered to order, or assembled to order. [edit]History The inspiration for the burgeoning business process now known as PLM came from American Motors [10] Corporation (AMC). The automaker was looking for a way to speed up its product development process to compete better against its larger competitors in 1985, according to François Castaing, Vice President [11] for Product Engineering and Development. After introducing its compact Jeep Cherokee (XJ), the vehicle that launched the modern sport utility vehicle (SUV) market, AMC began development of a new model, that later came out as the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The first part in its quest for faster product development was computer-aided design (CAD) software system that make engineers more [11] productive. The second part in this effort was the new communication system that allowed conflicts to be resolved faster, as well as reducing costly engineering changes because all drawings and documents [11] were in a central database. The product data management was so effective, that after AMC was purchased by Chrysler, the system was expanded throughout the enterprise connecting everyone [11] involved in designing and building products. While an early adopter of PLM technology, Chrysler was able to become the auto industry's lowest-cost producer, recording development costs that were half of [11] the industry average by the mid-1990s.
