Product lifecycle
[1][2] PLM integrates people, data, processes, and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprises.
[6] The second part of 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 were in a central database.
[6] PLM systems help organizations cope with the increasing complexity and engineering challenges of developing new products for the global competitive markets.
In contrast, PLCM refers to the commercial management of a product's life in the business market concerning costs and sales measures.
The exact order of events and tasks will vary according to the product and industry in question but the main processes are:[15] The major key point events are: 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.
One of the main goals of PLM is to collect knowledge that can be reused for other projects and to coordinate the simultaneous concurrent development of many products.
In parallel, the initial concept design work is performed, defining the aesthetics of the product together with its main functional aspects.
Many different media are used for these processes, from pencil and paper to clay models to 3D CAID computer-aided industrial design software.
The new product development process phase collects and evaluates market and technical risks by measuring the KPI and scoring model.
This step covers many engineering disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, electronic, software (embedded), and domain-specific, such as architectural, aerospace, and automotive.
Simulation, validation, and optimization tasks are carried out using CAE (computer-aided engineering) software, either integrated into the CAD package or stand-alone.
After components are manufactured, their geometrical form and size can be checked against the original CAD data with the use of computer-aided inspection equipment and software.
Parallel to the engineering tasks, sales product configuration, and marketing documentation work takes place.
This can include providing customers and service engineers with the support and information required for repair and maintenance, as well as waste management or recycling.
Connecting and enriching a common digital thread will provide enhanced visibility across functions, improve data quality, and minimize costly delays and rework.
Whether it be the disposal or destruction of material objects or information, this needs to be carefully considered since it may be legislated and hence not free from ramifications.
During the operational phase, a product owner may discover components and consumables which have reached their individual end of life and for which there are Diminishing Manufacturing Sources or Material Shortages (DMSMS), or that the existing product can be enhanced for a wider or emerging user market easier or at less cost than a full redesign.
For these tasks data of a graphical, textual, and meta nature – such as product bills of materials (BOMs) – needs to be managed.
This central role is covered by numerous collaborative product development tools that run throughout the whole lifecycle and across organizations.
The broad array of solutions that make up the tools used within a PLM solution-set (e.g., CAD, CAM, CAx...) were initially used by dedicated practitioners who invested time and effort to gain the required skills.
Concurrent engineering also has the added benefit of providing better and more immediate communication between departments, reducing the chance of costly, late design changes.
The BOM contains all of the physical (solid) components of a product from a CAD system; it may also (but not always) contain other 'bulk items' required for the final product but which (in spite of having definite physical mass and volume) are not usually associated with CAD geometry such as paint, glue, oil, adhesive tape, and other materials.
A top-level spec is repeatedly decomposed into lower-level structures and specifications until the physical implementation layer is reached.
The risk of a top–down design is that it may not take advantage of more efficient applications of current physical technology, due to excessive layers of lower-level abstraction due to following an abstraction path that does not efficiently fit available components e.g. separately specifying sensing, processing, and wireless communications elements even though a suitable component that combines these may be available.
Depending on the complexity of the product, a number of levels of this assembly are created until the basic definition of components can be identified, such as position and principal dimensions.
The BEATM design process proceeds from both ends in search of an optimum merging somewhere between the top–down requirements, and bottom–up efficient implementation.
Such methods do however require organizational changes, as considerable engineering efforts are moved into "offline" development departments.
The other referenced components may or may not have been created using the same CAD tool, with their geometry being translated from other collaborative product development (CPD) formats.
PDES integrates people with different backgrounds from potentially different legal entities, data, information and knowledge, and business processes.
After the Great Recession, PLM investments from 2010 onwards showed a higher growth rate than most general IT spending.
