Configuration lifecycle management

[1] The development of the concept of CLM has been prompted by the proliferation of configuration capabilities in different enterprise systems and a subsequent need to establish a master system of records for product definition logic and configurations, especially for manufacturing companies that rely on business processes related to assemble-to-order or mass customization.

[1] This entails that users of CLM include both back-office engineers, financial controllers among others, and marketing, sales and customers.

[8] The Concept of Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) was introduced in 2012 by Joy Batchelor and Henrik Reif Andersen following TATA Motors’ acquisition of the automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)[2] and JLR's subsequent search for a future platform to handle configuration of vehicles throughout the enterprise.

[2] In the automotive industry a practice has developed over the last 30 years in which aspects of vehicles are modelled using an abstract notion of a feature.

[2] Any CLM solution needs a powerful configuration engine to support creation and validation of feature strings.

When moving towards mass customization,[13] almost every business process from development, manufacturing through to the delivery of configurable products needs to be adapted to ensure both accuracy and efficiency.

[15] The first Inaugural CLM Summit was held in September 2015 at Lake Lanier, Georgia with participants from various industrial and educational organizations.

Now in its 9th year, the 2024 CLM Summit is a virtual event and will focus on on how orchestrating product data across the enterprise streamlines and simplifies configuration processes and fosters visibility throughout the entire value stream.

Figure 1: Signed CLM Declaration ^{[

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Figure 1. A CLM system is the master system of record for configuration logic thus integrating traditional enterprise systems such as ERP, CRM and PLM.

Figure 2. Configuration lifecycle managed through models composed of features that are an abstraction from the physical data layers.

Figure 3. A passenger car example of a CLM platform where market and engineering configuration definitions guides the customer to generate a valid and complete Feature String which then drives subsequent processes.

Figure 4. Example of different business processes depending on configuration lifecycle management