Product lifecycle management enhances collaboration, reducing the risk of product failure. Learn more about the PLM meaning and all it entails.
Introducing new products is a great way to expand your business, but doing so inefficiently can result in financial loss after the expenses of research, development, prototyping, and testing. One way to reduce the risk of failure is with product lifecycle management (PLM).
Fortunately, there are robust technological solutions for PLM, meaning you don’t have to tackle it alone. PLM software makes it easy for team members to collaborate, regardless of their location. Learn more about PLM to discover how it can reduce product failure rates and optimize your business practices.
Explaining a PLM system: How does it work?
A PLM system is a type of management information system (MIS) that gives designers and engineers access to real-time data, streamlining the product development process. Good PLM tools also facilitate the launch of new products and track them throughout the product lifecycle.
Each PLM system is a little different, but they fulfill similar functions. Without PLM, designers, engineers, marketing associates, and other team members often work in "silos" or divisions. Each division operates independently, preventing effective collaboration. Silos may hamper communication and make it difficult for team members to share information.
A PLM solves this problem by giving employees in each department access to external data. For example, engineers can use a PLM system to access design drafts, giving them extra time to engineer a new product. Team members can also review customer feedback, ensuring new products meet consumers’ needs.
What is PLM's role in business?
PLM’s primary role in manufacturing is ensuring firms develop new products efficiently. PLM also enhances collaboration and streamlines data sharing between engineers, designers, supply chain managers, production technicians, and anyone else involved in the development, launch, and sale of a new product.
PLM versus ERP
Product lifecycle management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) share some features, but they're discrete activities.
PLM focuses exclusively on product management, ensuring that design, development, and marketing professionals can access real-time data that supports their decision-making processes.
Conversely, ERP handles multiple business processes, such as inventory management, human resources, logistics, resource allocation, and accounting. You can integrate PLM into your ERP system or purchase separate PLM software.
5 stages in product development
Product development has five stages, and PLM is valuable in each phase. Here is the process that takes a product from conception to retirement:
- Concept and design: During this stage, product developers develop ideas based on customer demand, competitor activities, and unfulfilled gaps in the market. For example, if customers have been asking for an accessory to accompany one of the firm's top-selling products, team members may think about ways to fulfill their requests.
- Development: This is when team members start flexing their creative muscles. They validate the need for the product, draft detailed product designs, determine if they need custom tools, and develop a prototype. The development stage also includes testing, allowing the team to solicit feedback to improve the product.
- Production and launch: Team members update the product based on feedback gathered during testing. Then, they finalize the product and start distributing it.
- After-sales service/support: Now that customers have the new product in their hands, the team must provide after-sales service and support. Adequate support makes customers feel valued, increasing word-of-mouth recommendations and boosting the company’s brand image.
- Product retirement: At some point, the firm decides to retire the product. This final stage involves removing the product from the market and thinking about ways to use the original design in new projects.
Benefits of PLM software
The best PLM software offers many advantages, but these are some of the most valuable:
- Increased efficiency: With PLM software, every team member can access design, development, marketing, and retirement data all in one place. The easier they can access this data, the less time they spend tracking down what they need.
- Enhanced collaboration: PLM tools break through corporate silos to ensure everyone is on the same page. If you implement PLM, team members will enjoy seamless communication, preventing important projects from falling through the cracks.
- Better design quality: Product designers with access to engineering data can more easily create attractive and functional designs.
- Faster product launches: PLM software speeds up design and development, reducing the time required to bring a new product to market. In a fast-paced industry, rapid product launches will help you outperform your competitors.
- Improved workflow management: If your team members use separate tools for design, engineering, prototyping, and other activities, they probably spend precious time sending files back and forth and waiting for feedback. PLM tools centralize the process, allowing you to manage product design and development projects more efficiently.
Challenges of PLM
Like any software solution, PLM comes with challenges. For example, many manufacturing companies struggle with poor data quality. Increasing access to design and development data is only half of the equation; you must ensure the data you provide is valuable and accurate.
It's also normal to experience growing pains when you first implement PLM, especially for employees who may be hesitant to change. If everyone currently uses separate tools, you must connect them to your PLM system and then train team members to use the new PLM features.
In that vein, convincing team members that PLM software is worth the investment may take time. Designers, marketing professionals, and other employees with no experience using the software may see it as an engineering tool instead of a robust system with benefits at every stage of the product development cycle. You may need to persuade team members PLM provides value for their roles.
PLM use cases
PLM software is extremely versatile; it works for any company that wants to enhance collaboration throughout the value chain. Here are some common PLM use cases:
Integrating PLM with ERP
When you're using PLM and ERP separately, you may struggle to integrate the processes of the product development cycle. With PLM, you can give team members access to data from your ERP, facilitating better decisions.
Connecting processes along the value chain
Manufacturing requires quick decisions. Otherwise, a competitor may beat you to market with an innovative new product, reducing your market share. PLM software allows you to connect every process in the value chain and accelerate product development.
Complying with global product standards
Firms must comply with global standards for product quality and safety. PLM makes it easy to track every product through its lifecycle, enabling manufacturing firms to adapt quickly to evolving standards.
Eliminating business silos
By centralizing design, engineering, prototyping, testing, and marketing data, you eliminate roadblocks preventing team members from sharing their ideas and making informed decisions. PLM breaks down the silos that often interfere with innovation and creativity.
Implementing new technology
Many PLM tools use predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies to guide decision-making. Once you implement PLM, you can take advantage of these features immediately.
Speeding up product launches
Implementing PLM reduces the time it takes for employees to reference product designs, engineering data, and other relevant information. As a result, they require less time to develop new ideas, draft designs, and create prototypes for testing.
The future of PLM is bright with Orderful
PLM will continue to grow in popularity due to increased demand for new products and the rise of artificial intelligence, making it essential for a future-proof organization. PLM software can improve sustainability and allow remote workers to access product development data from anywhere in the world.
To further prepare your organization for digital collaboration, consider adopting electronic data interchange. Orderful offers a cloud-based platform designed to increase efficiency and enhance cooperation. Contact us to speak to an expert and learn more about optimizing your supply chain with the power of EDI.
