Product Lifecycle Management
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Product Lifecyle Management or PLM is a term used for the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from the concept and design phase, product analysis (Finite Element Analysis) through production planning, visualization and marketing, to the point where the product is trashed by the user (waste management/recycling). PTC is the main player in this market. Many software solutions have been developed to organize and integrate the different phases in this type of management. Because of the nature of the processes and phases, the software tends to be centered around engineering.
Another Definition: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a set of capabilities that enable an enterprise to effectively and efficiently innovate and manage its products and related services throughout the entire business lifecycle, from conception through recycling or disposal.
Documented benefits include:
- Reduced time to market
- Improved product quality
- Reduced prototyping costs
- Savings through the re-use of original data
- A framework for product optimization
- Reduced waste
- Savings through the complete integration of engineering workflows
Major PLM software product vendors
- Agile (http://www.agile.com)
- Aegeanet System (http://www.aegeanet-system.com/index_e.html)
- IngTech Corporation (http://www.Ing-Tech.com)
- Dassault Systemes
- MatrixOne
- PTC
- SAP PLM
- UGS (http://www.ugs.com) (formerly part of EDS)
- Optiva (http://www.formationsystems.com)
Data standards
- ISO 10303 - STEP the Standard for the Exchange of Product model data