Product Lifecycle Manage (PLM)
PLM software integrates information systems, individuals and processes to improve the product development process.
It supports the creation, management and distribution of product and product-related data through an extended enterprise.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the process of managing people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprise.
Production Stages
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 methods, people and the processes through all stages of a product’s life:
Stage 1: Computer Aided Design (CAD). Engineers and/or designers work to create a design for a product. These designs, 3D or 2D, are often created in CAD formats or in other authoring tools.
Stage 2: Product Data Management (PDM). PDM is used to track and control data related to a particular product. The focus is file version management.
Stage 3: Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). PLM works to define the lifecycle of the product, and in contrast to PDM, focuses on managing items that can be ordered or built, as opposed to simple file version.
Stage 4: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP help with all of the extended enterprise processes needed to procure, build product or deliver it.