What Is PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) in 2023?

Over the years, Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) has undergone a significant transformation for the sake of adapting to emerging technologies and changing consumer needs. By implementing digital technologies, using integrated systems, and making use of cloud computing, PLM has evolved greatly.

In today's fast-paced business landscape, the importance of PLM cannot be overstated. Organisations that implement effective PLM strategies are poised for sustainable growth and a competitive edge in their respective industries.

Key Takeaways

• PLM is a systematic approach to managing a product's life cycle, from start to finish. It involves coordinating information and resources across various fields.
• Implementing effective PLM strategies and using PLM software can optimise key processes and benefit businesses.
• PLM software such as ENOVIA helps organisations streamline PLM processes and reduce costs, by enabling better decision making.

What is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)?

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is defined as a systematic approach to managing the life cycle of a product, from its inception, through design and manufacturing, to service, and disposal. It involves coordinating information, resources, and activities across functional areas to enhance product quality, reduce time to market, and control costs.

Why is PLM important?

PLM is important because it plays a pivotal role in product development and drives tangible benefits to a business. Implementing these PLM strategies and utilising PLM software solutions can help an organisation optimise their key processes and maintain a competitive edge. That's why it's important to utilise software that provides a business with all the necessary PLM tools for the industry.

What are the Benefits of PLM?

PLM has a multitude of direct benefits when implemented correctly. Some of these benefits are:

1. Reduced time to market: Tools within PLM systems enable quicker design iterations and facilitate effective communication between different departments during product development. This results in shorter lead times and faster delivery of products to the market, enabling businesses to bring new products to market more quickly.
2. Improved product quality: PLM ensures that product data is up-to-date, accurate, and accessible to all relevant stakeholders. This reduces errors, rework, and potential recalls while ensuring that customers receive products that meet or exceed their expectations.
3. Cost control: By providing clear visibility into product development costs and facilitating more effective resource utilisation, PLM can lead to significant cost savings and higher profit margins.
4. Regulatory compliance: PLM helps organisations stay up-to-date with constantly changing regulations and standards. It provides a centralised system for tracking and managing compliance-related information, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties or loss of certifications.
5. Enhanced collaboration: PLM fosters better collaboration between internal and external stakeholders, such as suppliers and manufacturers, making it easier to share information, coordinate activities, and work as a cohesive team. Automotive manufacturers use PLM systems to consolidate their engineering, design, and production processes, ultimately reducing wasted hours and increasing overall output.
6. Better decision-making: Better decision-making is a direct outcome of having access to accurate and up-to-date product information within a PLM system. This enables decision-makers to make informed choices based on real-time data throughout the product lifecycle. In the medical device industry, PLM has helped companies maintain records of product specifications, facilitating regulatory compliance and ensuring patient safety.

The benefits of PLM solutions are huge, spanning industries and transforming operations. By integrating systems such as ENOVIA into their workflow, companies can enjoy these far-reaching benefits, transforming their operations and ultimately providing a competitive advantage in today's fast-paced global market.

What is the PLM Life Cycle & Process?

The PLM life cycle is typically broken down into Four Key Stages:

The Concept Stage involves brainstorming, market research, and feasibility studies to determine the viability of the product.

The Design Stage is when the product's form and function are developed in detail. This stage includes the creation of sketches, 3D models, and prototypes.

The Production Stage involves manufacturing the product, ensuring that it is produced efficiently and meets quality standards. This stage requires careful planning and coordination between suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.

Finally, there's the Support Stage. The focus shifts to providing after-sales service and sustaining the product throughout its life. This includes activities such as maintenance, performance monitoring, and customer feedback.

The PLM process aims to streamline product development, reduce costs and time to market, and improve overall product quality. By following these steps throughout a product's life cycle, companies can achieve better collaboration and coordination between departments, suppliers, and customers.

What is PLM Software?

PLM software such as ENOVIA are tools that assist organisations in managing the entire lifecycle of a product. They help with the four stages of a product's lifecycle, streamlining the development process and enhancing collaboration between creators and departments. Making data-driven decisions is easy with the right software.

Key Features in PLM Software

• Collaboration and Communication: It's important for PLM software to enhance collaboration between internal teams and external partners. Good software facilitates the sharing of design files, tasks, and project updates. ENOVIA helps with document management by connecting different parts of the team together.
• Centralised Data Repository: PLM software stores all product-related information in one place, making it accessible to all stakeholders and ensuring data consistency. With ENOVIA, your product data management can be streamlined and centralised, allowing multiple parties to keep track of it.
• Version Control and Change Management: PLM software helps manage product revisions and tracks changes made throughout the product lifecycle. It ensures that team members are working with the most up-to-date information and helps maintain version control. ENOVIA helps increase visibility, maintain fluidity and speed up progress.
• Enterprise Planning & Collaboration: PLM software can help with enterprise resource planning and supply chain management. ENOVIA helps users manage complex processes and come up with offers at the right time.
• Quality and Compliance Assurance: PLM software assists in ensuring products meet regulatory requirements and industry standards, and facilitates auditing and quality checks. ENOVIA has tools for Quality Functional Deployment (QFD), Failure Mode & Effect Analysis (FMEA), and compliance management functions, allowing users to obey compliance requirements.

Why Use PLM Software?

• Improve Efficiency: With streamlined processes and automated tasks, PLM software reduces time spent on data entry and searching for information, resulting in faster product development.
• Enhance Collaboration: By providing a central hub for communication and data sharing, PLM software fosters greater collaboration and reduces errors caused by miscommunication between teams.
• Make Better Decisions: PLM software provides real-time analytics and insights, enabling better decision-making and improved product quality.
• Reduce Costs: Improved efficiency, better collaboration, and reduced errors can lead to significant cost savings throughout the product lifecycle.
• Gain a Competitive Advantage: An organised and efficient product development process allows companies to bring their products to market faster, giving them a competitive edge in the industry.

Take Advantage of SEACAD's PLM System Today

Proper implementation of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems can offer numerous advantages for businesses. Being able to efficiently manage a product lifecycle from start to finish can greatly help your business strategy.

ENOVIA by Dassault Systèmes is a leading PLM solution that stands out due to its easy adoption and reliability. With its range of features that benefit engineers and designers, you'll be able to enhance your production process and make designing and building products simple. Our solution lets you stay connected to other tools on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and connect to other systems such as CATIA and SOLIDWORKS

Discover the power of SEACAD's ENOVIA PLM for your organisation. Embrace the intelligent PLM software that provides a clear, confident, and knowledgeable pathway to product innovation. Take care of your data and place project lifecycle management in your own hands