Understanding product lifecycle management
The objectives of product lifecycle management are to help businesses plan and deliver throughout the lifecycle of a product. The process is end-to-end, from the design phase to the creation of a prototype and the sale strategy for a product. This means that many cross-functional teams are involved in the PLM and, as such, having a standardised approach is essential. Everyone should be working together towards a common goal. In this section we look at PLM in more details and provide you with the components of this holistic process.
What is PLM?
Product lifecycle management encompasses the whole vision for managing the life of a new product. It goes from design and production to support and manufacturing of a product. PLM is a concept that emerged in environments where safety and controls were paramount, with, for example, the aerospace, military, medical devices or nuclear industries. These industries present risks that need to be addressed through safety standards and controls. Product lifecycle management solutions have emerged in the last decade and bring many benefits when it comes to managing how a product should be developed and when it should be presented to the market. The concept aims at streamlining processes and determining key metrics such as the price of a product or the marketing strategy. It is supported by technology that helps optimise overall profitability.
Typically, product lifecycle management strategies are supported by an ERP software. This allows the smooth management of all the moving parts that are product development, supply chain, customer relationship management and many more.
The key components of product lifecycle management
Throughout the journey of a product, there are several components or stages. All are necessary for the success of the final product. The section below provides an overview of each of these components.
System design
The design of a new solution often springs from market demand. It may also originate from the demand of a specific customer. This phase consists in the initial system design of the product.
Product or solution engineering
Once the design phase is completed, the product moves to the engineering phase. This stage of the product lifecycle is about creating a strong and finalised design of the solution.
Planning for manufacturing
Planning for manufacturing happens before production starts. This stage requires the meticulous design and application of a manufacturing plan. The manufacturing process needs to be as streamlined and seamless as possible for optimised efficiency and productivity.
Service planning
Service planning is a phase that happens alongside manufacturing. It is about developing the strategy for the service after sale. It plans for customer support but also longevity of the product.
Lifecycle management
The post-production phase is as important as the others. It covers asset tracking, warranty processing, customer service and much more.
The importance of PLM for your business
Product lifecycle management is the management of the processes when a product is designed throughout its lifecycle. It touches all the areas of the supply chain. The term also refers to the software solution that helps businesses manage this process end-to-end. This section highlights why PLM is necessary for the success of your business. Beyond this, it lists the core benefits of PLM.
Why do companies need PLM?
Businesses that manufacture goods face a wide range of challenges throughout the process. The objective of product lifecycle management is to mitigate those risks and to create a standard process that clearly defined the resources necessary, the budget, any product information and much more. PLM helps cross-functional teams collaborate. It may involve internal teams only but may also include some suppliers. The primary need that PLM serves for businesses is to increase productivity. This is because PLM was initially developed for engineers. Productivity is improved through the accelerated time to market combined with lower product costs.
However, PLM systems have evolved significantly over the last few years and, as such, answer more business needs. Amongst those benefits, we note faster customer responsiveness, more transparency throughout processes and improved product quality.
Benefits for PLM
Product lifecycle management is a term used also to define the software used in PLM. It concentrates all information relating to a product on a single platform and makes collaboration between colleagues easier. It consolidates processes and helps project management run smoothly. Here are some key benefits of PLM:
Reduces development costs
With a strong PLM, processes run more smoothly and accelerate. This has a direct impact on the cost of product development. Streamlined processes and improved communication accelerate the product lifecycle, increase output and reduce overall costs.
Human errors are avoided through automation
Standardising and streamlining the workflow reduces errors. With defined processes, there is no duplicating unnecessarily or searching for information. Everything is consolidated in one place and follows defined and standardised processes.
Facilitates communication and team work
Many stakeholders are involved throughout the lifecycle of a product. With PLM, communication with stakeholders is made easy. All documentation is stored in one place, and some software products offer an interface with real-time data on the progress of a project. PLM allows for a single source of truth.
Related: Ideas to improve workplace communication in company culture
Optimises speed to market
As mentioned before, PLM accelerates the speed to market of the product. This is achieved via streamlined processes and gains in efficiency. With enhanced collaboration across the supply chain and standardised processes, the desired output comes out much faster.
Improves product quality
An often-forgotten benefit of product lifecycle management is the improved quality of the final product. PLM software allows organisations to quickly understand customer demands, gaps in profits and changes to business goals. All these elements have an impact on the quality of the product and its evolution as well.
Enables business scalability
PLM makes businesses more agile and adaptable to market changes. This agility increases their ability to scale when required. Their teams collaborate faster, the decision-making process accelerates, and product customisation is delivered faster.
Encourages creativity and innovation
When processes are streamlined, team members can focus on value-added tasks. They move away from operational tasks. This frees significant time for innovative initiatives and boosts creativity.
Increases productivity
An undeniable benefit of PLM is increased productivity. With the improvement of operational tasks and efficiency gains in processes, PLM removes tasks that are not of high value. It also automates and accelerates the workflow. All these benefits have a direct impact on productivity and make the company more competitive.
Fosters customer loyalty
A PLM platform is typically adopted by the entire organisation. This means that customer service teams are able to provide customer feedback to innovation teams, product quality teams and much more. As such, customer demands, complaints and general feedback are dealt with effectively, and appropriate actions are taken. This results in increased customer satisfaction and as such augments customer loyalty.
Related: The power of customer reviews to help your business grow
Product lifecycle management is the holistic process of a product lifecycle. It aims at optimising the development process, the product improvements and it increases productivity, reduces costs and accelerates the speed to market as well. Organisations that use PLM are more competitive and innovative. For more on how to grow your business, check our step-by-step guide to creating a business growth plan.
