PLM (product lifecycle management) — management of product lifecycle

PLM – managing the product life cycle

PLM (product lifecycle management) — management of product lifecycle.

The life cycle of products (goods) — a set of processes from the identification of the needs of society in certain products until these needs and disposal of the product.

The main stages of the product lifecycle: design, manufacture, maintenance, disposal. In a more detailed consideration of the isolated 11 to 13 stages of the product life cycle:

1. Marketing and market research (CRM).
2. Design and product development (CAD, CAE, CAD, HIMSELF, PDM).
3. Planning and preparation of production (MES, PDM).
4. Procurement of materials and components (SCM, PDM).
5. The production or provision of services (MIS, process control systems, ERP, MRP, MRP II, SCM, MES, PDM).
6. Packaging and storage (WMS, PDM);
7. Implementation (CRM, PDM).
8. Installation (installation) and commissioning (CRM, PDM);
9. Technical support and maintenance (PDM).
10. After-sales service (maintenance, repair and operations) activities or maintenance (PDM).
11. Recycling and disposal (PDM).

Process management the product lifecycle is a complex task, its solution apply a set of automated control systems. Abbreviations of some of them is given in brackets after the name of a particular stage of the life cycle. The important functions of the PLM technology is the formation of informational space, the same for the different automated systems used in the enterprise, the unification of methods and means of information support of products throughout all stages of the life cycle. The concept of PLM involves the cooperation not only of automation equipment from different manufacturers in the same enterprise, but also providing interaction between the various automated systems of many businesses.

The application of the concept of PLM in complex multistage manufacturing, typical of the enterprises of mechanical engineering, becomes a necessary condition of increase of competitiveness of the enterprise. This concept allows you to track each party (and, if necessary, each instance) of products at all stages of the life cycle of the product, thereby increasing product quality and customer’s satisfaction.

The decision of the IT Enterprise.PLM enables you to track each product at all stages of its life cycle, including stages of development of design documentation and production preparation. Due to the fact that the PLM strategy is implemented within the ERP system, it becomes possible to calculate the possible cost of a new product even before the preparation phase of the production.