INTRODUCTION OF PLM

In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from inception, through engineering design and manufacture, to service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprise. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) helps you manage complex, cross-functional processes, coordinating the efforts of distributed teams to consistently and efficiently develop the best possible products. The PTC PLM software system manages all aspects of the product development lifecycle, from concept through service and retirement. By optimizing product development processes and using a single, secure source of information, you can develop products that are competitive, cost-effective, and high quality. PLM systems help organizations in coping with the increasing complexity and engineering challenges of developing new products for the global competitive markets. Product lifecycle management (PLM) should be distinguished from 'Product lifecycle Management (marketing)' (PLCM). PLM describes the engineering aspect of a product, from managing descriptions and properties of a product through its development and useful life whereas; PLCM refers to the commercial management of life of a product in the business market with respect to costs and sales measures. Product lifecycle management can be considered one of the four cornerstones of a manufacturing corporation's information technology structure. All companies need to manage communications and information with their customers (CRM customer relationship management), their suppliers and fulfillment (SCM supply chain), their resources within the enterprise (ERP enterprise resource planning) and their product planning and development (PLM). One form of PLM is called people centric PLM. While traditional PLM tools have been deployed only on release or during the release phase, people centric PLM targets the design phase