Product Life Cycle Management

| What is PLM?

Product Life Cycle Management Defined

When looking at PLM, or Product Life Cycle Management, many concepts come into play. For
product companies, the concept of PLM takes into consideration the entire vision of effectively
managing and connecting all information related to the process and production data needed to
design, produce, validate, support, maintain and ultimate disposal of manufactured goods.
Often used as an umbrella concept that includes engineering CAD, PLM is an enabling
framework to help connect, organize, control, manage, track, consolidate and centralize all the
mission-critical information that affects a product. Just as important, PLM offers a process to
streamline collaboration and communication between product stakeholders, engineering, design,
manufacturing, quality and other key disciplines. PLM helps track information related to safety
and control of components especially in aerospace, automotive, medical device, military and
nuclear industries. It was these industries that led the way in the discipline of configuration
management (CM), which evolved into electronic data management systems (EDMS), which
then further evolved to product data management (PDM).
A robust PLM framework improves the development and management of the Engineering Bill of
Materials (EBOM), Manufacturing Bill of Materials (MBOM), requirements management,
sourcing, document storage, collaboration, workflow - and other areas all essential to product
development.
As product complexity and connective increase over time, it becomes more important that PLM
covers the breadth of a product's lifecycle, integrating cross-discipline product development,
manufacturing and field service, enabling collaboration and flexible processes across the
extended enterprise, including suppliers, customers, partners, service/maintenance and other
stakeholders.

Industry Definitions

"PLM is a strategic business approach that applies a consistent set of business solutions in
support of the collaborative creation, management, dissemination, and use of product definition
information across the extended enterprise, and spanning from product concept to end of life-

integrating people, processes, business systems, and information. PLM forms the product
information backbone for a company and its extended enterprise." Source: CIMdata

"Product life cycle management or PLM is an all-encompassing approach for innovation, new
product development and introduction (NPDI) and product information management from
ideation to end of life. PLM Systems as an enabling technology for PLM integrate people, data,
processes, and business systems and provide a product information backbone for companies and
their extended enterprise." Source: PLM Technology Guide

"The core of PLM (product life cycle management) is in the creations 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." Source: Wikipedia article on Product Lifecycle Management

"Product life cycle management is the process of managing product-related design, production
and maintenance information. PLM may also serve as the central repository for secondary
information, such as vendor application notes, catalogs, customer feedback, marketing plans,
archived project schedules, and other information acquired over the product's life."
Source: Product Lifecycle Management

"It is important to note that PLM is not a definition of a piece, or pieces, of technology. It is a
definition of a business approach to solving the problem of managing the complete set of product
definition information-creating that information, managing it through its life, and disseminating
and using it throughout the lifecycle of the product. PLM is not just a technology, but is an
approach in which processes are as important, or more important than data." Source: CIMdata

"PLM or Product Life cycle Management is a process or system used to manage the data and
design process associated with the life of a product from its conception and envisioning through
its manufacture, to its retirement and disposal. PLM manages data, people, business processes,
manufacturing processes, and anything else pertaining to a product. A PLM system acts as a
central information hub for everyone associated with a given product, so a well-managed PLM
system can streamline product development and facilitate easier communication among those
working on/with a product. Source: Aras

Product Life Cycle Management

| PLM Implementation (PRE-REQUISITES FOR PLM)

The Steps to PLM

Before implementing a PLM solution, there are some necessary steps to prepare your business.
Here are a few examples of some guidelines to follow for a successful PLM implementation
process.

Assemble a cross-functional team

Define and prioritize objectives from a business perspective (Establish objectives & goals
for your PLM strategy)

Develop timeline and set realistic goals

Review your processes
Review your data

Identify solutions
Evaluate options
Select vendor (Obtain organizational & executive buy-in)
Develop roadmap (Work from a project plan & assign a project lead)
Conduct phased implementation (Train people on the new processes early)

According to Machine Design, the seven steps to PLM are as follows:

Plan a strategy
Consolidate
Collaborate Internally
Automate change management
Automate Bill of Materials
Link engineering to its manufacturing data
Collaborate externally

In a blog post on WhichPLM.com, the Steps to Choosing a PLM Supplier are:

The organization should identify the business challenges and should keep focused on
what it is that they want to achieve out of PLM before going ahead with a PLM project.
Locate the external PLM experts to help you on what is a mission critical project.
Complete the ROI (Return On Investment) and come up with a solid business case.
Develop an RFI (Refer For Information) linked to "specific" needs related to the ROI
outcome and with a proven methodology for scoring each of the PLM suppliers.

PLM Consultant John Stark recommends the follow The Ten Step Approach to PLM. Learn
more about the Stark Ten Steps

PLM Status Review, Data Gathering

Executive PLM Education and Awareness
Best Practice Positioning
PLM Concept Generation and Analysis
PLM Roadmap and Plan Generation
Business Benefits and Business Case Development
ROI Calculation
Management Report Preparation
Executive Presentation
Executive Decision Support

An Agile Approach to PLM Implementation

Emerging as an industry best practice is an agile implementation approach marked by

iterative methodology.
Each implementation activity is fully defined and must be completed sequentially before
the next is started.
The iterative approach encourages user engagement early in the process, defining,
refining, testing and developing organically throughout the project and using resources
most efficiently. Read more information here.

Tip #1: Establish objectives and goals for your PLM strategy

If youre seeking a product lifecycle management solution or thinking of implementing an aspect

of PLM, start by defining your reasons for taking such a step. Some common operational goals
and objectives include:

Centralizing product data for better accessibility

Standardizing bills of materials and removing duplicate content
Moving from a paper-based to electronic ECO process
Connecting product data to another system (like ERP software)
Managing regulatory requirements

This will give you a clear picture of which processes need to be more formalized now and which
ones can wait until some point in the future. That understanding will help you define your PLM
needs and plan gradual upgrades and improvements that are less likely to disrupt the work
environment. Establishing clear objectives and goals will also enable you to measure the success
of the PLM implementation process and the success of your new PLM processes and/or
systems.

Tip #2: Review your processes

Review current processes to determine if or how they should be mapped to a PLM system. For
example, if your engineering change order (ECO) process is paper-based, with hefty ECO
packets hand-delivered in sequential order for each approver to review, how will a PLM software
system that allows approvers to review ECOs simultaneously change this process?
Take the time to review what youre doing now and think about how it could be different with a
new system in place. Who are the people inside and outside the organization who be impacted by
changes to your processes? How will they be affected?
Knowing what gets done, who does it and who is impacted is an important part of the PLM
implementation process, both in the planning stage and the buy-in stage (see Tip #4). Reviewing
processes ahead of time will set you up for a faster, smoother implementationand it may give
you ideas for how to streamline processes even if you dont implement a more formal system.
Tip #3: Review your data

Moving into a new house typically means spending time going through household items and
deciding what needs to be packed in the moving truck and what doesnt. Similarly, if youre
going to make a change to where data lives, you need to do some housecleaning before the
move. If existing BOMs and data are managed in Excel spreadsheets, spend time reviewing these
files and decide what data needs to be moved and what data can stay where it is. Make sure any
information being moved is accurate and in tip-top shape. (Here are 10 ways to get your Excel
BOMs ready for a fresh start.) When you take time to review and clean your BOMs, youll know
you can trust the data that gets moved into a new PLM software system.
Tip #4: Obtain executive & organizational buy-in

Process change can be hard but successfully implementing a PLM system can bring financial
benefits to the organization while also improving the day-to-day experience of the team. For
your product lifecycle management strategy to work, you must get the executive team and those
in the organization who will use the new system to agree with your objectives and your plan.
The executive team can provide incentives and motivation to keep the implementation from
going askew. Those who will be using the PLM system (as identified in the second tip above)
need to be educated on how its going to make their jobs easier. If the users can contribute to the
PLM project and help reshape the processes in which they participate, they will become
emotionally involved and more likely to see the value.
Tip #5: Work from a project plan and assign a project lead

When implementing PLM, its best to work from a project plan and assign a project lead from
your organization. Having a list of milestones with deadlines clearly delineated will help the
implementation process move along more efficiently. In additional, areas that need help will be
more easily identified.

To answer any questions that arise during the PLM implementation, have a designated point
person from your organization and from the PLM vendor. With a well-structured plan and a
project lead who has the support of the executive team, your organization can stay on track for a
successful PLM implementation.
Tip #6: Train people on the new processes early

Many PLM systems today are easy to use and most have online help systems with product
documentation to answer immediate questions. Web training and classes may also be available to
help users achieve individual success with the PLM software system.
If users are forced to use a system they have never seen before, they are likely to stick with the
old way until forced to switchand even then may make the switch with great reluctance.
Getting users access to training material early in the PLM implementation process will help
maintain momentum and contribute to a more efficient outcome with better control of processes
and data.

Implementing PLM can be done smoothly and successfully

Successfully implementing a PLM system helps prepare your organization for growth. Whether
you need to bring on new people or expand your product line, you will have the infrastructure in
place to train new employees quickly and make sure the entire organization is following the
same established processes.
When you take a step-by-step approach and obtain executive and organizational buy-in, a PLM
implementation can be done easily and effectively. Following the six tips above will help
streamline your product development processes and give you confidence that youre working
with clean and validated data. Many of the tips can also be used to help you better understand
and improve the processes youre using today.