The period of time over which an item is developed, brought to market & eventually removed from the market.

First, the idea for a product undergoes research & development.

Stages of PLC
The PLC is flexible & can be applied to both brands & products lines. The PLC has four stages 1. Introduction 2. Growth 3. Maturity 4. Decline.

Product Life Cycle The iPad The Product Life Cycle is a progression of strategies used by a business, as a product goes through a typical life cycle. The life cycle of a product can be broken into several stages and is typically described by the amount of revenue generated by the product. The duration of the life cycle of a product may be short, such as a fad item, or long term such as an automobile. As the product progresses through the life cycle, changes in the marketing mix will occur to adjust to the challenges and opportunities of the product.

The first stage in the product life cycle is the introduction stage. The product is establishing brand awareness during this stage and the marketing mix is developed. Product, pricing, place, and promotion are all in place. The next stage is the growth stage, where the company builds a brand to increase market share. Here the product quality is maintained, the pricing is increased due to the increase in demand, distribution channels are added to account for demand, and promotion is aimed at a broader audience. The maturity stage occurs when the growth from sales decreases, usually due to competition from similar products. The primary objective is to defend the market and continue to maximize profit. Consequently, the product features may be enhanced to differentiate from other companies, the price may be lowered, distribution may be focused on encouraging preference of this product over competitors, and promotion illustrates product differentiation. Finally, the last stage in the cycle is the decline stage, which occurs when sales decline. This allows the company to have several different options. For example, they can maintain the product, and continue to add new features, reduce the costs and continue to offer the product, or completely discontinue the product, and liquidate all remaining inventory by selling it to another firm

The I pad is a perfect example of the product life cycle. For example, currently, Apple faces fierce competition from comparable products. But recently, the iPad was reintroduced with new features and at a lower price. One of the phone's most beloved features is its ultra sharp retina display. And while the iPad 2s screen is no lightweight, a bump up in pixel density is one of the most hotly anticipated I Pad 3 improvements. Mac Rumors claims to have obtained an iPad 3 display that confirms the bump in resolution. The display is the same size as iPad 1 and 2 screens, but has double the resolution at 20481536, with pixels about a quarter the size of the iPad 2s.Android tablet displays passed the iPad last summer, and since then have moved into 1080p territory, so it seems far fetched that Apple would put off upgrading the iPads screen another year.(Wagner, 2012) Currently, it is $399.00 which makes it cheaper than before, but still more expensive than competitors. The new iPad opened distribution to WalMart, and it is estimated to sell close to a million devices this year. Consequently, the new iPad appears to be following the Maturity Stage. However, with high sales, it is far from reaching the Decline Stage.

Facility Location Facility location is the process of identifying the best geographic location a service or production facility location plays an vital role while setting up a manufacturing assembly unit such as fertilizer plant, steel plant or service organization.

factors that affect the facility location are:

Location of market Location of raw materials

Climate factors Social infrastructure Infrastructure Community attitude Government Policies

Topography of land

PROCESS DESIGN
Process design can be defined as a set of activity of determining the work flow, equipment needs, and implementation requirements for a particular process. It can also defined as a set activities performed to modify & add value to the input and convert it into desired output. The process design is interrelated to the product design. A process design requires effective combination of various sub-activities working together in coordination with each other