A product’s success doesn’t merely depend on its design or functionalities. From distribution to marketing and sales, shipping of the components to sourcing, countless elements govern a product’s performance.
All these aspects require mindful strategy from inception to retirement, and this is what Product lifecycle management (PLM) is all about. PLM connects cross-functional teams, establishing a collaborative and standardized process for delivering products.
In this guide, we’ll delve into Product lifecycle management (PLM), its key phases, benefits, and how to measure the success of the PLM process.
What is a Product Lifecycle?
Product lifecycle is the length of time a product is available to customers. It starts when a product is launched and ends when it is taken off the shelves. Marketing and sales professionals break down this lifecycle into considerable stages, which helps them build strategies around advertising, price reduction, and sales decisions.
What is Product Lifecycle Management?
Product lifecycle management, abbreviated as PLM, is a systematic process of managing a product as it moves from its initial launch to retirement. The PLM system brings together various departments and teams with the common goal of building a product that caters to the customer’s needs and outperforms its competitors.
PLM is one of the four cornerstones of information technology structure, with the other three being customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP).
History of PLM
The term PLM was first coined in 1931. In 1957, an employee of advertising firm Booz Allen Hamilton theorized a five-step product lifecycle mapping the product from its initiation through the development process until retirement.
Since then, product marketers have used PLM in different ways, but the idea behind using it remains the same: to speed up the product development process and outperform competitors.
In the 2000s, digital tools and cloud computing made PLM even more efficient, equipping teams with centralized information and data management. Today, PLM systems offer a streamlined approach to managing the various stages of a product's development.
What is PLM software?
PLM software is a tool that helps businesses manage goods from the time they enter the market until they retire. It offers visual workflows that simplify the process of tracking product progress, from design to distribution, using clear, intuitive project overviews.
PLM solutions enable teams to collaborate and ensure that everyone is aligned with deadlines. They unify data across organizations from various departments to provide real-time insight into product performance, customer feedback, and market trends.
How does the PLM system work?
PLM systems enable the product and project management teams to manage the product’s lifecycle in its entirety. PLM offers a unified dashboard for everyone involved in the product’s development—designers, engineers, manufacturers, and marketers—giving them access to real-time data.
It also provides a structured way to manage tasks, track progress, and collaborate with cross-functional teams. Some PLM solutions offer custom product lifecycle management templates, such as a business plan that divides product development into different stages, which we have discussed below.
Stages of Product Lifecycle
A product life cycle is divided into four stages, each of which further breaks down depending on the complexity and nature of the product.
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Description: Different Stages of Product Lifecycle Management
Introduction stage
This is the first stage of the product lifecycle, where marketers want to figure out which type of product to introduce to the market. The stage involves deep market research, competitor analysis, and creating a product that enhances customer satisfaction.
Growth stage
The growth stage is where your product will find its first success. Here, the businesses leverage promotional and growth marketing to market their products to the right audience and gather their interest.
Also called as the honeymoon phase of the product lifecycle, businesses might want to gather feedback and expand their budgets.
Maturity stage
In this stage of the product lifecycle, sales increase but at a slower pace. Here, marketers will notice an increase in competition and, in some cases, higher churn rates. To stay in the market, businesses have to re-strategize and focus on product enhancements.
Decline Stage
The last stage of the product lifecycle witnesses a decline in sales due to market saturation. Other reasons could be changing consumer preferences, technological advancements, and competitors' better pricing.
That’s when businesses consider exit strategies or product diversification.
Stages of Product Lifecycle Management
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An effective PLM involves stages that align with the product’s lifecycle. Businesses may incorporate all or some of these stages into their product lifecycle for streamlined product development:
Concept Stage
The first stage of PLM involves initial ideas and planning for a new product. It starts with market research, identifying customer needs, and predicting its feasibility in a dynamic market.
Design Stage
The design stage involves planning, designing, and developing the product. Designing and engineering teams work together to create product prototypes, plan a design, and test all its safety and regulatory requirements.
Manufacturing and Production Stage
After conducting market research and building the product prototype, the product moves to the manufacturing and production stage. This stage involves manufacturing raw materials, assembling the components, and sending them for manufacturing. Hence, the PLM system needs to be integrated with a supply chain management system for efficient management.
Distribution and Marketing Stage
In this stage, the product is marketed and distributed through different channels. The marketing and sales team uses advertising methods, pricing strategies, and sales promotions to market their products. After the initial stage of marketing, customer feedback is collected for further improvements.
In Agile philosophy, the production and distribution stages are concurrent so that the product development teams can iterate quickly.
Monitoring Stage
The monitoring stage involves using insights and metrics to monitor the product's performance and market relevance. Product managers may use certain key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the product's health and measure its validity in the current market scenario.
Support Stage
The support stage is all about providing the right support to customers after they have purchased the product. This includes customer services, repairs, warranties, and freebies. Customer service teams also focus on providing onboarding training and knowledge bases to help customers understand the product clearly.
Retirement Stage
The final stage of the product lifecycle is about ending its existence in the market. Whether a new technology has emerged or competitors have created a better product, the product retires at this stage. In the retirement stage, the product can be disposed of, recycled, or repurposed according to emerging market demand.
Benefits of PLM
PLM was created around 100 years ago and has demonstrated various benefits to businesses. It creates a collaborative environment where diverse departments collaborate to generate good product ideas.
Some of the most notable benefits of PLM are:
Enhanced product quality
PLM allows teams to work together with a centralized repository of data. Using this data, PLM allows teams to create high-quality products by breaking down complex processes into iterative and repeatable processes. Thus, product development teams create products with high-quality standards and ensure compliance with industry regulations.
Improved communication
PLM tools create a shared platform where various departments like design, engineering, and marketing can collaborate seamlessly. This collaboration eliminates silos and aligns the cross-functional teams towards a common goal.
Teams can also leverage real-time data to stay updated on the product development stage, which is a crucial sustainable practice for Agle teams.
Reduced time to market
The entire development process relies on critical feedback and shared data across the teams. The real-time access to these information in PLM enables product teams to speed up the launch and reduce iterations in the future.
Companies can bring products to market more quickly and gain a competitive advantage.
Cost management
PLM allows for better cost estimation and tracking by providing insights into material usage, production times, and potential inefficiencies. This allows for optimal resource management and cost reduction, leading to higher profits.
Three Elements of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
There are three main elements of the product lifecycle:
- People: PLM requires streamlined collaboration between different teams in areas such as design, development, marketing, and sales. This collaboration establishes clear communication and transparency to work towards a shared goal throughout the product's life.
- Technology: The use of technology such as PLM software is vital for data management, document management, and cross-collaboration. PLM software system, powered by machine learning and AI, improves accuracy and shortens the iterative cycle.
- Data: PLM starts with all the critical data that an agile team might need for a seamless product development process. Thus, product data management (PDM) is the management of all the data, such as designs, specifications, components, and more.
Product Lifecycle Management vs Product Data Management
Product lifecycle management and product data management are the two significant tools of the business process. These tools perform different jobs but may have some overlapping functions.
PDM is a tool that organizes and manages data related to specific phases of a product’s lifecycle. On the other hand, PLM is a holistic tool that covers the entire process or the product lifecycle from its conception to retirement.
While PDM is useful for the design and engineering process, PLM extends to every process, including manufacturing, supply chain management, support, and retirement. The major difference lies in the scope, however. PDM focuses on managing, organizing, synchronizing, and centralizing the data during these two phases, whereas PLM has a broader impact on the whole enterprise process.
PDM offers a cheaper solution since it is much narrower than PLM. Hence, it is most suitable for teams with limited budgets. It is also less complex and easier to maintain, making it a viable choice for teams who prefer a short learning curve.
How to measure the success of PLM process?
Companies need a combination of quantitative metrics to determine whether they need to transition from one phase to another in a product's lifecycle. Here are some key metrics that define the PLM’s success:
- Sales data: Sales trends determine the customer’s interest in your product with time. Metrics such as customer lifetime value, sales cycle length, and win rate can indicate whether a product is growing, freezing, or declining in the market.
- Competitor analysis: Whether your product is new to the market or already competing with emerging technologies, monitoring the competitors helps measure the product lifecycle. Companies use metrics such as profit margins and net promoter score to determine whether the existing customers retain or churn.
- Product quality: Product quality is of utmost importance for customers. Companies need to check whether their products are of the highest quality. Metrics such as quality of output, production efficiency, or product waste give a good idea of whether the manufacturing process needs re-evaluation.
- Customer feedback: It is crucial to know what customers think about your product. Gathering customer feedback throughout the product lifecycle gives an idea of where your product falls short and where it excels.
Depending on the industry or the complexity of the market, you might want to add other key metrics for tracking the product lifecycle. However, this won’t be possible without the right data.
Hence, using software that integrates all the data into a single platform can be beneficial for tracking the PLM process. One thing worth noting is that PLM isn’t a rigid process. As your competition increases and complexity builds up, you might need a change in data and metrics.
Challenges with PLM systems
Product teams often encounter problems with PLM systems, which result in an inefficient product lifecycle and inaccuracies in the product development process. Here are some of the common challenges that might arise with PLM systems:
- Complex integration: Some PLM systems lack integration with the existing IT infrastructure, quality management, or change management systems, leading to gaps in the product lifecycle.
- Adoption and training: Lack of adequate training and a complex user interface may hinder the adoption of PLM software by new customers.
- Lack of collaboration: Some PLM solutions lack collaborative tools that may essentially necessitate communication between the teams. Integration with real-time messaging tools such as Slack is crucial for streamlined collaboration.
- Visibility issues: Complete visibility and transparency into PLM can only be achieved through real-time updates into different stages. Some PLM systems inadequately fail to display visibility into their product lifecycle.
How Meegle help with Product lifecycle management (PLM)?
Meegle is modern PLM software that supports the entire lifecycle from conception to retirement. The platform offers seamless lifecycle management through its customizable dashboard.
Depending on the industry or the complexity of your project, you can add or remove items from the dashboard.
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Description: Add custom elements to dashboard for lifecycle management
Meegle offers a node-driven visual workflow that breaks down the project lifecycle into different phases: project initiation, project planning, project execution, and more. Under these phases, you can add the tasks and assign them to the team members with a deadline.
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Description: Node-driven visual workflow for managing product lifecycle
Meegle facilitates seamless collaboration between teams and enhances visibility to streamline the process and meet deadlines. Meegle offers visibility into the project start date and end date, along with the milestone tracking. This allows the team to keep track of deadlines and project progress.
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Description: Track project progress using milestones and project duration
Meegle offers quantitative metrics to measure the success of the project lifecycle. For instance, it offers a comprehensive project health card that gives insights into cost comparisons, scheduled tasks, resource allocation, and an overview of project costs.
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Description: Get project insights using the project health card
Suppose you’re already using a tech stack of tools for quality management, change management, or, say, team messaging. In that case, Meegle offers both webhook and API integration with the existing IT infrastructure to save you time and effort.
Using this integration, teams can synchronize tickets, issues, and pull requests to the current workflows with ease. The good part? There is absolutely no learning curve to start with Meegle.
FAQs:
- What is the purpose of PLM?
- What is the purpose of PLM?
The purpose of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is to streamline the entire lifecycle of a product, from design and development to production and disposal. PLM improves collaboration, reduces costs, enhances innovation, and accelerates time-to-market.
- Is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) different from Project lifecycle management?
- Is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) different from Project lifecycle management?
Yes. Product lifecycle management is different from project lifecycle management in terms of scope. Product lifecycle management focuses on managing the entire product lifecycle, from conception to retirement. Project lifecycle management, on the other hand, only focuses on a specific project, from its initiation to completion.
- Why is PLM important for businesses?
- Why is PLM important for businesses?
PLM is crucial for businesses as it enables efficient product management, reduces time-to-market, and enhances collaboration across teams.
