Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) refers to the strategy of managing the process of a product’s lifecycle from its initial concept, design, production, manufacturing, sales, service, and eventual retirement all through a specific piece of software. PLM systems help companies manage, organize, and improve their product’s development whilst recognizing its strengths and weaknesses, influencing businesses to make better product management decisions. An example of PLM would be a company deciding to sell a new pair of sneakers. Initially, they would gather their ideas and survey the needs and wants of their customers to support their notions. They would then design and develop its appearance through various sketches, and afterward, it would be developed, tested, and manufactured before becoming an official product. It would then be launched and sold across channels to the business’ customers, often with customer service and support. After some time, the product might no longer be in demand, and thus, taken off the digital shelf; this entire process, from ideation to design to launch and support and eventual retirement, is considered a product’s lifecycle, and a good PLM system stores all of this data to help track and organize the product’s lifecycle.

This internal-facing system is often characterized by its ability to shorten time-to-market, reduce costs, improve product quality, and encourage cross-team collaboration due to the level of transparency it can provide to a product’s lifecycle. What particularly helps in making the process efficient is the cooperation between different departments and teams in a company, ensuring that they all receive the same data which reduces errors. As a result, an optimized workflow and a reduction of errors play an important role in lowering production and development costs.