PLM - Product Lifecycle Management Learn and understand the benefits of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) & PDM (Product Data Management) technologies Stay current on the latest products, services, and trends in the industry Seek out near shore and offshore resources Gain access to information, tools, and utilities that aid in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of PLM & PDM products and services Home PLM Home Login PLM | CM | DM | CRM | SCM | ERP Every commercial enterprise must successfully manage its products, customers, personnel, supply chain, and finances. While MRP/ERP and CRM are well-established solutions to manage people, production and profits, in the past 10 years there has been a concerted effort to centralize and control product data. Product lifecycle management (PLM) represents an all-encompassing vision for managing historical data, current configurations and planned changes relating to the definition, design, validation, production, support and ultimate disposal of manufactured goods. PLM can be thought of as both (a) a repository for all information that affects a product, and (b) a formal communication channel between product stakeholders: principally marketing, engineering, manufacturing and field service. The PLM system is the first place where all product information from marketing and design comes together, and where it leaves in a form suitable for production and support. Current PLM approaches have been driven by solutions to a series of increasingly complex problems. Some challenges were primarily procedural or cultural, and their solutions were conceptual, such as the development of a product configuration management (CM) discipline. Other issues were purely practical (e.g., how to manage design files) and their resolutions were equally pragmatic (electronic data management systems [EDMS]). Current PLM solutions typically represent the convergence of capabilities from earlier CM, EDMS, product data management (PDM) and CAD file management systems. At a minimum, a PLM system will address: Revision management for requirement, design and process documentation Part identification and description Identification and management of vendor sources and their approved parts Product structure (bill of material) construction and control Electronic file repository (“data library” or “vault”) Materials content identification for regulatory compliance (WEEE/RoHS/ELV) and economic control Definition of custom part and document metadata ("attributes") Workflow for formally approving data changes Multi-user secured access, including "electronic signature" Data export to downstream ERP/SCM/CRM systems. Definition provided by Ed Allwein from Active Sensing Inc PDXpert product lifecycle management software is simple to use, flexible to apply, and improves the accessibility and security of your design, production and support data. PDXpert PLM offers document revision control; part & bill of material (BOM) management; controlled-access data library; RoHS materials classification; change management (ECO) and approval workflow; multi-user access; and data export. For more information about our FlexPLM™ Alliance Partner Ed Allwein or PDXpert, please visit www.BuyPLM.com for more information. Please Note: If you have questions at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance.   PLM | CM | DM | CRM | SCM | ERP Home | PLM Home © 2006 - 2008 PLMIC, LLC - All rights reserved.