Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal[1]. It is one of the four cornerstones of a corporation's information Technology structure [2]. All companies need to manage communications and information with their customers (CRM-Customer Relationship Management) and their suppliers (SCM-Supply Chain Management) and the resources within the enterprise (ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning). In addition, manufacturing engineering companies must also develop, describe, manage and communicate information about their products (PLM).

* Reduced time to market
* Improved product quality
* Reduced prototyping costs
* Savings through the re-use of original data
* A framework for product optimization
* Reduced waste
* Savings through the complete integration of engineering workflows

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is more to do with managing descriptions and properties of a product through its development and useful life, mainly from a business/engineering point of view; whereas Product Life Cycle Management (PLC) is to do with the life of a product in the market with respect to business/commercial costs and sales measures.[5]

Product Lifecycle Management

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