What is PLM software?
PLM is a software solution to store, manage and distribute all information throughout the product life cycle or a global supply chain service.
- The “product life cycle” is the evolution of the product which can be summarized in 5 different phases: development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline. In marketing it is a concept to explain the evolution of sales and how much the market likes the product.
- Product Lifecycle Management is a software solution to store, manage and distribute all information throughout the product life cycle or a global supply chain service.
- The “Supply chain” is the flow that starts from the delivery of basic materials from the supplier to the manufacturer up to the delivery to the end user.
What are the benefits of PLM software?
- Better product quality: centralized access to data, reduced time-to-market for new product, and iterations in the design process enable us to deliver a better quality product.
- Data access and collection during the product life cycle: tracking data and sharing data in real time throughout the product supply chain using a single platform, allows us to have a single, comprehensive data source, making workflow easy to maintain and sustain.
- Collaboration and efficient communication: thank to the improvement of communication and collaboration between the players in supply chain, we can centralize and make production processes efficient, improving existing ones and eliminating ineffective or unnecessary ones and optimizing processes and reducing production and capital costs.
- Cost monitoring: it allows to have full awareness of what happens during production, to reduce waste and reduce the margin of error and inventories and warehouse interruptions, improve forecasting capacity, carry out predictive maintenance and customized pre- and post-sales assistance services, but also training, operating rental, disposal.
- More effective management of the supply chain: a single product database makes better the supply chain management. Thanks to PLM, the right components for the product can be found automatically both in the development and maintenance phases, evaluating their replacement based on the criticality of specific components. This also improves product lead times and allows you to track products and components during the distribution stage.
- Better customer satisfaction and competitiveness: the integration of the PLM system with Artificial Intelligence techniques aimed at creating Digital Twins, allows you to test the digital prototype of the product, make the necessary improvements, evaluate any impact on the customer and increase their satisfaction in relation to the possibility of customizing the product according to its specific needs, as well as allowing the company to remain competitive in the short, medium and long term.
- (Digital Twins — Virtual replica of the physical product, it gives us a photography with the product state.)
What are the main PLM functions?
- Document Management: version control, workflows, templates, links …
- Product Structure: search and filters the product structure
- Product Configuration: manage effectivities, alternatives and substitutes
- Bill of Materials: list all raw materials of your product
- Process Management: define workflows and manage tasks
- Change Management: track modifications
- Data Visualization: use your browser to explore your structures (WebGL), exchange with your colleagues or display your documents (Word, PDF, CAD…)
What are the additional features that PLM must have?
- API Integration: API integration is the connection between two or more applications via their APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow systems to exchange data sources.
- Bulk operation: Bulk operations are actions that are performed on a large scale. Example bulk operations tasks include importing or exporting items, changing prices on a mass scale, and assigning products to a warehouse.
- Intuitive UX: it is a design which is easy to use and the user knows what to do when they see it.
- Easy data import and export: the PLM must have a tools to easily import or export csv, excel or other electronic files.
- Secure e scalable cloud system: having a secure and scalable system in which our PLM software can run smoothly is a must. This allows the team to focus exclusively on the business and application side of PLM
- AI system: modern software has the possibility of using artificial intelligence, thus saving time and automating processes that can be automated.
Could I have a real example of using PLM?
The designer designs a new product and, if he is a digital user, he needs software that digitizes ideas and samples.
In PLM he creates a new product with the list of its components. He assigned the digital twin of the product: samples, drawings, short description, market category, list of materials …
The Administrator supervises the accounting flow.
The production manager has different tasks and he supervises the complete flow.
- Analyzed the data for the production
- Manages the material for production
- Contacts the supplier and starts the production
- Control production and supplier delivery
- Checks prodotto e certificates
The Supplier engaged by the production manager, he generates 3D models, he creates documentations and he produces the product.
There are Other internal or external players who make some operations like: generating legal documentation, generating certificates for the product … and so on.
Where does PLM fit into the architecture of a product company?
The PLM is part of a wide software ecosystem and it has a specific place.
It is at the beginning of the processes of a product company.
It’s easy to get confused about the PLM role and other software.
The main differences are listed below:
- PIM (Product Information Management). It is software to enrich the product with content data such as materials description, commercial description and so on … All informations are not present in the PLM.
- DAM (Digital Asset Management). It is software to manage digital assets such as video, images, photos, emotional 3D and so on … PLM usually has the production technical images, sample images and technical 3D that are not present in the DAM.
- ERP (Product Information Management). It is software to manage price lists and invoices for the customer and final consumer. PLM usually has the production price of the product and its components.
How does the PML usually communicate with the corporate system?
- Input data can be imported with a bulk procedure, manually with an operator or used a service or job that invokes the PLM API.There is no standard architecture, but it depends on how the company generates the basic product data, the functionality of the PLM and how other software works.
- Output data. When the IT department uses a PLM, the business usually invests in having an automated system to distribute the data. The standard architecture is to build a service that reads PLM data and synchronizes the other software, each with its own channel to communicate.
Insights?
If you have any questions or corrections, please contact me.
Document version
Version: 1.0 - Last update: 27/07/2023 - Author: Corrado Facchini
About me
Top comments (0)