Keeping in Touch

Abstract

This article reviews product life cycle management (PLM) software. The PLM technology used in product creation can be reactivated farther down a product’s life. Some companies couple PLM—which allows engineers and manufacturers to exchange design files and communicate about product development—with a mix of other technologies to forecast a product’s life and to come up with more environmentally friendly products. Because mechanical and manufacturing engineers, designers, marketers, and many others are involved in creating a product, a PLM system helps these people exchange plans and ideas via the Internet, whatever their location, to brainstorm design and manufacturing. PLM technology, often thought of as a tool that is useful in the first stages of product design and manufacture, is now being used to project a product’s life, to follow a product even after it is sold, and to ensure an environmentally sound product in the first place. This article reviews product life cycle management (PLM) software. The PLM technology used in product creation can be reactivated farther down a product’s life. Some companies couple PLM—which allows engineers and manufacturers to exchange design files and communicate about product development—with a mix of other technologies to forecast a product’s life and to come up with more environmentally friendly products. Because mechanical and manufacturing engineers, designers, marketers, and many others are involved in creating a product, a PLM system helps these people exchange plans and ideas via the Internet, whatever their location, to brainstorm design and manufacturing. PLM technology, often thought of as a tool that is useful in the first stages of product design and manufacture, is now being used to project a product’s life, to follow a product even after it is sold, and to ensure an environmentally sound product in the first place.