PLM Aids Product Makers, Buyers
By Debra Donston
Building a better mousetrap isn't the goal for manufacturing companies; it's building a better mousetrap faster, for less cost, and including the knowledge and experience built into design, engineering, manufacturing, customer service, accounting, and supplier databases.
Product lifecycle management—or PLM, in the inevitable acronym form—is helping manufacturers achieve this complex goal and get the right products to market faster. The benefits to buyers of these products are obvious, including more stable products and better service for the life of the product.
"In terms of the market need," said ARC analyst John Moore, "roughly 80 percent of a product's final cost is locked in at the design stage, so the more [companies] can reuse components and manage handoff between design and manufacturing, the better. And on the service side, there's a lot of revenue to be had in servicing a product and ensuring customer retention."
Read the entire eWeek article “PLM Aids Product Makers, Buyers".
