30-08-2014, 02:52 PM
INTRODUCTION ITC InfoTech, a global IT services company, is a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Limited,the US$ 7 billion diversified conglomerate. ITC Limited is rated among the ‘World's Most Reputable Companies’ by Forbes magazine and among ‘India's Most Valuable Companies’ by Business Today. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the business activity of managing, in the most effective way, a company’s products all the way across their lifecycles; from the very first idea for a product all the way through until it’s retired and disposed of. PLM manages both individual products and the Product Portfolio, the collection of all of a company’s products. PLM manages products from the beginning of their life, including development, through growth and maturity, to the end of life. The objective of PLM is to increase product revenues, reduce product-related costs, maximize the value of the product portfolio, and maximize the value of current and future products for both customers and shareholders. The scope of PLM is wide.
INTRODUCTION
ITC InfoTech, a global IT services company, is a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Limited,the US$ 7 billion diversified conglomerate. ITC Limited is rated among the ‘World's Most Reputable Companies’ by Forbes magazine and among ‘India's Most Valuable Companies’ by Business Today.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the business activity of managing, in the most effective way, a company’s products all the way across their lifecycles; from the very first idea for a product all the way through until it’s retired and disposed of. PLM manages both individual products and the Product Portfolio, the collection of all of a company’s products. PLM manages products from the beginning of their life, including development, through growth and maturity, to the end of life. The objective of PLM is to increase product revenues, reduce product-related costs, maximize the value of the product portfolio, and maximize the value of current and future products for both customers and shareholders. The scope of PLM is wide. Product Lifecycle Phases There are five phases in a product’s lifecycle. In each of the five phases, the product is in a different state. During the imagination phase, the product is just an idea in people’s heads. During the definition phase, the ideas are being converted into a detailed description. By the end Of the realization phase, the product exists in its final form (for example, as a car) in which it can be used by a customer. During the use/support phase, the product is with the customer who is using it. Eventually the product gets to a phase in which it’s no longer useful. It’s retired by the company, and disposed of by the customer. The product must be managed in all these phases to make sure that everything works well, and that the product makes good money for the company. That means the product throughout its lifecycle, ‘‘from cradle to grave’. Three of the lifecycle phases (Imagination, Definition and Realization) make up the Beginning-of-Life (BOL) of the product. There is a Middle-of-Life (MOL) phase which includes activities such as product use, support and maintenance. There is an End-of-Life (EOL) phase which includes activities such as product retirement, disposal and recycling. Managing the Product Managing the product across its lifecycle isn’t easy. During the development of a product, it doesn’t physically exist. Not surprisingly, during that phase of life it’s difficult to control. Once a product does exist, it should be used at a customer location, where again, it’s difficult for a company to keep control of it. Within a company, the responsibility for the product is often different at different phases of the lifecycle. At one time it may be with Marketing, at other times with Engineering or Service. Maintaining a common coherent approach among these organizations, which may have different objectives, working methods and applications, can be difficult and time-consuming. It becomes even more challenging in the Extended Enterprise environment. The issues are then no longer just cross-functional but also cross-enterprise. And it becomes even more challenging when a company works in different Extended Enterprises for different products. At different times the responsibility for the product may then be with different Marketing, Engineering, Manufacturing,