International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is generally defined as a strategic business approach for the effective management and use of corporate intellectual capital. Today, challenges faced by product development teams include globalisation, outsourcing, mass customisation, fast innovation and product traceability. These challenges enhance the need for collaborating environments and knowledge management along the product lifecycle stages. PLM systems are gaining acceptance for managing all information about the corporation’s products throughout their full lifecycle, from conceptualisation to operations and disposal. The PLM philosophy and systems aim at providing support to an even broader range of engineering and business activities.