PLM: just a piece of
software?
PLM is a methodology and
highly critical business strategy that enables significant competitive
advantage in this ever challenging industry. PLM is one of the fastest growing
areas of technology investment for retailers and brands, why? PLM adds value, improves profitability and, best of all, enables companies to stay ahead of the
competition.
So, what is PLM?
PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is a
description of the entire process from the early visibility of the need to create
a product to meet the future business goals, through to the creation of a
product or collection of products and the eventual end of the product's shelf
life. The concept of PLM manages the entire lifecycle from 'birth to grave'.
In its simplest form, PLM manages all central product data, enabling users to reuse that data to improve the speed of
accurate and real time information and have complete visibility of progress and
any issues. PLM in the world of apparel emerged from such tools as CAD (Computer
Aided Design), GMS (Grading and Marker Making Systems) and PDM (Product Data Management) in the late 1980's. Today, it can be seen as the integration of all
of these tools, enabled through advances in technology that result in improved
business processes through all stages of a product's lifecycle.
Process, process,
process.
Many describe PLM as a set of linear
processes that have been designed to compress the entire supply chain. At
WhichPLM, we see PLM as a web, capturing each detail within the supply chain
and feeding every change back to the core.
Where does PLM fit into product development?
Typical areas covered by many of the
solutions on the market today include:
PLM Processes
- Business Planning
- Line Planning
- Attribute Planning
- Store Planning
- Creative Design
- Storyboarding
- Sketching
- Concept Design
- Fabric and Component Design
- Pattern Development
- First Prototype Specification
- Detailed Design
- Risk Analysis (Simulation)
- 3D Design
- Sample Process
- Sizing
- FOB (Free On Board)
- Detailed Multi-Dimensional BOM
Costing
- BOL (Bill Of Labour)
Costing
- Capacity Planning
- Ethical Auditing
- Critical Path Management
- Manufacture Tracking
- Construction and Assembly
Details
- Quality Assurance and Control
- Supplier Performance
- Maintenance and Support
