The Complete Guide to
Product Lifecycle Management Software

The PLM Landscape is Changing Rapidly

Retail leaders have been experiencing supply chain disruptions due to lack of staff and continued reliance on outdated product lifecycle management practices. In response, many are adopting PLM technologies. 

These adoptions have led to huge gains in productivity, efficiency, and quality. Despite the success  of early adopters, the vast majority of retailers are still lagging behind—coordinating with internal and external stakeholders in a mess of spreadsheets and emails. 

That’s why we’ve put together a complete guide to PLM software. It’ll help you get your bearings  in the complex world of PLM software, and ultimately take you through the process of vetting and implementing a new system.

What is Product Lifecycle Management?

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the management and control of all product data and information throughout a product's lifecycle. The four phases of PLM are concepting, designing, producing, and distributing new products. These phases involve a complex web of collaboration  and data sharing between internal and external stakeholders.

Maintaining a seamless flow of information between all stakeholder groups poses a significant challenge that PLM systems aim to overcome. PLM software aids in keeping production costs low, ensuring the delivery of a high-quality end product, and getting products to market as quickly as possible.

Discover more about the basics of PLM

What is PLM Software?

“The condensed fashion trend cycles of late create a lot of chaos but, luckily, fashion PLM software has emerged as a key differentiator to help forward-thinking brands share, modify, and collaborate on products in real time.”

Tom Nevell, President / COO. Robert Comstock

PLM software enables integrated data, workflows, and systems across a chain of key stakeholders. It’s designed to make your complex collaborative processes seamless. Many PLM software systems focus exclusively on internal processes, but some systems also try to solve external collaboration bottlenecks. 

Optimally, your PLM software should allow suppliers and retailers to work within a single system, giving you a streamlined view of where each individual product is in its lifecycle. Additionally, a unified platform helps retailers eradicate data loss, siloed data, and communication delays.

Discover more about PLM software

Read our Guide to Get the Details

By the time you’re finished reading the guide, you’ll have everything you need to find a top-notch PLM system. We’ve included helpful tips and diagrams to aid you in your search for the best solution.

Obviously, we’re a little biased about who we think is best. We’ve leveraged decades of experience and expertise to craft a unified PLM platform that enables seamless internal and external collaboration across all phases of the product lifecycle. So yeah, we’re pretty passionate about what we do. But ultimately, we want you to find a solution that best suits your business needs.

Once you've read the guide, check out part two to learn how to purchase and implement a PLM system.