Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product.
PLM began in industries where safety and control were critical. Over time, manufacturers from a variety of industries have adopted PLM, including consumer electronics, packaged goods, engineering and design.
PLM strategic processes include:
Companies rely on PLM software to manage the entire lifecycle of a product efficiently and cost-effectively. Engineering, marketing and services utilize PLM to share information and data across design, quality, manufacturing and business. From managing the design to exporting data for enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, PLM follows the product’s lifecycle and is typically divided into the following stages:
PLM began in industries where safety and control were critical. Over time, manufacturers from a variety of industries have adopted PLM, including consumer electronics, packaged goods, engineering and design.
PLM software systematizes and automates administrative processes by creating a central hub for all product and design information and data. This hub is accessible to everyone involved in the process including engineering, manufacturing, contractors and vendors. It is especially helpful as a business grows to maintain clear and constant communication between overseas suppliers and design engineers.
Essentially, PLM is incredibly complex and it helps companies manage the growth, maturity and decline of their products. PLM helps large teams, spread out across the globe, gain insight into the lifecycle of their products from start to finish. It helps them determine if scaling is a good idea, establishes competitive advantages to maintain or grow the market share and supports the examination of production volume.
Many companies use PLM and product data management (PDM) tools side by side and sometimes they overlap. While PLM focuses on processes as they relate to a product’s lifecycle, PDM focuses on managing and improving design data as it relates to product development. When combined with CAD software, for example, PDM becomes a highly specialized design environment.
Because PLM leverages PDM to manage product lifecycles, remake processes and increase output, G2 Crowd has listed PDM and PLM tools together under the umbrella of PLM. And this is how we have one PDM product in our list of top PLM software.
From Aerospace and defense, to food and beverage, just about any company can reap the benefits of PLM. When products are this extensive and used by so many people, customer satisfaction is key for deciding which PLM to implement into your business processes.
Product Name: Arena PLM
G2 Crowd Star Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Arena PLM combines PLM, supply chain collaboration and quality management systems (QMS) into a single platform to streamline product development, improve quality and reduce time to market.
Users agree that Arena offers a flexible and customized workspace that manages complex products with ease.
“The sheer usability of Arena is unmatched, both from the standpoint of universal access through the cloud-based interface as well as the flexibility and fluid customization of the workspace. Simply put, you can set up Arena PLM to support nearly any project you can imagine from your PHONE is a matter of minutes.” — Arena PLM review by Roget R.
According to an Arena PLM review by David P., “I have implemented Arena singlehandedly at two start-ups, and I am extremely happy with the product. It has all of the power anyone could need, and is also easily customized. I have been able to import BOMs and be up in running in a matter of days. I have used other PLM systems in the past at both large and small companies — Arena leaves nothing to be desired.
Arena PLM integrates with a variety cloud and on-site business systems, including Netsuite ERP, Oracle E-Business Suite, Microsoft Dynamics, QAD ERP, Expandable ERP, Sage, Kenandy, Rootstock, SAP Business ByDesign, and more.
Product Name: Omnify Empower PLM
G2 Crowd Star Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
Omnify Empower PLM system can address the needs of manufacturers from start-ups to thousands of users with an easy-to-use and quick-to-implement system.
Users agree that the Omnify Empower PLM’s integrations provide them with unlimited solutions.
“The fact that almost everything is configurable (attributes, process flows etc.) is a huge pro compared to other PLM tools I have seen.” — Omnify Empower PLM review by Gerard M.
“The support team is superlative,” according to an Omnify Empower PLM review by Joel B. “Questions are answered timely; often suggesting methods beyond what we had originally conceived. The system allows for unlimited creative solutions. Many times looking at an issue and attempting to solve it via Omnify allowed us to come up with a very slick solution that was unlike what we had originally envisioned.”
Omnify Empower PLM integrates with a variety of ERP, product data management and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions including Aptean, Deltek Vision, Netsuite ERP, Oracle E-Business Suite, Microsoft Dynamics, QAD ERP, Epicor ERP, Expandable ERP, Infor ERP, and Sage.
Product Name: PropelPLM Suite
G2 Crowd Star Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars
Built on the Salesforce platform, PropelPLM Suite helps businesses define, update and share product changes from the beginning of product development to product usage.
Users agree that PropelPLM Suite provides exceptional customer support.
“The Propel team is an exceptional group of bright, helpful, talented people that do not take their responsibility lightly, and do not put you at risk. I have never had such a smooth, painless deployment with a superior level of support from Propel. The best thing about Propel is the people, who quickly become your partner in success.” — PropelPLM Suite review by Al F.
“The best part about PropelPLM is the fantastic customer support. They walk you through importing your data and provide fast responses for any questions. Our data was imported quickly and seamlessly and their team was very accommodating to new requests.” — PropelPLM Suite review by Jordan S.
Sync the latest product designs through integration with AscentERP.
Product Name: Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle PLM
G2 Crowd Star Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle PLM focuses on product development processes across a variety of industries including industrial machinery and products, consumer electronics, automotive suppliers and medical devices.
Users agree that ability to customize the solution to their workflow makes this solution indispensable.
“The ability to customize the software to our workflow that we need to fit our company path. The fact that we can create a similar look for completely different workflows is a blessing as well for smoother transition from task to task.” — Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle PLM review by Kevin M.
“The high level of customization and 'you can pretty much do anything you want' vibe of the whole application,” is what Johnny B. likes best according to their Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle PLM review. “For instance, the way in which any team's workflows can be directly translated to a block diagram is very powerful, and the scripting engine allows for some pretty deep add-on customization.”
Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle PLM uses Jitterbit to simplify and accelerate integrations with a variety of CRMs and ERPs.
Product Name: Autodesk Vault
G2 Crowd Star Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Autodesk Vault helps designers and engineers track, collaborate and manage product development cycles.
Users agree that Autodesk Vault’s ease of use is key.
“It's easy interface makes navigation and conducting tasks seamless.” — Autodesk Vault review by Chris R.
“Vault is very easy to use,” reads an Autodesk Vault review by Ryan S. “After reading a few install documents, I was able to set up Vault on a local server and train my colleagues on it's use. It greatly helped in coordinating our engineering functions on several projects and kept pesky file management conflicts to a minimum. My favorite feature is that Vault allows you to work off your local machine instead of the network via your own personal ’Workspace’. Once files are checked out to you, they are saved to your local machine and you are free to work on them until you check them back into the network server. This will greatly speed up your workflow.”
Autodesk Vault integrates with SharePoint and Autodesk design for direct CAD applications.
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