PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

It refers to the process of managing the lifecycle of the product from beginning to eventually retirement. It helps the organizations to develop new products and bring them to the market. It plays a critical role to help the manufacturers develop the next generation products at lower cost. There are various ways of describing the phases of the product development. The ideation phase is based on factors including competitor analysis, gaps in the market, or customer needs. The next phase includes validation and analysis of the planned product as well as prototype development. This generates feedback on how the product is used. The production of the new product is scaled—followed by launch and distribution to the market. After launching the product, service and support is offered. It enables flow of real-time data to support sharing and collaboration. It also helps in reducing the cost and offers additional environmental benefits by precisely calculating product costs.