Automotive

PLM is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product using a dedicated IT system to store and manage all data that arises between the product's conception and its sale or disposal. Ideally, all departments and systems that come into contact with a product have access to a common database that covers all phases from planning, design, costing and manufacture to sales and service. In light of their complexity, PLM systems are not products that can be purchased; PLM should be regarded rather as a strategy that requires appropriate technical and organizational support.

Also known as logistics or value chain, encompasses supply or value-creation process involving multiple companies. The value chain begins with the production of raw materials, proceeds through various production and transport stages, to sales and distribution, and concludes with the end-customer. A large number of companies with diverse IT systems participate in such a chain. Where companies are connected via a communications network that transcends all the various stages, the entity is called a value network. Most information exchange within a value network is effected via the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems of the participating companies.