Dr.-Ing. Matthes Elstermann

Simon Kreuzwieser

Unit outline

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an approach of integrated and cross-company administration and control of all product-related processes and data across the whole product lifecycle following the extended logistic chain – from construction and production via sales through to disassembly and recycling. Product Lifecycle Management is an extensive concept to effective and efficient configuration of the product lifecycle. Based on the entirety of all product information, which is incurred across the whole supply chain and spread over several partners, processes, methods, and tools are provided in order to make the relevant information available at the right time, quality, and at the right place.

• a consistent characterization of all business processes occurring during the product lifecycle process (development, production, sales, disassembly,…)

• the description of methods of PLM needed to fulfill the related business processes.

• the explanation of the most important operational information systems supporting the lifecycle (PDM, ERP, SCM, CRM systems) using the example of the software producer SAP.

Content

Aim of the lecture PLM is to outline the management and organization approach ‘Product Lifecycle Management’.
Students:

• know the management concept PLM and its aims and have the ability to emphasize the economical benefit of the PLM concept.

• know providers of PLM system solutions and are able to illustrate the current market situation.

• understand the necessity of a consistent and cross-departmental business process – starting with the portfolio planning via construction and feedback of costumer information during the utilization phase through to maintenance and recycling of the products.

• know processes and functions required to support the whole product lifecycle.

• get knowledge about the most important operational software systems (PDM, ERP, SCM, CRM) and the consistent integration of these systems.

• develop practices to implement the management concept PLM successfully.