Product lifecycle management (PLM)
Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the software and the way of working that keeps one controlled record of a product, from the first design through manufacturing, service and retirement, so every team works from the same parts, BOMs, documents and changes.
A PLM system holds the product’s definition: CAD models, parts, bills of materials, documents, and the history of every change to them. It also runs the workflows that move that data along, like review, release and engineering change.
Where companies get stuck is treating PLM as a filing cabinet for engineering. We see it a lot: the system stores CAD files well, but manufacturing, quality and service still work from exports and spreadsheets. The value shows up when the teams downstream of engineering use the same record.
The tradeoff is effort. A PLM rollout asks people to change how they work, and that part takes longer than the software.
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Last reviewed November 2026 by Element Consulting
