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What Is PLM Software? The Ultimate Guide to Product Lifecycle Management

Learn what product lifecycle management (PLM) software is, how it works, and why modern manufacturers use cloud PLM solutions to improve collaboration, quality, and speed to market.

What Is PLM Software? The Ultimate Guide to Product Lifecycle Management

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By Arena by PTC  

October 27, 2025

To gain a first-mover advantage in today’s highly competitive market, companies require the ability to innovate rapidly. This can be a challenge as emerging technologies continue to add greater complexity to the product development process. Today, organizations need to rely on enterprise product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions to overcome product development hurdles and achieve commercialization success. In this article, we provide an overview of PLM and explore key factors that you should consider when adopting new software.

What Is Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)?

The Ultimate Guide to PLM SoftwareProduct lifecycle management (PLM) enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), original design manufacturers (ODMs), and their supply chain partners to control and approve all of the data and processes that are tied to the product record from concept through design, development, and production. This includes drawings, specifications, documentation, bills of materials (BOMs), engineering change orders (ECOs), quality records, and approved manufacturer/vendor lists (AMLs/AVLs).

A product’s lifecycle typically begins with a concept or idea that stems from the identification of a new market opportunity. Resources are then put toward research to determine if the product is feasible from technical, regulatory, and financial standpoints. Once the product is deemed feasible, processes associated with new product development (NPD) take place.

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