If you’ve ever asked, “Which version is the approved one?” you’re already close to the point of PLM.
Because the problem usually isn’t a lack of data. It’s too many copies, too many handovers, and not enough certainty about what’s current, what’s approved, and who’s allowed to use it.
Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the discipline of managing a product’s information, processes, and decisions across its full lifecycle, from early requirements and design through manufacture, service, and end of life.
In plain terms, PLM helps you keep the product definition under control as it changes and as it moves across teams, tools, and suppliers.
Key takeaways
- Modern PLM often extends beyond one enterprise, so sharing needs access control and traceability
- PLM connects people, processes, and product information across the lifecycle
- It reduces errors and rework by controlling change, configuration, and approvals
- It improves collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and service
What PLM actually covers
PLM is often described as “a system”, but it’s more accurate to think of it as the rules and the plumbing that keep product information coherent.
That includes:
- Requirements and systems engineering (what needs to be true, and how you’ll verify it)
- Design and engineering (CAD, drawings, parts, BOMs, specs, revisions)
- Industrialisation and manufacturing (release packages, EBOM to MBOM alignment, work instructions)
- Supply chain collaboration (controlled handovers, supplier deliverables, approvals)
- Service and support (as-maintained configuration, maintenance history, feedback loops)
- Change and configuration management (baselines, variants, effectivity, audit trails)
- Compliance and assurance (traceability, evidence, and, where needed, export control)
If your products live for years, or your supply chain is complex, that last part stops being “nice to have” very quickly.
The Ellen MacCarter butterfly diagram (and why it matters for PLM)
One useful way to visualise the lifecycle is the Ellen MacArthur Foundation “butterfly” model. It’s a reminder that products don’t just get designed and manufactured. They’re maintained, refurbished, reused, remanufactured, and sometimes recycled.
The decisions you make early on affect every downstream loop. A part number, a configuration rule, a material choice, a service bulletin. Those decisions echo.
Why PLM matters
Most teams feel the pain before they can name it.
- Engineering and manufacturing disagree on what’s released
- A supplier ships to an old revision
- Service can’t reconcile “as-designed” vs “as-maintained”
- Audits turn into archaeology
PLM helps because it creates a governed way to:
- Share the right information with the right people, with traceability
- Define what “current” means
- Control how changes are requested, approved, and implemented
- Keep configurations and baselines consistent
The main phases of PLM
The labels vary by industry, but the flow is consistent.
1. Concept and requirements
Capture needs and constraints. Define what success looks like. Start building traceability early, when it’s cheapest.
2. Design and development
Create the product definition, manage revisions, and establish baselines for review and release.
3. Industrialisation and manufacture
Translate engineering intent into buildable reality, align EBOM and MBOM, and manage supplier deliverables without losing control.
4. Service and support
Track as-maintained configurations, link maintenance actions to product definition, and feed lessons back into engineering.
5. End of life
Manage disposal, recycling, and long-life evidence retention. It’s not glamorous, but it’s often where compliance bites.
PLM vs PDM vs ERP
These three are related, but they’re not the same thing.
PDM – Product Data Management
PDM is typically focused on managing engineering data like CAD files, drawings, and related metadata.
PLM – Product Lifecycle Management
PLM is broader. It includes PDM-style control, plus lifecycle processes, governance, change, configuration, collaboration, and cross-functional decision-making.
ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning
ERP runs operational execution such as purchasing, inventory, finance, and production planning. It needs product data, but it’s not built to manage engineering baselines and change history in depth.
Most mature organisations integrate these, rather than forcing one system to do everything.
A backbone for PLM (standards and continuity)
If your product information has to survive tool changes, long lifecycles, or multi-enterprise programmes, standards-based approaches can help.
For example, PLCS (Product Lifecycle Support) provides an information model for lifecycle data beyond what many PDM setups cover.
Common PLM pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
Treating PLM like a tool rollout
Start with outcomes: release control, change cycle time, fewer errors, better supplier handovers.
Trying to do everything at once
Pick one slice of value and land it. Then expand.
Weak ownership and governance
If no one owns the data model, change rules, and quality checks, the system becomes a filing cabinet.
Ignoring the multi-enterprise reality
If suppliers are part of your lifecycle, controlled sharing and traceability are not optional.
Where ShareAspace fits
By now, you’ve probably noticed a pattern.
Most organisations already have tools. PLM or PDM. CAD. ERP. Maybe a manufacturing system. Maybe something for service.
The friction usually shows up in the gaps.
The handover between engineering and manufacturing. The moment a supplier needs access. The point where a change is approved in one place, but never really becomes “true” everywhere else.
That’s the space ShareAspace is designed for.
ShareAspace is Eurostep’s secure data integration and collaboration layer for PLM. It integrates product-lifecycle information from your existing systems, then helps you share it across teams, suppliers, and partners without losing control of the product definition.
In practice, that means you can:
- Give the right people access, and keep the rest protected
- Trace what was shared, what changed, and when it happened
- Keep configurations and baselines consistent across organisations
So when someone asks, “What’s the approved version?” you can answer without guessing.
Connect with a PLM specialist
If suppliers keep working from the wrong revision, releases don’t match what gets built, or change takes weeks because no one trusts what’s current, you’re not alone.
Tell us what’s breaking in your setup and we’ll come back with a practical next step. No generic pitch. Just a clear way forward based on your use case, for example:
- Secure, traceable sharing across contract and IP boundaries
- Cleaner supplier handovers with controlled release packages
- Governed change and configuration control across tools and organisations
About Eurostep
Eurostep delivers ShareAspace, a proven, packaged platform that helps organisations with complex assets define, acquire, control, and share information with assurance across the lifecycle. ShareAspace integrates product-lifecycle data from existing tools and enables controlled, secure collaboration across teams, suppliers, partners, contracts, and supply chains. It enforces access rights, traceability, and configuration change control, giving you an evolving digital thread you can trust through-life. Founded in Sweden in 1994, Eurostep is part of the BAE Systems family and offers ShareAspace, available on-premise or in the cloud.