The Best Product Lifecycle Management Software
Get the best product lifecycle management (PLM) software for your business. Compare product reviews, pricing below. Read our buyer’s guide for more help.
What is PLM Software?
Product lifecycle management software helps your business develop new products faster, improve quality products, and collaborate with your colleagues. By connecting and aligning data, processes, and technology, the software brings high-quality products to market fast.
PLM software keeps your business organized so you can manage the entire lifecycle of a product from conception through design and manufacture and finally disposal. By conducting research, products can be created to a targeted demographic. Mockups and prototypes are used to test the product before being moved into production. Then, the solution is created with the right amount of materials, costs, and timelines. From there, the products go out to the appropriate sales channels.
Read “What is Product Lifecycle Management Software?” to learn more.
Who Uses PLM?
Product lifecycle management is primarily used by manufacturing industries. Due to the vast number of parts they source from thousands of suppliers, they stood to benefit the most from this type of system. Created with the auto and aviation industries, PLM can now help any company that develops products and is looking to lower costs, improve quality, or shorten the time to market.
Today, certain manufacturers such as those in consumer packaged goods stand to benefit the most by using PLM in their complex environments. This means any manufacturer of goods or merchandise that customers use and replace on a recurring basis can reap the advantages PLM software gives their business. The biggest example would be food, beverage, cosmetics, and cleaning product manufacturers.
Why Should A Business Use PLM Software?
If a PLM software implementation is successful, it should save your company money in the long run via increased efficiency and improved time to market.
It’s important to not be drawn in by advertised low monthly prices, and instead, find the solution that will benefit your business the most in the long-run. Knowing exactly what the PLM software offers will give you the best insight into how many users truly need access, which can lead to savings over time.
PLM also provides the following benefits:
- Reduced risk
- Increased productivity
- Improved cost control
- Faster time to market
- Higher Profits
- Better Quality Products
What Does Product Lifecycle Management Software Cost?
Product lifecycle management software has a minimum average cost of $80/user/month, billed annually. This is for a cloud PLM license that is billed on a subscription-based pricing model. Some software vendors may offer a month-to-month payment structure (not paid annually) for a slight increase in the monthly amount.
PLM software can also be locally installed, meaning that your company would purchase the software outright and likely incur a large cost upfront for the licensing, implementation, and training. This cost will vary greatly depending on the number of users, the level of implementation, the amount of any included support, and more.