The Importance of Product Data in PLM

The subject of this chapter is the product data that describes products. The chapter explains what product data is, and why it’s relevant in PLM. Whatever the product made by a company, an enormous volume and variety of product data is needed to develop and support it throughout the lifecycle. Some of this data will describe the product, or a part of the product, or its packaging, or a label, or an identifier. Some will describe a structure such as a BOM or a list of ingredients. Some will describe a process related to the product, explaining how something has to be done. Some of the information may describe a regulation that the product must comply with. Product data doesn’t look after itself and, over time, like anything else that isn’t properly organised and maintained, it will slide into chaos and decay. However, this has to be avoided, as the slightest slip can have serious consequences for the product and those associated with it. Getting product data organised, and keeping it organised, are major challenges in PLM. The chapter describes some sixty potential issues related to product data. Metadata is described. Modelling of product data is introduced.