Leveraging PLM Software for Sustainable Product Development

In the mad dash to sustainable transformation, monitoring, measuring, and optimizing every step of a product’s lifecycle is a superpower.

That’s where PLM software comes into play. It’s much more than an inventory management system. In reality, it acts as the central nervous system for your product development pipeline, and it's especially beneficial if your organization is giving it your all to go green.

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) technology is key to creating ecologically-conscious principles at the forefront before the first napkin sketch hits paper. Whether you’re a start-up developing compostable packaging or a major manufacturer transitioning to a circular economy strategy, PLM software is quietly emerging as sustainability’s best friend.

It starts with design. Sustainable engineering is often siloed from design applications, causing environmentally unfriendly decisions that aren’t uncovered until later in the production process. With a PLM system, however, engineers and designers can virtually test any product and product changes before creating physical prototypes.

In other words, you can swap out that plastic for a renewed and more recyclable version. That way, you can hypothesize how mass production and final result applications will be affected without dedicating materials to those tests.

A lot of companies are talking about a circular economy, but just how many are walking the walk? With PLM software, companies are equipped to do just that from the get-go. Begin with a reusable chassis, create sections that are simple to disassemble, and create an early plan for materials used. Then, create a workflow within your system to track everything and see what you can reclaim later.

When you have complete insight, it aids in minimizing the workforce and reducing the waste from the process. According to McKinsey & Company, a circular economy can present a leeway to increase revenue in Europe alone by almost $1 billion by 2050. However, you can’t extract the potential for profits from a best practice until PLM software shows you how to bring it to life.

It’s not necessarily what you produce, it’s what you shop for. PLM solutions allow you to see your entire supply chain and request quotes or proposals for goods sold out a year in advance. Instead of only looking at overall profitability, you can filter based on carbon footprint, energy consumption, and so on. With certification, location, and corporate social responsibility programs in one place, you no longer have to request the data or work on assumptions.

This level of transparency will help companies comply with strict new regulations, like the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation [ESPR], which will require full lifecycle proof of compliance. Companies equipped with PLM can face this head-on and make compliance an integrated part of how they make better products.

Silos and outdated information invariably mean one thing: overproduction, shipping issues, and wasted inventory. PLM software ensures all stakeholders, from R&D and sourcing to marketing and post-sale services, make decisions using the same version of the information. This way, you’re not wasting time creating copies that need verification.

You’re not wasting time or resources on rework, or coming across a surprise document and drawing that’s out of date. PLM helps you work faster and better, more efficiently, and with less waste along the way.

We often talk about sustainability in theoretical or future-based terms. However, the truth is that the road to greener products is built with the tools we use today. PLM software helps your team work better, and the whole company builds better using cleaner materials, smarter designs, and easier access to less waste.

Sustainable development is attainable when your products are created with these principles from the start. While the press might focus on high-profile green releases, the actual work of building better sustainable products begins in the background.