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This paper aims to capture and manage the product lifecycle data for consumer products, especially data that occur in distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages, and to use them to provide information and knowledge.

A lifecycle information acquisition and management model is proposed, and an information management system framework is formulated. The information management system developed is then used in actual field trials to manage lifecycle data for refrigeration products and game consoles.

It has been demonstrated that valuable services can be delivered through a lifecycle information management system.

Lifecycle information management systems can open new horizons for product design which are sustainable and environmentally sensitive. They also contribute to the wider exploration of eco‐design and development of next generation consumer products (e.g. smart home appliances).

Existing lifecycle information systems cannot support all phases of the product lifecycle. They mainly manage the lifecycle data only during the design and manufacture stages. Lifecycle data during distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages are usually hard to acquire and in most cases lost. The lifecycle information management system developed can capture them, and manage them in an integrated and systematic manner to provide information and knowledge.

The purpose of the paper is to propose a reference model describing a holistic view of the master data lifecycle, including strategic, tactical and operational aspects. The Master Data Lifecycle Management (MDLM) map provides a structured approach to analyze the master data lifecycle.

Embedded in a design oriented research process, the paper applies the Component Business Model (CBM) method and suggests a reference model which identifies the business components required to manage the master data lifecycle. CBM is a patented IBM method to analyze the key components of a business domain. The paper uses a participative case study to evaluate the suggested model.

Based on a participative case study, the paper shows how the reference model makes it possible to analyze the master data lifecycle on a strategic, a tactical and an operational level, and how it helps identify areas of improvement.

The paper presents design work and a participative case study. The reference model is grounded in existing literature and represents a comprehensive framework forming the foundation for future analysis of the master data lifecycle. Furthermore, the model represents an abstraction of an organization's master data lifecycle. Hence, it forms a “theory for designing”. More research is needed in order to more thoroughly evaluate the presented model in a variety of real‐life settings.

The paper shows how the reference model enables practitioners to analyze the master data lifecycle and how it helps identify areas of improvement.

The paper reports on an attempt to establish a holistic view of the master data lifecycle, including strategic, tactical and operational aspects, in order to provide more comprehensive support for its analysis and improvement.

This study attempts to expand knowledge of product lifecycle management (PLM) and supporting systems. Its objective is threefold: first, to identify and assess the impact of two key PLM building blocks on new product performance. Second, to use the aforementioned PLM building blocks to highlight the distinctive nature of PLM and closed‐loop PLM systems. Third, to demonstrate that the closed‐loop PLM system provides more new product benefits than the PLM system and that the usage of the closed‐loop PLM system is positively related to new product development.

The research hypotheses were tested on data collected from 87 manufacturers in the transportation equipment manufacturing industry in one Canadian province.

The findings show that only ten manufacturers have adopted a closed‐loop PLM system. As expected, the results show that the two key PLM building blocks, namely operational integration and information system (IS) usage, are positively related to new product development. Findings also show that the level of forward operational integration is similar in the closed‐loop PLM system and in the PLM system, while the level of backward operational integration, the usage of the PLM system and new product development are higher in the closed‐loop PLM system. Finally, the results demonstrate that the usage of the closed‐loop PLM system is positively related to new product development.

This contribution should give academics and practitioners alike a better understanding of the role and benefits of PLM and its supporting systems (the PLM system and the closed‐loop PLM system).

Strategic trends towards service operations have been widely reported in the recent literature, but organisational capabilities to support such service-centred strategies are less well understood. The purpose of this paper is to identify key organisational issues in managing complex engineering service operations throughout the lifecycle.

Using instruments developed from the product lifecycle management technologies and the network configuration concept, key organisational issues for engineering service operations were identified through case studies focusing on complex engineering products and services systems across a variety of industrial sectors.

The case studies demonstrated different organisational features and strategic priorities of engineering service operations along the whole lifecycle. A generic trend has been observed for engineering systems to move from being design, development and manufacturing focused to embracing support and end-of-life recycling matters.

This paper provides an overall framework for integrating key organisational issues in engineering service operations. It contributes to the service literature by highlighting the need of developing appropriate organisational capabilities to support service-centred strategies with engineering cases. It also provides guidance for companies to manage their engineering network operations throughout the whole lifecycle of complex products and services systems.

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is an enterprise-wide strategy gaining prominence across manufacturing. The fashion industry is a late adopter of PLM, yet within global fashion and textile organisations PLM is now becoming a mainstream approach to optimize core processes. This literature review analyses the latest academic research to establish a broad basis of understanding of PLM in the sector and identify potential future research directions.

A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the current state and main perspectives of research on PLM in the textiles and apparel sector. The paper adopts the three features (managerial, technological and collaborative) of the definition of PLM by Corallo et al. (2013) as the analytic framework for the 27 papers to illustrate how PLM is framed and conceptualised in the RFA sector.

PLM is at an interesting phase as it evolves from classical PLM 1.0 to connected PLM 2.0. The evolution of PLM from its PDM origins as an IT tool to a critical component of the strategy for digital transformation is reported. The strategic role of suppliers is noted as a critical success factor. Key inhibitors relating to PLM adoption and optimization in the sector are identified as limited holistic and theoretical perspective of PLM coupled with a deficiency in relevant industry skills. It is argued that the transformational potential of PLM 2.0 may not be fully realised without a more coordinated development effort through industrial and academic collaboration.

The limitations of this study are that it is a literature review of academic papers in the RFA sector papers within the timescale 2000–2018. PLM 1.0 has dominated in this time period however the potential trajectory of connected PLM 2.0 is beginning to emerge.

The results from this paper indicate that there is a lack of research on PLM in the sector and concludes by suggesting promising future research possibilities: further empirical and case studies on organisations implementing a PLM strategy; studies reporting on the contribution of PLM to address the challenges of sustainability, traceability and transparency in the industry and inter-industry collaborations; studies with knowledge management theories specifically applied to the textile and apparel sector; and the opportunity for academic and industry collaboration on the development of PLM to meet these needs.

To the best of the author's knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals. Given levels of investment in PLM platforms in the sector, both practitioners in companies and the academic community might find the review and agenda for future research useful.

The paper seeks to investigate the question as to how the business benefits of product data management (PDM) can be assessed and realized. In particular, it aims at understanding the means‐end relationship between PDM and product data on the one hand and a company's business goals on the other hand.

The paper uses a case study research approach. The case of Festo is unique and allows for detailed examination of both the business benefits of PDM and of the inter‐dependencies of various business benefit enablers. Due to the limited amount of scientific knowledge with regard to the management of PDM business benefits, the study is exploratory in nature. The conceptual framework used to guide the study combines business engineering concepts and the business dependency network technique.

The findings are threefold. First, the paper explicates and details the understanding of the nature of PDM business benefits. Second, it provides insight into the complexity and interdependency of various “means” – such as data ownership, product data standards, for example – and the “ends” of PDM, namely the contribution to a company's business goals. Third, the paper forms the baseline for a comprehensive method supporting the management of PDM business benefits.

Single‐case studies require further validation of findings. Thus, future research should aim at replicating the findings and at developing a comprehensive method for the management of PDM business benefits.

Companies may take up the results as a “blueprint” for their own PDM activities and may reflect their own business benefits against the case of Festo.

The paper is one of the first contributions focusing on the means‐end relationship between PDM and product data on the one hand and a company's business goals on the other.

Nowadays manufacturers companies are increasingly compelled to navigate towards servitization. Different methods and approaches were proposed in literature to support them to switch from traditional product-based business model to product service systems (PSSs). However, new knowledge, capabilities and skills were needed to consistently develop PSSs, since they need a joint focus on both customer’s perspective and company’s internal performance and at the same time a proper support for the integration of product and service design. The purpose of this paper is to propose the Product Service System Lean Design Methodology (PSSLDM), a structured methodology to develop PSSs along their entire lifecycle.

Retrieving concepts from interpretative, interactive and system development research traditions, and strongly reminding the design research methodology framework, the adopted research methodology is composed of three main phases (observation and conceptualization, theory building and tool development, validation) and involved three heterogeneous companies.

This paper provides an overview of the PSSLDM, explaining how the different methods supporting its conduction should contribute to properly design an integrated PSS. Moreover, companies highlighted several benefits in the different stages along the PSS lifecycle deriving by the adoption of the PSSLDM.

The development of a platform based on the PSSLDM methodology raises a discussion on the possible changes needed by current Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) models and systems when they have to do with PSSs.

The PSSLDM enriches the already proposed SErvice Engineering Methodology, introducing new several components linked by lean rules in each of its phases (starting from customer analysis, going through solution concept and detailed design, until the offering analysis) and better supprting the deatil design of both prodcut and service components.

Owing to the manufacturing trend of stringent product disposal regulations, a new business scenario, which requires an alternative disposal option on consumer products and further product recovery operations, is increasingly important for promoting sustainable supply chain performance. The purpose of this paper is to explore the use to post‐use stage of the product lifecycle, that may have significant potential for increasing product utilisation value and reducing product disposal to landfills.

The paper proposes a re‐classification of the 6R (reduce, recover, redesign, reuse, recycle, remanufacturing) methodology for rectifying waste minimisation along a supply chain, to increase product utilisation at the post‐use stage.

Intensive study of 6R considerations to improve end‐of‐life planning and strategy and extend of product lifecycle management is lacking. None of the existing supply chain frameworks clearly illustrates the aspects of 6R perspectives for the use to post‐use stage.

The main limitation is that this study only focuses on 6R perspective for achieving waste minimisation along a supply chain. There is a need to explore various practical issues of the implementation, including the establishment of specific performance metrics for various manufacturing industries to assess organisational performance.

This proposed sustainable supply chain for collaborative manufacturing may provide a very useful source of what needs to be implemented and achieved to meet the requirements of sustainability, which is the current and future trend of manufacturing.

This paper provides some of the insights into holistic aspects of 6R perspective to increase product utilisation value between use and post‐use stages.

Development and implementation of new process equipment within the process industries frequently necessitate strong collaboration between process firms and their equipment suppliers in joint process development projects. However, collaboration in this setting entails significant challenges over the lifecycle of these projects. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to explore the problems and opportunities faced by equipment suppliers during collaboration with process firms, throughout the various lifecycle stages of process development projects.

The article synthesizes results from 22 interviews in a multiple case study of eight equipment suppliers in the process industries and a comprehensive review of relevant literature to identify critical problems of opportunities during the lifecycle. In total, data were gathered from firms in six different countries.

A deficient pre‐study may create problems due to miscommunication during development when close interaction is required. Purchasing discussions can be done simultaneously to development when a supplier has been selected, although uncertainty is a problem. It is important to get end‐user feedback and commitment during development and later stages. During assembly and installation and start‐up, a variety of actors are working simultaneously which requires coordination and planning from an early stage. Close interaction and education with end‐user is critical for the technology transfer in the start‐up stage. Sharing of experiences enhances operational performance during production.

This study contributes by employing information rich case study data to describe the problem and opportunities faced over the full lifecycle in joint process development projects in the process industry. In particular, key issues over the lifecycle have been identified and described (e.g. purchasing, start‐up, education). Moreover, the adoption of a lifecycle perspective has indicated how activities, issues, and managerial challenges in specific stages are interconnected and affect the joint work in the following stages.

The findings of this article serves as guidelines to managers in equipment supplier firms and their customers by highlighting the problems and opportunities for improvement that occur during the interconnected stages of process development projects.

By focusing on the collaborative activities in different stages, this study higlights the critical problems and opportunities in the lifecycle of process equipment. In addition this article outlines how joint process development activities can facilitate enhanced operational performance, by means of collaborative design, installation and operation of new process equipment – i.e. “open operation”.

The purpose of this paper is to study the barriers to institutionalize the product lifecycle management (PLM) in large manufacturing organizations. The paper explores the hurdles and identifies the causal barriers to support the organizations’ transformation into digitized firms.

The paper utilized the multi-criteria decision making technique, i.e., DEMATEL (DEcision MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method to find the causal barriers, and adopted maximum mean de-entropy (MMDE) algorithm to determine the threshold value based on the information entropy of the relations among the barriers to PLM institutionalization.

This study explored nine barriers to PLM institutionalization and empirically identified the four critical barriers among the nine.

The present work is exploratory case-based research which is limited to a case of an Indian aircraft manufacturing firm with a limited number of respondents. More sophisticated statistical tools can be utilized to consider the subjectivity of the respondents. However, this research explores the various hurdles to PLM success and serves as a relevant outcome to identify the critical barriers to institutionalize the PLM concept.

The findings of the paper provide guidelines to the case company and similar firms for obtaining maximum benefits of PLM. The methodology shown in this paper will be useful to various large scale industries in identifying the critical barriers to PLM institutionalization among all existing barriers so that they can take appropriate measures before they proceed to adopt PLM.

The present work discusses the different reasons for which the companies are not able to derive the maximum benefits of PLM even after the implementation of PLM systems. This work uniquely applied the DEMATEL and MMDE methods to investigate the critical barriers to PLM institutionalization in an aircraft manufacturing firm.