Product life-cycle management (or PLCM) is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its

life cycle. Goals The goals of PLC management are to reduce time to market, improve product quality, reduce prototyping costs, identify potential sales opportunities and revenue contributions, and reduce environmental impacts at end-of-life. Phases

Time & Sales

Opportunity for life cycle cost saving

Supply chain

Profits

Competing

Characteristics of PLC stages The four main stages of a product's life cycle and the accompanying characteristics are Stage 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Characteristics costs are very high slow sales volumes to start little or no competition demand has to be created customers have to be prompted to try the product makes no money at this stage costs reduced due to economies of scale sales volume increases significantly profitability begins to rise public awareness increases competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market

1. Market introduction stage

2. Growth stage

3. Maturity stage

6. increased competition leads to price decreases 1. costs are lowered as a result of production volumes increasing and experience curve effects 2. sales volume peaks and market saturation is reached 3. increase in competitors entering the market

4. prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products 5. brand differentiation and feature diversification is emphasized to maintain or increase market share 6. 1. 2. 3. 4. . Industrial profits go down costs become counter-optimal sales volume decline prices, profitability diminish profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales

4. Saturation and decline stage