Gartner defines the product life cycle management (PLM) software market in discrete manufacturing industries as a philosophy, process and discipline. It is supported by software to manage product data and related processes throughout their entire life cycle, from concept through recycling/retirement. It applies to products that are assembled or constructed. PLM software streamlines and manages the entire life cycle of a product, from initial concept through design, manufacturing, service and its ultimate disposal. It centralizes product-related data and processes, thus facilitating collaboration among cross-functional teams and ensuring consistent and accurate content. PLM is essential for managing product configurations tailored for specific markets or customers. By optimizing workflows and integrating with other enterprise systems, PLM software helps improve product quality, reduce time to market and enhance the overall efficiency of product life cycle activities. PLM software encompasses a broad range of essential data and processes, making it foundational for a modern digital manufacturing enterprise. It serves as a basis for digital threads and digital twins and as the foundation for digital engineering and manufacturing.
Gartner defines the product information management (PIM) market as the packaged solutions that enable product, commerce and marketing teams to create and maintain an approved shareable version of rich product content. PIM makes a single, trusted source of product information available for multichannel commerce and data exchange. PIM solutions now support complex use cases, including product data syndication (PDS), product experience management (PXM), product information effectiveness analytics, digital shelf analytics and product data contextualization. They lay the foundation for delivering personalization, product discovery and digital experience platforms (DXPs). PIM is available as hosted cloud-native, SaaS, private cloud and on-premises solutions.