Centric PLM
Assortment Planning 
Fashion & Apparel
Retail
Footwear
Outdoor & Sports
Consumer Goods
OEM & ODM Manufacturers
Home Décor & Furniture
Food and Beverage
Cosmetics & Personal Care
Consumer Electronics
Which is Better? Project Management Tools or Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)?
Discover which solutions are right for consumer goods brands, retailers and manufacturers
Project management tools have sprung up all over the place. Monday.com, Trello, asana to name a few. They are good for keeping track of projects and who is responsible. They can assign tasks and subtasks to a project, and documents can be shared for download. They are relatively inexpensive. But when it comes to housing data like BOMs, product specs, up-to-date certifications and acting as a single source of truth for all product information, these tools fall short.
Modern PLM
A modern PLM solution on the other hand, has the power and capacity to take a consumer goods product from end-to-end; from concept to store shelves; from idea to consumer. It drives efficiency, makes sourcing more resilient and produces quick, insightful reports that give users the data and answers they need to make informed decisions.
What about suppliers? Can project management systems interface with them? Maybe to an extent, but Centric PLM™ has a vendor portal that makes communicating 3D image-heavy files a breeze. Send and receive specifications and designs, collaborate on ideas and cut down on sampling. Shred time zone differences and language barriers with each side able to see the interfaces in their native language.
Security is another consideration. Sharing sensitive files in common drives or sending them over email via insecure channels can be a threat to a business’ data. With a modern PLM, companies can set control access for both internal and external (vendors) users. In addition, Centric Software follows ISO 27001 standards for stable and compliant solutions.
Oh, and modern PLM has advanced project management and calendar tools too!
The Industry Standard
In reality, PLM is the standard enterprise software for consumer goods brands, retailers and manufacturers. It integrates with existing business systems, feeding clean, current data to ERPs; capturing designers’ work in Adobe Illustrator; and seamlessly works with communication tools like Teams and Slack.
Get it Right the First Time
Centric Software sales and implementation teams tell about customers who thought they could get by with a project management tool for product development, but one or three years later, realized that a product lifecycle management tool was really what they needed, and had to implement a new platform all over again. Don’t make the same mistake; start with the right solution from the get-go. With project management built into Centric PLM and automated workflows, product development is streamlined, recorded, versioned and catalogued. People have visibility to where a project is with current information accessible to those who need it.
But don’t take Centric Software’s word for it. Read what actual consumer goods customers have to say about this cutting-edge PLM tool and how project management tools are limited in comparison, in the eBook Project Management Tools vs. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).
Discover 7 reasons why project management tools may not be the best choice for consumer goods companies, and 7 ways that Centric PLM transforms consumer goods businesses. Also read real stats on improvements that Centric Software customers have enjoyed since launching Centric PLM.