Editing Product data management (section)

== History ==

PDM stems from traditional engineering design activities that created product drawings and schematics on paper and using CAD tools to create parts lists (Bills of Material structures – BOM). The PDM and BOM data are used in enterprise resource planning ([[enterprise resource planning|ERP]]) systems to plan and coordinate all transactional operations of a company (sales order management, purchasing, cost accounting, logistics, etc.)

PDM is a subset of a larger concept of product lifecycle management ([[product lifecycle management|PLM]]). PLM encompasses the processes needed to launch new products ([[New product introduction|NPI]]), manage changes to existing products ([[engineering change notice|ECN]]/[[Engineering change order|ECO]]) and retire products at the end of their life span ([[End-of-life (product)|EoL]]).

Early Product data management software was developed and used internally at some organizations, such as [[NASA|NASA and]] [[Boeing|Boeing's]] IPAD or [[Ford Motor Company|Ford Motor Company's]] PDGS. The first Product data management software on the open market was Sherpaworks by Sherpa, released in 1984. More software followed in the 1990s, when the market expanded.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stark |first=Rainer |title=Virtual product creation in industry: the difficult transformation from IT enabler technology to core engineering competence |date=2022 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-662-64301-3 |location=Berlin}}</ref>