[Updated] PLM, non-PLM, PDM… where is difference?

PDM = Engineering Data Managment (It is really only Design Engineering and limited manufacturing engineering CAM stuff etc.) in the context of an adhoc business process.

PLM = Expanded Engineering Data Management (System Engineering, design engineering, manufacturing engineering, quality engineering) in the context of highly structured as well as adhoc business processes

Non-PLM = Abstracting Engineering data to a coarser level, for example bunch of Part Master attributes, while ignoring the business process and iterative nature of how the data is authored. So for example, for NON-PLM system – a drawing is document like Word document.

Thanks for this very useful post and especially the diagrammatic representations of PLM/PDM. One thing i am struggling with at the moment is a definition of the context in which Product Information *Publishing* fits into this overall model. By Product Information Publishing I am referring to the externally published data and metadata – including images and multimedia – (typically including marketing as well as technical product information) which amasses over its lifetime and which variously ends up being published in one form or another (eg, in a catalogue, on a website etc. etc.) Would be interested in poiters to any discussions or constructs surrounding thisand the way it fits into the overall PLM / PDM picture.

Oleg,
Thanks for your posts!
I think that it isn’t correct to compare PLM and PDM. PLM is a concept, it equals Information System (people, applications, business-processes and its interrelations through the life cycle of product) rather than applications or a suite of applications. PDM – just a technology and corresponding application that can be included into Information System with many other applications (technologies) involved in Product Life Cycle (ERP,SCM,CRM). Terminology in this sphere is very fuzzy. While standards are not exist here it is very difficult to answer ‘where is difference?’. What do you think about CIMdata’s PLM definition?
Ivan