Product lifecycle information acquisition and management for consumer products

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to capture and manage the product lifecycle data for consumer products, especially data that occur in distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages, and to use them to provide information and knowledge.Design/methodology/approachA lifecycle information acquisition and management model is proposed, and an information management system framework is formulated. The information management system developed is then used in actual field trials to manage lifecycle data for refrigeration products and game consoles.FindingsIt has been demonstrated that valuable services can be delivered through a lifecycle information management system.Practical implicationsLifecycle information management systems can open new horizons for product design which are sustainable and environmentally sensitive. They also contribute to the wider exploration of eco‐design and development of next generation consumer products (e.g. smart home appliances).Originality/valueExisting lifecycle information systems cannot support all phases of the product lifecycle. They mainly manage the lifecycle data only during the design and manufacture stages. Lifecycle data during distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages are usually hard to acquire and in most cases lost. The lifecycle information management system developed can capture them, and manage them in an integrated and systematic manner to provide information and knowledge.

An agenda for ‘Green’ information technology and systems research

“…For example, some articles examine how the software development lifecycle can be modified to facilitate environmentally sustainable software development (Huang, 2008) or the potential negative environmental impacts of systems that are either not designed properly or not used as designed (Haigh & Griffiths, 2008). Further, a number of other studies examine environmental reporting, measurement, and accounting systems (e.g., Brown, Dillard, & Marshall, 2005;Goodman, 2000;Isenmann, Bey, & Welter, 2007;Moller & Schaltegger, 2005;Rikhardsson, 1998;Shaft, Sharfman, & Swahn, 2001), knowledge management systems for environmental sustainability initiatives (e.g., Jain, George, & Webster, 2008;Manning, 2007), or the concept of designing for the environment (DfE) -that is, taking the environment into consideration when designing products and services (e.g., Lenox, King, & Ehrenfeld, 2000;Yang, Moore, Wong, Pu, & Chong, 2007). Most of the research focuses on Green IS, rather than on IT.…”

“…Several articles discussing technological forces were found in the Green IT/S literature. These articles, primarily conceptual, tend to focus on the design and use of IT/S (e.g., Isenmann et al, 2007;Yang et al, 2007), as well as the systems development process (e.g., Haigh & Griffiths, 2008;Huang, 2008). While technological forces are critical for the types of Green IT/S strategies and activities available to organizations, the broader literature suggests that other forces have a much stronger influence on the organization's behavior.…”

“…Implementing an IS and associated technology to capture environmental data during product distribution, use and maintenance for product design improvements (Yang et al, 2007). Introducing a goal to substantially reduce business travel using IT/S.…”

Strategies for designing and developing services for manufacturing firms

“…Today, manufacturing companies have two types of IT systems that attempt to cater for this, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) [31]. Each system has their own focus, PLM systems administer product specific data and information throughout its entire lifecycle, but as companies are rarely responsible for the use and disposal phases of their products, the gathering and processing of information here is rather poor.…”

Gen2 RFID-Based System Framework for Resource Circulation in Closed-Loop Supply Chains

“…Subsequently, the concept of closed-loop PLM (CL2M) emerged [19][20][21]. These systems extract new product knowledge and expand the coverage of the PLM to the entire product lifecycle using IoT technologies to identify the product and gather information feedback.…”