The product life cycle was a concept developed by German economist Theodore Levitt, who published his model in the Harvard Business Review in 1965. Still used to this day, it is an integral part of business development and strategy. But what does it consist of exactly, and how can we make the best out of it? These are the questions we plan on answering in this article.

What is a product life cycle?

The name says it all. It’s the time it takes a product to go from a simple concept to its withdrawal from the market. The product life cycle takes into consideration two variables, time and sales that vary depending on which of the 5 phases the product is in. The concept is used for decision-making and strategy development throughout each stage.

What are the product life cycle stages?

#1 – Development

This is the product life cycle’s first stage. There are no sales yet, the product hasn’t been introduced to the market at this point. It means it’s all about researching, prototyping, and creating a launch strategy.  It’s important that you test the concept with potential users and adjust certain things according to their feedback. Development usually takes a long time before the product is ready to be introduced into the market.

#2 – Introduction

The product is introduced in the market. It’s about building awareness and ensuring you reach your target audience.

#3 – Growth

Hopefully, your product is being well received and consumers are embracing it. Demand grows and so do the sales.

#4 – Maturity

Usually, after a period of growth comes maturity. This happens when sales begin to level off from the previous rapid growth. Some companies tend to reduce prices at this stage in order to remain competitive.  

#5 -Decline

The dreaded stage. When your product is no longer a favorite with your audience, sales start to decrease. It often occurs when the market is competitive and businesses lack innovation.

How to optimize a product life cycle with 3D configuration

A 3D configurator uses 3D models of your products to create the perfect online visualization tool. In a configurator, customers can personalize items and view them in 360 degrees, so they seem to be as realistic as the actual thing.

A no-code configurator like the one Expivi provides, makes the integration and overall product innovation and maintenance easier since you don’t need your own team of developers to help you along the way. 

Companies only need an eCommerce platform, 3D models of their products (that Expivi can create), and an idea of what they want the customer to able to configure. For example, a furniture company might wish the shoppers to be able to personalize the size and color of a sofa.

Once you have those three things aligned, the configurator can be created and it is ready to help you optimize your product life cycle.

Develop and introduce new products faster

During the first phases of the product life cycle, you need a lot of research and prototyping. A 3D configurator makes this process smoother by enabling you to make the changes online, without having to create thousands of physical representations of your product. This helps introduce it in the market much faster. 

A retail supplies design studio decided to use a 3D configurator to make representations of their hangers according to what their clients required. From different colors to finishes to materials to sizes, their variations are too many to count. The configurator helped them automatically create the prototypes and send them to their clients. This optimizes the introduction of the product in the market and therefore, the product life cycle.

Manage changes easily and maintain quality

A 3D configurator already has everything you need when you decide to change or upgrade your product. Let’s say you’d like to offer more color options or perhaps different sizes or finishes. Using Expivi’s no-code configurator, your team can do that by just changing a set of rules on the backend. 

This allows you to easily tweak your current inventory without hiring a workforce to update your configurator. You’ll also be using the 3D models you previously created, which means you’ll maintain the quality of your online offer.

All of this means that you’ll be able to upscale your products faster introducing new innovative features and delaying the decline of your product life cycle.

CPQ to ensure optimized production and efficient communication

Design and manufacturing have to be connected to have an optimal product life cycle, particularly in the early stages. In the online market, speed and innovation go hand in hand. Those who deliver move forward and those who don’t are left behind.

A CPQ (configure, price, quote) software enables companies to have good control over their product’s life cycle. How?

Through a unified ERP system, Expivi empowers businesses to connect every party involved in their product journey. What does this mean? Well, the customer configures, pays and a Bill of Materials (BOM) is automatically created at the time of purchase, providing the customer with a clear idea of what goes into their configured product. The BOM is then immediately sent to manufacturers (and eventually suppliers) containing all the information needed to produce the item (materials, quantities…). This is all processed in one platform.

What if you run out of a certain material? No problem, that can be automatically changed on the configurator by suppliers/ production, and that option will no longer be available for customers. This unified ERP system allows online companies to gain full control over their product life cycle, at the same time it informs the shopper regarding what goes into the manufacturing of their purchase. Transparency and efficiency!

Market research and product testing

Imagine that you want to test a new version of your product before producing it. With a 3D configurator, you can offer that new product version to your customers and see how well it is received. Since you’ll be manufacturing it on-demand, there’s no need to have the product ready before it is ordered. This allows you to test market reception before production. 

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