PLM functionalities in the fashion industry. A classification framework

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is a set of solutions and tools to support business in the management of the entire lifecycle of the product portfolio. Recently, non-traditional sectors are increasing its adoption, even if it often requires customisations and dedicated functionalities due to the peculiarities of these industries. Focusing on the fashion one, literature is not exhaustive in a clear definition of PLM functionalities and a classification framework for its adoption. Different names of the same functionalities can be found and new features are rarely addressed. Emerging functionalities, such as the ones related to the Industry 4.0 paradigm, have been investigated to ensure the completeness of the framework, getting information from indirect sources and semi-structured interviews to industrial experts working in the fashion industry. According to this, the paper aims to present a comprehensive classification framework of the PLM functionalities in the fashion industry.