Research on Product Platform Life Cycle

To maintain and improve the independent innovation ability of product during the process of implementing Mass Customization, how to improve the ability of product platform innovation and upgrading is Considering the modular product platform as research object, the concept of Product Platform Life Cycle (PPLC) was defined as four-stage process of planning, development, application and decline that the core technology of product, including product parts structure platform technology and corresponding process platform technology applied in product share and configuration, will go through under the influence of internal and external factors within the company. The development and change process of stability -instability-stability in the PPLC was analyzed, and the PPLC had characters of dynamicity, robustness, adaptability compared with the general product life cycle. Then, the disturbance factors including customer requirement, technology and production were described and the main contents affected by which during PPLC were discussed. Finally, on the basis of the disturbance factors analysis, the change of disturbance factors at four stages was investigated, and key management points at each stage were discussed.