Page 223 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

200 Cha pte r T e n

• Product Launch & Value Chain Operation—Ramp-up and
implementation of value-chain operations and business
processes, including product introduction, marketing and
sales, manufacturing and distribution, and customer service.
These activities correspond to the physical life cycle depicted
in Figure 5.2.
• Life-Cycle Performance Tracking—Periodic monitoring of
product performance indicators, and reporting of the results
to management, shareholders, and external stakeholders. In -
dicators and metrics relevant to life-cycle environmental per-
formance are discussed in Chapter 7.
• Product Replacement or Renewal—Periodic interventions
to enhance, upgrade, extend, or replace the product, as it
matures and as market conditions evolve. Eventually the
product may be retired, although successful products have
been sustained for many decades. Decisions to modify the
product line will trigger a new cycle of product development.
Product life-cycle management encompasses an array of pro-
cesses and services that are required to develop, manufacture, dis-
tribute, and support the product. For global manufacturers, this
involves coordination of a complex set of supply chain capabilities
around the world. At a more granular level, the same type of con-
tinuous improvement cycle can be applied to life-cycle management
of individual processes, facilities, or services. As shown in Figure
10.2, there is an intersection between the facility life cycle and the
product life cycle, but a specific product typically relies on multiple

FIGURE 10.2 Life-cycle stages for management of products and facilities by
cross-functional teams.