Product Lifecycle Management — Overview & module guide

Module: Product Lifecycle Management v1.4.0

Product lifecycle stages, tracking and governance for BIXCRM

Screen-by-screen guides (each tab explained)

Click a menu item below for step-by-step instructions on that Product Lifecycle Management screen:

• PLM Dashboard
• Products
• Lifecycle Stages
• Documents
• Document Categories
• Change Orders
• Quality Gates
• Reports
• Settings

How to use in BIXCRM (daily operations)

1. Sign in to the admin area with a role that includes Product Lifecycle Management permissions.
2. Open Product Lifecycle Management (sidebar) or search for Product Lifecycle Management in the admin menu.
3. Start on the Dashboard (if available) to see open tasks, pending approvals, and KPIs.
4. Review Settings after upgrades — new options may need defaults for your company.
5. Create or import master data first; most modules block transactions until masters exist.
6. Run the main business flow (create → submit → approve → post/complete) using the screens listed in Admin menu below.
7. Use Reports / Analytics screens to reconcile stock, finance, compliance, or SLA metrics.
8. For integrations (API, EDI, gateways, tax), confirm credentials in Settings and monitor logs or webhook delivery screens.
9. Train staff with role-based access — give approvers approve permissions only, operators create/edit on their area.
10. If something fails overnight, check BIXCRM cron ran and open the module log / failed queue screen if present.

Admin menu — where to work

Open the Product Lifecycle Management section in the admin sidebar. Screens your staff may use (depending on role):

• Bill of Materials
• Change Orders
• Document Categories
• Documents
• Lifecycle Stages
• PLM
• PLM Dashboard
• Products
• Quality Gates
• Reports
• Settings
• Specifications

Detailed guide — features, workflows, API & FAQ

hooks()->add_action('plm_change_order_approved', function ($change_order) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_change_order_implemented', function ($change_order) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_quality_gate_completed', function ($signoff) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_product_stage_transition', function ($product, $from, $to) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_demand_planning_launch_feed', function ($payload) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_manufacturing_bom_synced', function ($product, $bom_id) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_discontinue_item', function ($product) { ... });
hooks()->add_action('plm_webhook_dispatched', function ($event, $payload) { ... });

* * * * * php /path/to/bixcrm/index.php cron/index > /dev/null 2>&1

One-time setup (first time only)

1. Setup → Modules → activate Product Lifecycle Management.
2. Setup → Staff → Roles → assign Product Lifecycle Management permissions (view, create, edit, delete, approve, export, settings as needed).
3. Open Product Lifecycle Management → Settings and complete company defaults, prefixes, integrations, and notification options.
4. Create master data (warehouses, products, templates, accounts, routes, etc.) before processing live transactions.
5. Enable BIXCRM cron (php /path/to/bixcrm/index.php cron/index) for sync, retries, alerts, and scheduled jobs.
6. Optionally enable REST API / webhooks in module settings if you integrate external systems.

BIXCRM Knowledge Base — usage guide generated from module README and documentation.