Product Lifecycle Management Towards Industry 5.0: A Descriptive Analysis

In manufacturing, the level of automation, the negative environmental impacts, and the uncertainty (due to globalization, pandemics, and wars) are always more growing, calling for the Industry 5.0 (I5.0) evolution, based on human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience. However, so far, it is not clear how manufacturing could set such a transition, leveraging on traditional systems (e.g., Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)) and integrating and exploiting digital technologies in their organizations and processes. Through a systematic literature review, this study performs a descriptive analysis of the role of PLM in integrating I5.0 principles across the entire product lifecycle through the support of digital technologies. Despite its potential, there is still a lack of clarity on how the three pillars of I5.0 can be effectively integrated through PLM, which technologies and methodologies best support this transition, where the current literature has primarily focused, and what steps are needed to advance research in this field. The research identifies key trends and technological enablers and highlights a predominant focus on resilience-driven PLM strategies, often coupled with human-centric or sustainability aspects. A threefold perspective of I5.0 integrated with PLM still remains underdeveloped. This research informs both academics and practitioners in providing directions on how to innovate and improve production systems adopting I5.0 with a PLM perspective.