Monitoring product circularity and sustainability through Product Lifecycle Management: a bibliometric analysis

The transition to a Circular Economy (CE) in the industrial sector requires the identification and monitoring of effective Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), in order to measure the effectiveness of circular strategies in terms of resource efficiency, as well as environmental sustainability. However, today value chains are characterized by the presence and interactions of several actors, each one involved in different phases of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Therefore, the identification and availability of reliable data to measure the selected KPIs can represent a challenge in this process, since data has to be retrieved from different source of the production chain, requiring effective information sharing approaches. This need can be addressed through the implementation of effective PLM approaches. To explore the potentiality of adopting PLM systems to support the monitoring of circularity and sustainability in the industrial sector, this study presents a bibliometric analysis aiming at highlighting the main trends currently characterizing this research topic. The results of the analysis show that literature on the topic is moving from a productivity-centered approach to a sustainability-driven one. However, further research is needed to provide more qualitative insights on the relevant literature.