Knowledge management in the life cycle of products

Knowledge management (KM) is a strategic issue and has as its mission to support management´s effort in developing a more competitive company, applying the resource based view. Furthermore, KM is an organizational issue as it is aiding in the effort to provide a leaner and more effective organization. Finally, KM is about productivity and the application of computers and computational intelligence in the production of goods and services. Concerned with the company´s drive for improvement, innovation and the creation of new knowledge, a holistic KM approach combines these three domains. Poorly managed knowledge costs the companies around the world billions of dollars. Knowledge can be developed, disseminated, shared, learned, stored and retrieved; likewise it can also be managed. Computers, and the application of computational intelligence, can improve profitability if applied together with the restructuring of companies´ structures, their business and production processes, and organizational changes. We demonstrate in This work the need for a holistic approach to the KM view for companies in the manufacturing industry planning to create competitive advantage for itself.