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PurposeThis paper aims to capture and manage the product lifecycle data for consumer products, especially data that occur in distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages, and to use them to provide information and knowledge.Design/methodology/approachA lifecycle information acquisition and management model is proposed, and an information management system framework is formulated. The information management system developed is then used in actual field trials to manage lifecycle data for refrigeration products and game consoles.FindingsIt has been demonstrated that valuable services can be delivered through a lifecycle information management system.Practical implicationsLifecycle information management systems can open new horizons for product design which are sustainable and environmentally sensitive. They also contribute to the wider exploration of eco‐design and development of next generation consumer products (e.g. smart home appliances).Originality/valueExisting lifecycle information systems cannot support all phases of the product lifecycle. They mainly manage the lifecycle data only during the design and manufacture stages. Lifecycle data during distribution, usage, maintenance and end‐of‐life stages are usually hard to acquire and in most cases lost. The lifecycle information management system developed can capture them, and manage them in an integrated and systematic manner to provide information and knowledge.

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In the era of globalization, one of the key factors for manufacturing machine builders/suppliers to remain competitive is their capability to provide costeffective and comprehensive machine service and maintenance for their clients at anytime, anywhere. Previous research has highlighted the role of virtual engineering tools in the design and development life cycle of manufacturing machinery systems. Virtual engineering models created during the development phase can potentially be used to provide valuable functions for many other tasks during the operational phase, including service and maintenance support. This paper introduces an innovative Internet-enabled three-dimensional-based virtual engineering framework that can be used for such purposes. Specifically, it addresses a system architecture that is designed to facilitate the tight integration between virtual engineering tools and a set of Internet-based reconfigurable modular maintenance supporting tools. This system architecture has been verified by implementations using different toolsets atop of various Internet technologies (e.g. XML Web services and LabView's Datasocket). Implementation details and successful industrial-based test cases are also provided in this paper.

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