A small team does not need enterprise ceremony. It does need a reliable way to know what is current when the product process stops fitting in one person's head.
PLM can be premature for a brand with a few products and one owner. It becomes more useful when coordination, not creativity, starts setting the pace of development.
Stay with simple tools while control is easy
Spreadsheets and shared folders can work when the range is small, product information has a clear owner, revisions are limited and suppliers receive one controlled release.
Watch for operating thresholds
The warning is not a specific revenue or SKU number. Look for repeated data, several editors, multiple suppliers, frequent carryovers, sample confusion and costs that change without reaching the right people.
Buy for the next process, not an imagined enterprise
Prioritise fast setup, usable tech packs, materials, samples, suppliers, costing and calendars. Avoid complexity the team cannot own.
Assign one internal owner
Even a small implementation needs someone to decide naming, required fields, approvals and cleanup. The role can be part time, but it cannot be absent.
Pilot before moving the whole range
Use one category or season, compare preparation and correction work, then expand only if the process is clearer.
PLM is worth considering when it returns skilled time to product work and gives the team control it can no longer maintain with files alone.