Universities around the world are teaching PLM following different strategies but most of them limited to design applications. This paper presents a didactic manufacturing plant where design and production are managed in a PLM environment. During the course, students are exposed to the complexity of managing the production of a modular chess set while at the same time they are asked to fulfil design requirements and meet production, quality and cost goals. Course description and achieved results are analyzed thoroughly. Moreover, the efforts to achieve the smart factory are presented.