Ann Arbor, Mich.—April 11, 2014—CIMdata, Inc., a global product lifecycle management (PLM) strategic management consulting and research firm announces the successful completion of its 2014 North American PLM Market & Industry Forum—the first in a series of four global events. This forum was held in Ann Arbor, Mich. on April 3, 2014 with 52 PLM industry participants representing 22 global PLM solution and service providers.
CIMdata’s PLM Market & Industry Forums are the world’s gathering of software and service providers focused specifically on the PLM market, and the issues concerning its development and growth. Participants gathered to hear CIMdata’s perspective on the state and trends of the PLM market, as well as a detailed discussion of CIMdata’s research and viewpoints on 2013 PLM market results. These included CIMdata’s extensive analysis and forecasts regarding market growth across PLM domains, industries and regions, and the performance (revenue and market share analysis) of leading PLM solution providers.
In CIMdata’s annual “State of PLM: Today’s Market and Leading Trends” address, Peter Bilello, CIMdata’s president, stated, “The global PLM market had a good year, but growth was slowed in the third and fourth quarters. There are a number of clear signs that the global PLM market is maturing, but it’s a long way from being mature. Industrial companies’ PLM requirements are evolving, and they are looking for end-to-end business platforms that enable innovation of their products, as well as their lifecycle processes.”
He added, “It is time to rethink how we develop products. The Circular Economy requires us to rethink our linear approach to the product lifecycle. We are at a crossroads, and we need to significantly change our approach, or we will never be able to design, deliver and support fully sustainable products. Business models, positioning, platform strategies and solution offerings all need to be adjusted to support the Circular Economy.”
In Bilello’s concluding remarks, he noted that the convergence of multiple economic, technological and social forces is underway, many of which will significantly impact how we view and support the product lifecycle. Many companies are struggling to understand, leverage, and deal with the cloud, mobile, 3D printing, social networking, big data, innovation management, product and process complexity, and doing more with less.” He went on to say, “We all need to rethink the product lifecycle and how we compete in the brave new world of the Circular Economy.”
Commenting on the PLM market in 2013, Stan Przybylinski, CIMdata’s vice president of research, also made note of the PLM slowdown. “Calendar year 2013 was a slow year for PLM. The first half of the year was solid, but growth slowed in the second half. The result was total revenues below our forecast.” Recent statistics compiled by CIMdata show that the PLM market experienced 4.8 percent growth in 2013 to $35 billion. Przybylinski added, “Growth moderated in all segments, including simulation and analysis (S&A), which was the fastest growing segment for the last several years.” A wide range of companies in many industries continued investing in PLM to achieve short-term benefits, as well as long-term strategic value throughout the product lifecycle and across their extended enterprises. “In spite of this down year, companies are still investing for the long term,” noted Przybylinski.
The forum agenda included sessions on trends in the market based on CIMdata’s PLM Knowledge Councils—a set of collaborative research panels that bring together end-user companies and PLM solution providers to help advance the best practices in emerging product lifecycle management disciplines. The overall theme of the event was “Moving toward a Circular Economy: New Challenges Offer New Opportunities,” as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation describes it, “... an economy in which today’s goods are tomorrow’s resources.” The Circular Economy is where companies focus on reuse, repurpose, remanufacture, reduce and recycle.
Sessions included “System of Systems: Way Beyond the Product,” “Simulation’s Role in the Circular Economy,” “PLM: Well Beyond Just PDM,” “A Weather Update: Cloud Status,” “Update on Mobile Applications in PLM” and “The Death of the File.” The North American PLM Market & Industry Forum is the first in a global series, with the next session scheduled for April 8 in Frankfurt, Germany. Forum sessions follow on April 11 in Shanghai, China and April 16 in Tokyo, Japan.