We have recently published our latest FlexPLM license figures in the WhichPLM 2020 PLM Buyer’s Guide and we're delighted to report a record growth in user numbers, with more than 210,000 people worldwide now using our FlexPLM platform to design, develop and source products. As a result of the tremendous growth in user numbers, we have increased our overall market share of Retail PLM users to over 40%.

The latest installment of the Buyer’s Guide delivers exclusive retail PLM market analysis, provides technology buying advice, and features detailed profiles of all key PLM vendors. In order to participate in the Guide, each PLM vendor was asked to provide evidence of new sales and company resources, as well as up-to-date tallies of in-house and supply chain users.

Out of eight retail PLM vendors, we emerged significantly ahead of the competition based on the number of active users – reaffirming FlexPLM’s status as the retail industry’s most widely-used PLM platform. With more than 210,000 combined active users, across internal teams and suppliers, our record figures are approximately three times the public license numbers provided by the second-largest apparel and fashion-focused PLM vendor.

A remarkable 22,000 of our active software licenses were sold in the 2019/20 financial calendar year alone, representing a 12% increase in users year-over-year, providing further evidence of our position as the preferred PLM partner for international retailers and brands looking to obtain the full value from their PLM and product development needs.

While some PLM vendors chose to keep their user figures combined, we openly revealed how our record total of users is split between internal teams (161,212) and supply chain partners (50,254) – a balance that reflects the trust customers have in FlexPLM, and the rate at which our customers are digitally connected to their colleagues and suppliers, delivering new levels of collaboration and global visibility.

At a time of unprecedented disruption to supply chains, workforces and production processes caused by Covid-19, a flexible and highly scalable PLM platform has become more valuable than ever, with many of our FlexPLM customers able to reconfigure their FlexPLM solution in just a few days and without the need for customization, in order to shift design, development and production from their core products to Covid-19 masks and gowns for first responders.

“FlexPLM is known throughout the world as the most widely-used PLM platform in the Retail, Footwear and Apparel industry, and we are excited to report on our record user growth,” says Bill Brewster, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PTC’s Retail Business Unit. “I’m delighted that more than 210,000 users – including many from the world’s largest retailers, and the most iconic brands– are obtaining significant value from FlexPLM and our other transformative solutions. Users of our cloud-based FlexPLM platform can connect and collaborate internally and with their extended supply chain, which is critical for people working remotely during this period of marketplace disruption. I believe our incredible growth is a testament to the confidence that new and existing customers have in our PLM platform and our innovation strategy.”

In addition to the user numbers published by us in the Guide, we also upgraded more than 30 customers to the latest version of the FlexPLM platform in the last 18 months as part of a global upgrade program designed to provide long-term users of FlexPLM with access to the latest innovations at a low, inclusive cost.