Industry Summary Articles

Flex and RIB Software AG have formed a joint venture (JV) that will transform the $9 trillion building and housing industry.

The joint venture will operate under the name YTWO Formative, providing an open platform, cloud-based software solution that combines the strength of RIB's iTWO 5D BIM software capabilities with Flex's manufacturing, supply chain management and logistics expertise. By combining the two companies' strengths, YTWO Formative offers a fully integrated enterprise software platform that will take a project all the way from full virtualization which includes time, cost, materials and a complete 3D model to supply chain execution and projection completion.

YTWO Formative is an integrated, intelligent platform that eliminates the need for investment in expensive IT systems and software licenses and allows customers to create accurate, detailed construction project plans, facilitated by a catalog of home and modular construction products, providing critical intelligence on pricing and lead times. The JV aims to modernize practices in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction.

"RIB provides the best enterprise solution available for construction planning and management in this $9 trillion1 and growing industry, and Flex is the leader in global supply chain solutions.  With our combined expertise in YTWO Formative, we are building a smarter, more connected system, using modern software architecture and real-time information, which will reduce costs by up to 50 percent, shorten cycle times, improve efficiency and help complete projects on schedule," said Mike McNamara, CEO at Flex. "YTWO Formative fits perfectly with our strategy of creating Sketch-to-Scale solutions by leveraging our expansive platform. This industry represents a massive opportunity as we open up a completely new market for Flex."

Thomas Wolf, CEO at RIB, 30-year veteran of the construction industry and a pioneer in BIM software said, "Over 60 percent of major projects are over budget or behind schedule2, underscoring the need for improved efficiencies. Together with Flex, we are delivering a fully integrated solution on a single platform that addresses this need with state-of-the-art technology, design-to-project-completion solutions, synchronized supply chain planning with direct access, and more."

Flex and RIB have each contributed approximately $60 million for a non-controlling interest in the joint venture, which has received regulatory clearance.

To view the original press release, please click here.

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