Centric Software, Inc., marked its 2016 fiscal year (ending Jan. 31) with its 4th year of phenomenal growth thanks to overwhelming market adoption of its strategy based on mobility, innovation and extending solutions beyond traditional PLM (product lifecycle management) for fashion, retail, luxury, footwear and consumer goods.
Enthusiasm from the market has driven Centric's massive growth and worldwide leadership position. "Centric is disrupting the marketplace with a strong emphasis on mobility and innovation, and by extending the value proposition beyond traditional PLM. The market worldwide continues to give its endorsement," says Chris Groves, president and CEO of Centric Software. "The fashion, outdoor and other consumer goods markets face rapid changes and constant business transformation. We support our customers through transformational projects that go way beyond PLM to help them reach both bottom line savings and top line growth."
Milestones for Centric this year include:
Bookings growth: Bookings were up more than 70% over the previous fiscal year. This marks the fourth year in a row of more than 70% growth.
Customer growth: Centric reached its 145 customer milestone through the addition of over 40 new customers, the most of any vendor in the global PLM marketplace last year. As one customer states, "Everyone in the market knows of Centric. We were impressed by their forward-thinking mobile portfolio."
Global expansion: Centric opened new offices in three regions; Scandinavia, Mexico and Japan. Entrance into each region was secured by prestigious industry names; retail leader Varner in Norway, the yarn to store vertically integrated Grupo Avante in Mexico and in Japan, worldwide sports giant, Asics.
Asian expansion: Eighteen months after opening an office in Shanghai, Centric Software reached 15 customer milestone in China. "The unrivaled number of customers in China clearly positions Centric as the market leader in this region," says Groves. Centric also opened an office in Japan, secured by the acquisition of two of the world's predominant fashion brands; Asics and Fast Retailing's Uniqlo.
New product innovations: Last year, Centric launched Centric Cloud PLM, a new solution specifically designed for small businesses. Centric Cloud packages extended PLM, including mobility and key industry learnings, but focuses on functionality tailored for small businesses. Centric again significantly extended the process footprint and deepened the functionality of its flagship solution; web-based, Centric 8 PLM. Centric staff, mainly comprised of industry and IT experts, increased again by over 40% and included a team for Centric's newly opened Innovation Lab. Examples of customer feedback include, "[We] selected Centric for its team expertise and revolutionary product roadmap, including the development of mobile applications," and "[Our teams] are hungry for innovation and very used to mobile apps and digital technology."
Mobility: Last year Centric's mobile portfolio expanded to 12 apps with support being extended to Android. Over 30% of Centric customers now use Centric's mobile apps including leading names such as Under Armour, Nina Ricci and Ports 1961. One customer said, "Mobility is key. Overall, we feel that it is a modern solution that will suit a modern way of working."
Customer satisfaction: Over the past year, approximately 35% of Centric customers have spoken publically in support of their solutions and approximately 95% have done so privately. Centric customers say, "Centric is the best fit to work with our team" and "It was the users' recognition of Centric as the best on the market that influenced our decision."
"Outstanding support from our customers has clearly positioned Centric as the PLM innovation leader. Reaching this 145 customer milestone highlights the trust customers place in us. We are truly grateful for the support of our customers and work hard everyday to foster these partnerships," says Groves, "The market speaks for itself."
