Chinese Industrial Software Nearly as Good As the World's First-class Software, Says Founder of E-lead

AI-generated

AsianFin -- Lü Fengmin, the founder and General Manager of E-lead, a Chinese company specializing in developing industrial software, told AsianFin that domestic PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) systems now are about 80-90% as powerful as world-class ones, though they lag in application scenario richness and system integration.

With favorable national policies, industrial software, including PLM, is on a fast track of development.

China's industrial software sector has experienced significant shifts. Before 2000, the manufacturing industry mainly did OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) work, with weak R&D and software reliance on foreign products.

Between 2000 and 2010, though China’s industrial software industry advanced, it was still dominated by international firms like Dassault. But since 2010, thanks to cloud computing and big data, and in the face of geopolitical tensions, domestic industrial software started to take off.

The market scale of industrial software has grown steadily. The revenue of PLM grew at an annual rate of 18.9%, and is expected to exceed 40 billion yuan by 2025. China’s PLM solutions are gaining larger market share, especially in military and automotive sectors, while international giants' shares are dropping.

However, domestically-developed PLM systems face challenges. Their knowledge bases are less comprehensive, and they struggle in niche software integration and specialized scenarios. The ecosystem also needs improvement, with lower data interoperability and higher integration costs.

AI is reshaping industrial software. While large models offer opportunities to narrow the gap with international rivals, they're not yet fully ready for industrial R&D. Still, some industrial software, like E-lead's ETRX-PDM, is already using AI to boost efficiency.

E-lead has launched the ETRX R&D Suite to enhance manufacturing and management. Looking ahead, the company will increase R&D, integrate AI and industrial software, and build an ecosystem to help China's industry move up the global value chain.