3DEXPERIENCE Propelling Dassault Systèmes’ Success

On June 10 and 11, Dassault Systèmes delivered a virtual Industry Analyst Meeting covering the many different areas where the company’s 3DEXPERIENCE platform (encompassing software to support design and engineering, manufacturing and production, simulation, governance and lifecycle, and 3D design) has been used or is being used to solve global challenges and underpin the operations of many different verticals.

The platform was used to help Chinese authorities simulate the new hospital constructed in Wuhan in as few as 12 days. The individual solutions running on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform are also supporting efforts to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, with BIOVIA being used to identify new drug candidates, SIMULIA being used to model the virus’s dispersal in ventilation systems, MEDIDATA being used as part of 60% of vaccine trials worldwide, and 3DEXPERIENCE Lab collecting and sharing intelligence to fight COVID-19. The company is also helping airlines rebuild passenger confidence by simulating and optimizing airflow in the cabin. Apart from COVID-19, the company also looks to help clients become more sustainable in terms of their production lines and products.

The strategy of not only developing cloud-based applications but also housing the many different products under a shared data set and a common interface provides a unified tool chain. This sets Dassault Systèmes apart from its competitors and is delivering results with user numbers for the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform totaling 25 million individuals; in FY 2019, the platform accounted for 29% of software revenues and just under half of new licenses.

Dassault Systèmes targets 11 different industries segmented under life sciences and healthcare, infrastructure and cities, and manufacturing. In 2019, the company won 20,000 new deals.

In the manufacturing industry, Dassault Systèmes supports digital manufacturing, operations planning and optimization, and manufacturing operations management. The company revealed that 90% of cars currently on the road have been designed with Dassault Systèmes software that covers product design and lean production and supports the development of intelligent vehicles, vehicle launch programs, and marketing under its virtual garage solution. For example, Toyota is using the company’s software to have a single version of the truth assimilating design, Research and Development (R&D), production, and customer service data.

In the aerospace and defense sector, Dassault Systèmes is tasked with supporting Airbus, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin’s digital threads, where staff use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for the design and production of aircrafts. In the industrial equipment sector, Dassault Systèmes is introducing turnkey solutions dedicated to a particular sector, with Smartyre (covering tire engineering, line engineering, and manufacturing execution) and horizontal solutions such as Ready to Make (digital manufacturing, supply chain management, manufacturing operations management), Simplified Smart Equipment (model-based system engineering and verification), and Single Source for Speed (strategic business and product portfolio planning, program/project and operations management, budget/finance and costing, sourcing and purchasing, change and configuration management).

The high-tech vertical serves the needs of the consumer electronics; Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT); and semiconductor sectors and develops solutions for security control and instrumentation and to support contract manufacturing services. Capabilities include supporting innovation, design and engineering processes, and sales and marketing activities, and specifically prototyping high-performance batteries and semiconductors.

The 1Q 2020 results show that the focus on providing a digital thread tailored to vertical markets or workflows is resonating in the marketplace as Dassault Systèmes grew its software revenues to over EU€1 billion during the quarter (up from 919 million in 1Q 2019).

COVID-19 has accelerated manufacturers’ acceptance and adoption of cloud platforms, enabling staff to design, collaborate, and sell from anywhere. For example, one of Dassault Systèmes’ clients, Eviation Aircraft, is producing an all-electric airplane, and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform enables the firm to coordinate the activities of 164 subcontractors who can utilize a single data set simultaneously. Dassault Systèmes points to virtual commissioning and connected factories generating 20-25% reductions in error and waste, a 25% fall in testing and certification costs, and a 40-60% reduction in design times, all thanks to cloud collaboration. Further benefits include supporting supply chain orchestration and risk modelling.

Another application, the Line Builder Initiative, is concerned with helping the sales process for engineers; sales engineers can produce a basic outline of the project when quoting for new contracts and, upon winning the business, the delivery teams can augment the designs by simulating the equipment and line flows and commence the virtual commission process. All of this is done in 3D and, more importantly, stakeholders from the supplier and client have a single version of the truth.  

Dassault Systèmes must offer solutions tailored to workflows and verticals markets as the competition intensifies with PTC, Rockwell, and Microsoft joining forces and Siemens’s partnership with IBM evolving so that elements of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio will be combined with the IBM Maximo solution.

Creating cloud-based solutions is the game changer for Dassault Systèmes to enable clients to continue to create innovate products and collaborate with colleagues and partners regardless of location. COVID-19 is forcing manufacturers to recalibrate their operations and, coupled with competitive pressures, is driving the demand for digital threads. Dassault Systèmes is well-placed to meet these requirements in many different contexts.