Create Greater Value for Customers, Realize a Win-Win with Ecosystem Partners — Speech by Truman Du at ZWorld 2024

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed friends, both new and old, good morning.

Time flies. It has been five years since we last held ZWORLD in Guangzhou in 2019. During this time, we went through three years of the pandemic, and ZWSOFT successfully went public in March 2021. As I mentioned to Gabi and Derek in Warsaw last year, “We are still young, but we are not so young.” We may not be as young as we were when we first met 15 years ago, but our ambitions remain strong, and we are still creating the future! As a veteran in the CAD industry, on behalf of ZWSOFT and myself,

I'd like to welcome all of you, both new and old friends, for gathering here once again in Guangzhou. Thank you all for being here.

Truman Du, CEO at ZWSOFT, speaking at ZWorld 2024

The topic of my speech today is “Empowering Sustainable Innovation.” In this era full of opportunities and challenges, there are two keywords that I particularly like: one is "innovation", and the other is "sustainability". I believe that sustainable innovation determines whether a company, an industry, or even a country can achieve sustainable development. Sustainable innovation is the driving force behind sustainable development. As an industrial software company, we can focus on these two aspects, which will be the key priorities for ZWSOFT and our partners in the next 5 to 10 years. My hope in pursuing this is to achieve two goals: to create greater value for our customers and to achieve mutual success within our ecosystem, including our partners.

ZWORLD was originally called GPC, or ZWSOFT Global Partner Conference, which has been held for 15 years since 2009. In my view, it can be divided into three stages: from 2009 to 2019, ZWSOFT was positioned as a cost-effective CAD alternative provider, pioneering a new era for 2D CAD and 3D CAD in China. From 2019 to 2024, we positioned ourselves as an all-in-one CAx solution provider. During this period, we have developed CAM and CAE solutions, including mechanical engineering, fluid simulation, and discrete element method, and have made several acquisitions to support these efforts. Starting in 2024, our positioning will focus on empowering sustainable innovation. I believe it includes two main aspects: transitioning from products to industries and shifting from cost-effective to industry-specific innovation. In other words, after more than 20 years of development, we have shifted our focus from being product-centric to customer-centric. We are now dedicated to enhancing quality, reducing costs, and improving efficiency for our customers. Our goal is to create greater value and empower the sustainable development of our customers, the industry, and society as a whole.

How do we empower sustainable innovation? I believe both the AEC (*Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) and MFG (*Manufacturing) industries face opportunities and challenges in digital transformation. ZWSOFT will work with partners to provide better solutions to support the digital transformation of AEC and MFG industries. We see digital transformation as the sum of tool digitization and system digitalization. Both aspects are equally important, and as a company with 26 years of experience in industrial software, ZWSOFT has a solid foundation in both.

NIST (*National Institute of Standards and Technology) proposed the concept of a 3D model enterprise, as shown in the diagram. It is divided into seven levels, from level 0, centered on 2D drawings, to levels 1-2, centered on 3D models, to levels 3-4, centered on MBD (*Model-Based Definition), and levels 5-6, centered on MBE (*Model-Based Enterprise).

Let’s look at another diagram. It explains the levels 0 to 6 in the AEC and MFG industries. Different levels represent various stages of a company's digital transformation. It’s not about achieving the highest level, but rather finding the level that best suits the company’s needs, as that is what truly matters. Whether based on drawings or models, ZWSOFT’s 2D and 3D CAD software serve as the foundation of data generation. ZWSOFT’s all-in-one CAx solution can be well-combined to support different stages of various enterprises and provide upgrade paths for their digital transformation.

The goal of ZWSOFT is to support both the AEC and MFG industries with a unified 3D innovation platform. This platform will be built using the same geometric kernel engine, the same parametric modeling framework, the same parametric modeling features, and the same PLM system. We believe that the underlying logic behind digital transformation is consistent across AEC and MFG industries. The focus shifts between tool digitization and system digitalization based on the company's development stage. As shown, ZWSOFT’s Overdrive geometric kernel, ZGS constraint engine, IPX data conversion engine, and standardized products like ZW3D, ZWCAM, ZWSIM, along with future industry applications based on these standard products, can support different stages of digital transformation across various industries. There will be more detailed discussions on this in the afternoon sessions.

We position ZWORLD as ZWSOFT's global ecosystem conference. So how do we achieve mutual success with ecosystem partners? First, we need to define what we mean by "ecosystem". ZWSOFT maintains the utmost openness and a highly collaborative attitude in this regard. I believe that partners, developers, customers, schools, associations, and governments are all crucial parts of our ecosystem. The ecosystem also includes our peers and upstream and downstream enterprises. Even if some of our work overlaps, the scope of industrial software is so vast that each company can only focus on a small part of it. In essence, we are all part of the same ecosystem. Whether in the short term or the long term, our opportunities for collaboration will far outweigh the competition, and we will undoubtedly achieve mutual success. Our approach to mutual success is to be selective in what we do, adhere to our principles, and collaborate with ecosystem partners. ZWSOFT focuses more on developing foundational core technologies and underlying modules, acting as the backend, while we collaborate with our partners on the frontend to jointly create greater value for our customers.

Specific actions include the following points:

1. Collaborating with leading global customers in specific fields to create best practices, achieve technological breakthroughs, and promote them globally. Let’s take a look at the image in the middle, featuring an example from CSSC Marine Power, one of the world’s largest diesel engine manufacturer. This engine is the most advanced in the world, and through our collaboration with this customer, we have significantly enhanced our product capabilities.
2. Strengthening the empowerment system to help our ecosystem partners succeed. We have been committed to building a more comprehensive empowerment system and team. Here are some images from our partner empowerment meetings we've held over the past two years, including those in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tokyo, and Milan.
3. Focusing on core CAx technologies and collaborating with ecosystem partners to develop industry solutions. ZWSOFT will continue to invest in the research and development of foundational technologies, including geometric engines, as well as core CAx products. However, transitioning from products to industry solutions involves numerous opportunities for collaboration with our ecosystem partners. For example, we have partnered with Nanjing Yueqing to develop solutions related to robotics and with France’s Sogelink to create solutions for land resources. On June 27th of this year, we launched the China Industrial Software Sustainable Innovation Plan 1.0, and today, we will be unveiling the upgraded version.
4. Developing an educational ecosystem based on ZWSOFT’s CAx products. In China, we serve over 3,000 universities and vocational schools with a comprehensive teaching system based on ZWSOFT's CAx, including solutions for both schools and enterprises. The more people who can use ZWSOFT’s CAx, the more companies will use ZWSOFT’s solutions, and the more people who can use ZWSOFT’s solutions will find better jobs. This is what we consider a commercial cycle.

I would like to take this opportunity to formally express that we are committed to achieving win-win cooperation with our ecosystem partners. Everyone has reason to believe that, at ZWSOFT's current stage of development, and with the market opportunities we face, we are more determined and willing than other international peers to grow alongside our partners, to listen to our customers, and to progress together with them. I also believe that, from high cost-effectiveness to All-in-one CAx, and from All-in-one CAx to empowering sustainable innovation, ZWSOFT and its partners, by focusing on creating greater value for customers, have immense potential. This approach will undoubtedly lead to greater benefits and growth for all stakeholders, including everyone present here today. 

Finally, I would like to share my thoughts on the current international situation. In recent years, the world has seen many political and economic challenges, and it has not been peaceful, but I remain optimistic. ZWSOFT and I personally believe in marketization and globalization. We believe that development is the only way forward, that development promotes world peace, and that development fosters prosperity. 

I believe that although globalization and international cooperation may encounter some resistance at certain stages, they will continue to thrive because they promote development, especially in the long run. The road ahead is still long, and we are still young; we have no reason not to be optimistic. Today, our ZWSOFT partners from 38 countries are sitting together, contributing to world peace and prosperity!

Since ZWSOFT’s founding in 1998, it’s been 26 years, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have met so many new and old partners, including all of you here today. We’ve weathered many storms together, and I take great pride in the relationships we’ve built. I firmly believe that we are engaged in something truly meaningful. Together with our global partners, we are empowering sustainable innovation to make the world a better place. That’s all I have to say for today. Thank you all once again.