NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shapeways, Inc. (NYSE: SHPW), a global leader in the large and fast growing digital manufacturing industry, announced today a significant milestone that accelerates the growth of its software tools and services offering with the release of their Orders and Transactions functionality via its MFG.com brand. The release of this suite of powerful new features enables Shapeways to increase customer acquisition, improve customer retention, and enhance customer lifetime value. These releases have led to record breaking SaaS sales growth in Q1 2023 which will convert to recognized revenue over the next 12 months.
MFG, acquired by Shapeways in 2022, has historically focused on connecting small and medium-sized manufacturers with custom-part buyers through its global Manufacturer Database and Request for Quote (RFQ) process. The new features expand MFG customers’ ability to not only facilitate relationships with prospective new opportunities, but also win more of these opportunities and manage them through the manufacturing process, end-to-end.
“We will continue to commercialize and grow our software tools and service offerings through MFG,” said Greg Kress, CEO of Shapeways. “We had an incredible starting point when we acquired MFG, and adding the new features allows us to expand our offerings to those customers. The latest feature releases are just the start of how MFG will grow to be a comprehensive software platform for manufacturers to unlock new revenue opportunities that grow their businesses, find operational efficiencies to improve profitability, increase customer satisfaction, and expand their manufacturing capabilities.”
Creating a Manufacturing Software Platform
The primary new feature is MFG Transactions, allowing manufacturers to send invoices–and buyers to pay for their services–within the MFG platform. After a recent survey found that 92% of MFG’s buyers wanted this feature, the MFG team made it a priority.
“MFG Transactions streamlines the process of invoicing for both buyers and manufacturers,” says Greg Rothman, GM of Software for Shapeways. “It conveniently integrates with ERPs like Quickbooks, and is powered by Stripe. This instills trust in the buyer that their payment is secure, and will increase customer retention for manufacturers using MFG.”
MFG Orders was also announced today as a feature that bolsters the potency of the entire software offering. MFG Orders was rolled out to further deepen the platform’s ability to help manage all parts of the manufacturing process. It includes tools such as Parts Tracking and the ability to create purchase orders (POs). Parts Tracking was built so buyers can be automatically notified about the status of their custom part order through a simple update from manufacturers, thus ensuring higher customer engagement and satisfaction. The ability to create POs through the platform helps to eliminate the back-and-forth of creating POs in other programs and sending them outside of MFG.
Highest Quarter on Record for Both Manufacturer Registrations, Live Projects for Quoting, and SaaS Contract Commitments
In addition to growth through new features and functionality, MFG also experienced a record-breaking Q1 for customer acquisition. “We are excited at the momentum we’re seeing from the market. We welcomed a record number of new manufacturers to the platform, and saw our highest-ever number of open projects from buyers,” says Rothman. “We’re committed to continue supporting these new customers so they can be successful, and to see more join as we expand our functionality.”
Both manufacturers and custom-part buyers can join MFG.com at no cost. Upgraded accounts are available for manufacturers to gain the ability to respond to RFQs and use new Transactions and Orders features.
About Shapeways
Shapeways is a leader in the large and fast-growing digital manufacturing industry combining high quality, flexible on-demand manufacturing powered by purpose-built proprietary software which enables customers to rapidly transform digital designs into physical products, globally. Shapeways makes industrial-grade additive manufacturing accessible by fully digitizing the end-to-end manufacturing process, and by providing a broad range of solutions utilizing 12 additive manufacturing technologies and more than 120 materials and finishes, with the ability to easily scale new innovation. To date, Shapeways has delivered over 24 million parts to over one million customers in over 180 countries. To learn more, please visit https://www.shapeways.com.
